Squat Depth

I hear lots of people always asking, "How high/low should my box squat box be?", or "If I'm free squatting, how deep should I squat?"

First of all, you need to be aware of what is legal depth for the federation you lift in (if you compete). If you don't compete, know that a "good" squat is parallel, meaning top of the thigh at the hip is even with the top of the knee. For the athletes I work with, I'm not a huge stickler for squat depth. If someone is obviously too high, then we correct it. But we're not judging a powerlifting meet, so if their box height is a 1/2 inch high, I'm not going to go berserk over it. After all, athletes are athletes, not powerlifters. So my main concern is squat technique and getting them stronger.

Having said that, your training should be based around that squat height. Sometimes squatting lower, sometimes higher. The majority of our max effort training consists of using a box that is lower than or at parallel. However, we will do some "overload" type training that would allow us to use a heavier weight be anywhere from 1-4 inches above parallel.

If you are using dynamic squats, you should always be at parallel or one inch below. Keep this consistant.