ATG vs Parallel squat?

[Hakkaa]

Hey guys, was just wondering if there are any difference between the two? Like does ATG activates more muscles, or does it put more emphasize on certain muscle groups?
Would like to try ATG, but there are times where i felt discomfort at my knee area, which is stopping me from going more than my usual below parallel squats.


Off topic:
Recently started 5 x 5, and was suppose to hit the gym today. But am still at work now, so am most likely gonna miss today's session.
Is it ok if i were to hit the gym tomorrow, and then my last session for the week on friday? Two consecutive days just for this week.
The weights i'm using right now ain't that heavy as i just started 5 x 5, so i dropped my weight by about 40% of my usual max when i just started.

 

[Bel.SG]

I used to only do ATG squat but realized that ATG requires a lot more than just leg power, a strong core/hip is require too (not really sure which lol but its a weakness for me). Also if you have inflexible ankles it can really suck. I train mainly for power and I go as low as I can without getting too deep where i lose tension.
I do still squat really low but i feel that it is needed as i don't wanna wuss out during a heavier lift and not hit depth.

As for squatting to parallel most gym goers think they are going parallel but barely even squatted the weight, the bare minimum is to have your hip joint lower than your knee joint and not aiming for your hammys to be parallel to the ground (well most don't even do that).

Many people start out with inflexibilities, just try to tweak your depth every session and not try to go mainly for reps or weight, it should be more beneficial to your joints in the long run.
Quarter, half reps can easily mess up your joints as you are moving in a small range of motion (causing more wear and tear with more reps as they are easier) and thinking that you are strong enough most will just load up on the weights, also if you aren't careful and go beyond your range you can easily fail the lift and accidents may happen.

As for your programming, when life hits you can't escape it. Doing back to back isn't a big issue just try to gauge yourself on the 2nd session, if you are not feeling up to it drop your weight by 5-15% and start your workout, you could always tweak between sets too.

 

[Hakkaa]

Thanks bel, i think you're right.
Might have been too focused on my form, that i neglected in other stuffs.

Anyway, are you saying one of the reason my knees could be hurting, could be due to me only doing half reps? I think i would take a video of myself squatting and check out my form on my next squatting session.

 

[galapogos]

If you are able to, ATG does activate more muscles in the glutes and hamstrings, which spares the knees. Contrary to what many think, the stress on the knee joint is the highest when the angle at the knee is ~90deg, which is about a parallel squat.

With that said, not everyone can go ATG, and even among those that can, few can do it without some sort of compensation pattern, the most common of which is lumbar flexion aka the "butt wink". If you aren't ready to do ATG, don't force it. Work towards it be gaining hip and ankle mobility, and make changes such as doing goblet/front squats instead of back squats, or wearing lifting shoes with a higher heel, or even place 2 small plates on your heel to help elevate it.

 

[Bel.SG]

Thanks bel, i think you're right.
Might have been too focused on my form, that i neglected in other stuffs.

Anyway, are you saying one of the reason my knees could be hurting, could be due to me only doing half reps? I think i would take a video of myself squatting and check out my form on my next squatting session.

Lol nope, not saying that u arent doing proper depth, it may be due to that or just too much volume in general. Sorry for not addressing that i was going on writing my essay about skwats.. A form video would be great try doing videos at 3 different weight range and you can try to spot your weaknesses. maybe one at 20-30% one at 45-55% and another at 80%+. Like i said previously it may just be the added volume as you had stated you just recently changed to 5x5.

Don't know if this helps but it seems to make sense to me, had to dig it up as i just barely remembered the pictures in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxyMgDp3xf0

 

[Hakkaa]

Thanks guys, kind of have an idea what i may be doing wrong.
Gonna try it and see if i still have any discomfort at my knee area.

Cheers!

And at the part where gala mentioned about squatting with raised heels, what benefits would one get from doing so? Seen some people doing it.
Searched around the net a little, and they said that it helps the individual to squat lower, and have a better posture?

 

[Bel.SG]

Thanks guys, kind of have an idea what i may be doing wrong.
Gonna try it and see if i still have any discomfort at my knee area.

Cheers!

And at the part where gala mentioned about squatting with raised heels, what benefits would one get from doing so? Seen some people doing it.
Searched around the net a little, and they said that it helps the individual to squat lower, and have a better posture?

Watch this when you have the time
How To Squat BONUS: What shoes to wear when squatting - YouTube

 

[Hakkaa]

Watch this when you have the time
How To Squat BONUS: What shoes to wear when squatting - YouTube

Thanks!
Now i understand what's the raised heel squats for.

 

[samurai_jacked]

Here's a nice article about it.

 

[pokkacoffee]

 

[Hakkaa]

Thanks both!

I like watching athlean-X's videos, real informative and helped me out alot when i first started doing compound exercises.

 

[kitsura]

This is a good article on squat depth and the types of muscles it affects.
How does squat depth affect how hard the various leg muscles are working? | Strength & Conditioning Research

Also depending on femur bones it could also affect squat depth and it's not restricted to hip flexibility alone. Squats and Your Sex Life » DeanSomerset.com

 

[Hakkaa]

Just got back from gym, i am definitely not squatting deep enough. So i lessened my weights to allow myself to squat deeper. After 5 sets of 5, i'm totally drained, and no discomfort at my knees at all.
Probably would have screwed up my knees if i continue to add on the weights.

Thanks again guys!

 

[Bel.SG]

Just got back from gym, i am definitely not squatting deep enough. So i lessened my weights to allow myself to squat deeper. After 5 sets of 5, i'm totally drained, and no discomfort at my knees at all.
Probably would have screwed up my knees if i continue to add on the weights.

Thanks again guys!

Great to hear that, still doing those form check vids?

 

[galapogos]

Just got back from gym, i am definitely not squatting deep enough. So i lessened my weights to allow myself to squat deeper. After 5 sets of 5, i'm totally drained, and no discomfort at my knees at all.
Probably would have screwed up my knees if i continue to add on the weights.

Thanks again guys!

Remember that while squatting deep is great, don't force it if you're not able to do it properly.

 

[Hakkaa]

@kitsura
Thanks for the links! Love the deansomerset's post

@Bel
Got a friend to help me spot my mistake today, totally forgotten about taking i vid I'll do that the next session!

@Gala
I'll keep that in mind! I'll post the vid on my squats the next session, and seek advice from the peeps here again!

 

[Hakkaa]

My attempt on taking a proper video.

Am i doing it right? I seldom use the camera and video function of my phone...

Anyway it seems that i have the butt wink problem that were mentioned earlier on. And also, the depth of my squats seems to be back to what i was doing previously. Oh my god someone please kill me...
Is that why i am not able to carry as much weights even though i have been trying for a month?

I hope you guys weren't anticipating for video where i am doing squats while naked. If not i am sorry to disappoint.

 

[Bel.SG]

Firstly, how much of ur 1rm was that, u seem to be struggling with it..
For the squat itself, didn't hit depth on any or most reps (sorry to bust ur bubbles)
on the first few reps ur knees started buckling in, seems like a weakness probably due to flexibility or the lack hitting that depth (as u may be just trying to hit a lower depth than previous trainings). Can't really comment much more from that angle.
For ur unrack maybe try placing the weight at a lower height so you can half squat it out for a tighter position.

Addition: may be hard to spot but ur arms seem to be trembling, mess around with the grip width to get a better grip, it may be too wide for you. Many would swear by elbows under the bar but i've seen many have it like urs slightly out and it works well for them so i think its fine.

 

[Hakkaa]

Firstly, how much of ur 1rm was that, u seem to be struggling with it..
For the squat itself, didn't hit depth on any or most reps (sorry to bust ur bubbles)
on the first few reps ur knees started buckling in, seems like a weakness probably due to flexibility or the lack hitting that depth (as u may be just trying to hit a lower depth than previous trainings). Can't really comment much more from that angle.
For ur unrack maybe try placing the weight at a lower height so you can half squat it out for a tighter position.

Addition: may be hard to spot but ur arms seem to be trembling, mess around with the grip width to get a better grip, it may be too wide for you. Many would swear by elbows under the bar but i've seen many have it like urs slightly out and it works well for them so i think its fine.

I really couldn't say how much of my 1RM was that, since the previous squats was all higher than this.
I felt weak when attempting to squat lower than i am before. Is there anyway to tackle this problem?
Thanks for the tips on unracking, felt really weird when doing so, will try your advice next time.

Should i lower the weight, or just go ahead and squats with the bar first, and then slowly work my way up?

 

[liftstrong]

Just lower the weight, aim for a consistent depth every time and set a "new" max as the "higher" squats shouldn't be done anymore.