Article: Squats: Parallel Or To The Floor?

[The Press]

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[Rwsportsfit]

"Plus, ROM squats reduce stress on the spine."How exactly? Doing a full ROM squat will cause loss in lumbar lordosis, compressing the anterior intervertebral disc under increased load, and to return upright requires greater torque from the spinal erectors to regain a flat back. I'm not against full ROM squats, but if you're working in an 8-12 rep range with expected fatigue on final sets, core muscles tend to fatigue and either you'll want to valsalva and risk the BP increase to add pressure support to brace the spine, or you'll lose the core support and proper back positioning.

 

[SkubaSteve89]

Also, a person's height, or more importantly, the length of their femur, comes into play when describing Range of Motion. Im 6ft 3, and my ROM (well the actual distance travelled throughout the movement instead of the degree of the angle) going parallel would be greater than a guy whos 5ft 3 and doing the same depth. Also, the taller you are, the greater the stress on your knee tendons, (and also causing more of a pronounced pelvis tuck and subsequent back rounding), the deeper you go. I, and many guys who are tall, can attest to this. As a final note, Sumo Squats, like Sumo Deadlifts, are easier on my knees, and other guys who have long legs do not experience knee pain in this stance.