Should You Squat Below Parallel?

I’m coming from a functional fitness perspective with a vast background in multiple sports. I put a lot of emphasis on overall mobility and range of motion. As adults, many of us have lost a lot of mobility over the years from (1) lack of use, and (2) sedentary work and lifestyles. As the saying goes “if you don’t use it you lose it.” For any number of reasons maybe you can’t comfortably squat and reach parallel or below. The squat is a fundamental human movement. Watch a child – they have an innate ability to sit ass-to-grass.

I’m going to be very general here… everyone should be able to do a bodyweight/air squat to full depth - below parallel. If you’re unable to then there are issues needing to be addressed. Parallel meaning my thighs are parallel to the floor and full depth is hip crease below knees. Full squats are not unsafe. A common argument against full squats is risk to the knees. Not to get boring and technical here but a common injury in sports is to the ACL ligament in the knee. Forces to the ACL when squatting actually significantly decrease the lower you squat. “The stress to the ACL during a squat is actually highest during the first 4 inches of the squat descent.” (Dr. Aaron Horschig, Squat University).

Sport specific training may limit or eliminate full depth squats from their programming because it doesn’t necessarily apply to movement in their sport. For instance, a basketball player is not going to do a full squat in order to rebound. These athletes aren’t training for optimal health or maximal strength gains but rather high performance in their specific sport. The general population should not be training like that; and a full depth squat will in fact build greater overall muscle utilizing the full range of motion which better translates to everyday life than any quarter or half squat.

Don’t let flexibility be confused with mobility. While flexibility is the ability for muscles to stretch or lengthen, mobility is ability of a joint to move under control through a range of motion. If you always train to a limited range of motion the problem is that the strength you gain is only within that range. What happens is that when you go outside of that range of motion you lose strength, connection, and mobility. This can greatly increase risk of injury doing everyday activities. Would you rather risk having chronic back pain and immobile hips by the time you’re 30-40 because you never squatted below parallel? Whether you’re a body builder, Olympic weightlifter, or the average gym goer if you want better overall results then you want to increase overall range of motion. It’s never too late to start working to improve your mobility! Training to maintain proper form and tension through full ranges of motion takes discipline… and coaching. Learn to own it.

There are so many health and longevity benefits to learning how to squat properly; it’s one of the greatest functional movements. The process in learning how to properly squat under control while working on hip and ankle mobility will result in deeper squats, building more muscle with less effort, and can even reduce or eliminate other issues like chronic back pain.