How Deep Do You Need To Squat?

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

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Are deep squats necessary?

You will have heard and seen all over the internet on forums, meme’s or just been told it by friends, coworkers or even onlookers in the gym that squatting deep is necessary.

Not only will you have been told it s necessary, you will have been told or read that unless you squat deep you are a pussy.

However, is it a case of having to squat “ass to grass” to benefit, or is it more to do with genetics and the restrictions and movements allowed by your body type?

In fact, can we get rid of the deep squat altogether? Is it even necessary to perform this movement which seems to be lauded by keyboard warriors and macho men the world over?

Region

You may be interested to hear that those who hail from Poland and the surrounding regions have a shallow hip displacement and can therefore squat much deeper than people who originate from Scotland.

However, the deep sockets that are commonly found in people from the North of Great Britain do offer great walking and rotational power but that does not translate to power required when you hit the lowest point of the deep squat.

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Do we have to deep squat?

Well actually, it is down to genetics…

Those from either French or Celtic populations now have the highest rate of Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) following yoga.

This is because they do not have the full range of movement and are not able to translate power to a position that represents the deep squat position.

Your genetics and the region of ancestry stipulates whether or not you can deep squat, not a person typing on a keyboard and commenting on your range of movement who is sat halfway around the world and does not know you or your heritage.

Therefore, it is not entirely necessary to deep squat, and in some cases, it is not possible anyway and cannot be corrected.