Oh dear, bad deadlift and squat advice?

[jago25_98]

Yesterday I was doing my usual squats when a guy gingerly said to me

"I'm not sure you might wanna be doing that"
"I hear the knees going in front of your toes can be bad for your knees"

I always go right to the very bottom. Haven't had any problems so far so I wanted to see what the gym guy said. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mitchsquatdsl.rm

He showed me a much easier squat, going down only so far as a 90 degree knee-bend. It didn't feel as satisfying. He also tipped getting my heals on a plank of wood which was interesting. He said to keep my knees behind my toes, so I was sticking my butt out more to avoid falling backwards.

Before my squat involved locking the back out and a >40 degree back angle. Now he was suggesting:

- letting the back arch in the movement
- sticking the butt out more
- leaning forward more to 45 degrees as part of the movement

Seemed like dodgy advise to me. Some of it seemed right but hmmm...

While he was there I asked about deadlifts - something I know I have trouble with; so much so I had onnly been using sumo until now. My technique with sumo I think is ok, but I can lose form and bring my back in if I'm not careful as I get tired.

While I saw him demonstrating what looked like good form he suggested as I did it to get my butt out and up more - bringing my back into play, something I had been careful to avoid with sumo.


Anyway, we've got a better gym slightly out of town with an ex-fitness winner running it so I'll see what he says, and search for vids too. In the mean-time, what do you guys say?

[Bod]

I've lifted this straight from AnimalMasses Post What I believe about training...

"Squat at least below parallel every time. Are you kidding me? I can’t believe some people are still quarter squatting and saying that riding a squat all the way to the ground is bad for your knees. Learn the facts. Stopping at or above parallel puts much more strain on your knees than going ass to grass. Plus going all the way down in an Olympic style back squat will put more mass on you than any other exercise. Period."

I'm not just quoting him, I believe in what he's saying so am more than happy to pass on his word rather than just presume he's right 'and say '...i've heard that.....'

Besides, in your post you mentioned that you were shown an 'Easier Squat'....getting big shouldn't be easy!! Hopefully your new local gym should give you some better advice!

[AnimalMass]

Well, I agree with what Bod said. LOL

Also, on the deadlifts, sumo deadlifting is not real deadlifting. It has some merit, but I wouldn't really use it much at all unless I was competing at powerlifting and pulling sumo. It can be a good assistance exercise for your hips, hamstrings, and glutes but pulling conventional (and especially of standing on a 2-3" box or plate) will induce much more strength and size gains overall.

A conventional deadlift works almost every sinlge muscle group in your body, especially your back, hamstrings, and glutes. With sumo, the only real back work you're getting is in the isometric hold.

Matt