ATG squats

Kronic

Kronic

Well-known member
anyone else playing around with ass to the grass squats? nice lil stretch at the bottom. trying not to get stuck lol
 
Yep, but I dropped my weight down significantly to be able to achieve them (and I upped the reps too). Just wanted to make sure I was getting resistance on as much ROM as I could, and to change it up so things didn't get stale. Will probably add in (or swap to) leg extensions in a few weeks depending on how the knees are handling things (but so far, so good).
 
match said:
Will probably add in (or swap to) leg extensions in a few weeks depending on how the knees are handling things (but so far, so good).
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I usually warm up w high rep leg extensions before doing squats or leg presses. Really helps my overall routine. Just giving you another idea.
 
I squat ATG with a pause the very bottom of the rep till I get to 225, over 225lbs lately I have been box squatting because my knees. But this past Sunday I managed to get 275x5 or 6 atg with a fairly narrow stance and it was pain free was pain free so fingers crossed 🤞 because my legs need a lot of catching up to do and for me personally my best leg builder has always been ATG squats and it's been years since I could do them without tweaking something or my knees and ankles aching.

I'm actually going to be squatting two to three times a week for the next few months, NEVER going to failure, 2-3 reps in reserve and lots of volume spread out over the week
 
Smont said:
I squat ATG with a pause the very bottom of the rep till I get to 225, over 225lbs lately I have been box squatting because my knees. But this past Sunday I managed to get 275x5 or 6 atg with a fairly narrow stance and it was pain free was pain free so fingers crossed 🤞 because my legs need a lot of catching up to do and for me personally my best leg builder has always been ATG squats and it's been years since I could do them without tweaking something or my knees and ankles aching.

I'm actually going to be squatting two to three times a week for the next few months, NEVER going to failure, 2-3 reps in reserve and lots of volume spread out over the week
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impressive! I'm pausing too. ya I don't really go to full failure with squats, but I could use the sissy bars. my squat rack is right by my sliding glass door hope I don't break it lol
 
Smont said:
I squat ATG with a pause the very bottom of the rep till I get to 225, over 225lbs lately I have been box squatting because my knees. But this past Sunday I managed to get 275x5 or 6 atg with a fairly narrow stance and it was pain free was pain free so fingers crossed 🤞 because my legs need a lot of catching up to do and for me personally my best leg builder has always been ATG squats and it's been years since I could do them without tweaking something or my knees and ankles aching.

I'm actually going to be squatting two to three times a week for the next few months, NEVER going to failure, 2-3 reps in reserve and lots of volume spread out over the week
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Been here, done this with a 5X5 type setup. Even with very light weights not going to failure, it can become pretty brutally painful as the stress accumulates. At least for me. But I am also pretty prone to DOMS maybe.
 
Past parallel, the biggest increase in recruitment is actually the glutes. ATG squatting is one of the best ways to build a fatter ass, besides isolation work for it.

Try frontsquats too if you are looking for bigger thighs, especially quads. They really hit mine.
 
Try taking a bar and squatting atg, then come up half way to a seated position and back down. Only doing the lower half of the rep. I'm going to be incorporating those pretty soon after my current progress starts to stall.

I did it today as part of my warm up and without a doubt I can tell if I can build some strength in that lower Portion of the rep range it's going to make a huge difference in My overall squat strength. I feel like it's going to be really good for mobility, balance and strength out of the hole obviously.
 
Hyde said:
Past parallel, the biggest increase in recruitment is actually the glutes. ATG squatting is one of the best ways to build a fatter ass, besides isolation work for it.

Try frontsquats too if you are looking for bigger thighs, especially quads. They really hit mine.
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I think there is evidence on both sides of this stating full ROM and abbreviated ROM has benefits. What I will say though, is that if you're trying to build real-world usable strength and health, full ROM can be great -regardless of how it makes you look. It does probably depend on your goals though.
 
I would just add the caveat that if something doesn’t feel right or move naturally don’t force it.

I’m actually exactly where @Smont is. Just was doing sets of 275 for 5 for the first time in a while pain free. Feels good…but when powerlifting I think my journal had that at like 15-16 reps haha.

Getting old trying to feel young again
 
Yes sir, heres a squat video for you to enjoy with some variety:

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HIT4ME said:
I think there is evidence on both sides of this stating full ROM and abbreviated ROM has benefits. What I will say though, is that if you're trying to build real-world usable strength and health, full ROM can be great -regardless of how it makes you look. It does probably depend on your goals though.
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I actually do not believe in squatting ATG - beyond the specific hypertrophy goals I mentioned, or if someone is training weightlifting/CrossFit where full clean & snatches are competitive lifts. If someone is looking for overall size and strength, or competing in powerlifting, the greater loads manageable by only squatting to parallel yield a greater overall return. And I can appreciate the argument for sport, military, & even bodybuilding for squatting higher - based on the individual’s needs. (opinion)

Resolve’s previous post quoted below here directly shows what I was saying about ATG fiber recruitment. (fact)

Resolve10 said:
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TLDR full rom equaled more growth especially in the glutes and the adductors.
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Hyde said:
I actually do not believe in squatting ATG - beyond the specific hypertrophy goals I mentioned, or if someone is training weightlifting/CrossFit where full clean & snatches are competitive lifts. If someone is looking for overall size and strength, or competing in powerlifting, the greater loads manageable by only squatting to parallel yield a greater overall return. And I can appreciate the argument for sport, military, & even bodybuilding for squatting higher - based on the individual’s needs. (opinion)

Resolve’s previous post quoted below here directly shows what I was saying about ATG fiber recruitment. (fact)
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I agree with much of what your saying and I may not be clear enough. Yes - ATG will build a fatter ass. But if you don't care about aesthetics and care more about being able to lift heavy **** in your daily life (like moving that couch or picking up the Amazon box) - I think it's good to incorporate into your practice. Not everything is about being an athlete or a bodybuilder. Sometimes, you just don't want to fugg yourself up doing stupid everyday shat.

It's not even about lifting the heavy weights either - it's about building the engram so that when you have to squat down to pick something up you move properly without having to think about it. You could do light weight squats ATG to do this, and then modify form under heavier loads if it is suitable to your goals - which for many on this board it probably is.

You're well founded in your thoughts (they are backed by evidence), I was just showing another angle where someone with slightly different goals may want to be sure to incorporate.
 
I did front ATG squats today (thanks @Hyde) and they did feel better than back squats. I tried low and high bar back positions.
 
HIT4ME said:
I agree with much of what your saying and I may not be clear enough. Yes - ATG will build a fatter ass. But if you don't care about aesthetics and care more about being able to lift heavy **** in your daily life (like moving that couch or picking up the Amazon box) - I think it's good to incorporate into your practice. Not everything is about being an athlete or a bodybuilder. Sometimes, you just don't want to fugg yourself up doing stupid everyday shat.

It's not even about lifting the heavy weights either - it's about building the engram so that when you have to squat down to pick something up you move properly without having to think about it. You could do light weight squats ATG to do this, and then modify form under heavier loads if it is suitable to your goals - which for many on this board it probably is.

You're well founded in your thoughts (they are backed by evidence), I was just showing another angle where someone with slightly different goals may want to be sure to incorporate.
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Definitely, always a case for having fundamental movement patterns mastered at a minimum! I always do a bodyweight squat ATG as part of my lower body mobilization to make sure I can move fluidly and properly without requiring further prep on ankles and such.

Kronic said:
I did front ATG squats today (thanks @Hyde) and they did feel better than back squats. I tried low and high bar back positions.
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It’s definitely easier for folks to get deep with the bar in the front rack position, no doubt. I always begin teaching the squat with goblet squats.
 
Smont said:
Try taking a bar and squatting atg, then come up half way to a seated position and back down. Only doing the lower half of the rep. I'm going to be incorporating those pretty soon after my current progress starts to stall.

I did it today as part of my warm up and without a doubt I can tell if I can build some strength in that lower Portion of the rep range it's going to make a huge difference in My overall squat strength. I feel like it's going to be really good for mobility, balance and strength out of the hole obviously.
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Keep us posted on your progress with that! My hips stay tight, of course I can use more stretching, but I like the idea of doing the bottom portion of the squat. It’s basically the equivalent of what rack pulls can do for your deadlift.
 
sammpedd88 said:
Keep us posted on your progress with that! My hips stay tight, of course I can use more stretching, but I like the idea of doing the bottom portion of the squat. It’s basically the equivalent of what rack pulls can do for your deadlift.
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Right now I'm just doing them as part of my warm-ups with very little to no weight, but I'm going to start building on it and when I do I'll make notes of it. I've got a training log going on actually, it started out with just a bunch of blabbing and occasional workouts being posted but I'm on top of it now. I believe it's just called my fall/winter training log.
 
Smont said:
Right now I'm just doing them as part of my warm-ups with very little to no weight, but I'm going to start building on it and when I do I'll make notes of it. I've got a training log going on actually, it started out with just a bunch of blabbing and occasional workouts being posted but I'm on top of it now. I believe it's just called my fall/winter training log.
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I’ll check it out man…thanks
 
sammpedd88 said:
I’ll check it out man…thanks
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It's Smont fall/winter training log. Saturday will be my next pull + legs workout. I'm training very high frequency at the moment so there will be plenty of times to play around with these. Il try to throw in a couple sets of them after my top set Saturday
 
I’ve never not done ATG squats, been squatting that way for almost 20 years. Also use to compete in weightlifting, so really no other choice. I have actually never done any other squat, never did box squats, parrellel squats, or smith machine. Now that I think about it I’ve never used a machine for legs in my life. It’s just how I learned how to squat but I think it also keeps my posterior chain and hips more mobile in day to day activities/life.
 
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