NO ONE CARES HOW DEEP YOU CAN SQUAT

Above all else, the thing that is the most important in regards to building size and strength is time.  Programming is dandy, technique is neat, nutrition is nifty and intensity is invaluable, but you’re simply not going to get big and strong without putting in some solid years of lifting.  And, of course, this is an affront to our instant gratification society.  We want results NOW, we want accolades NOW, we want to be noticed for our effort NOW.

It is from this that we now witness the phenomenon among junior trainees of prioritizing results that can be achieved quickly over those that require time.  Enter: mobility. 

Not illegally though...god, I'm already so burnt out from campaign season

Ah yes, mobility, with its siren’s call to the unaccomplished.  Way back in the era of yesteryear, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and Paul Anderson was drinking their milk, it was assumed that any individual engaged in some manner of athletics already possessed mobility.  This was because, as children, we engaged in “play”, wherein “moved” our bodies through space playing various games and participating in outdoor activities.  This play went on to become sports that were played from elementary through high school, after which time an individual either continued their education through college and ideally played their sport there as well, or they put their mobility to use getting drafted in a war, where they could hop into a foxhole and slit some throats with some impressive displays of mobility.

In our current era of increased childhood lethargy, where one’s entire youth can be summed up by the amount of level 60 characters they possess in World of Warcraft, mobility is a rare commodity.  However, scarcity has been falsely conflated with value, and many trainees have passionately dedicated themselves to the pursuit of achieving the greatest possible mobility they can achieve.

In this photo, who has more mobility, and WHO is about to get a spinning piledriver laid on them?

Why?  Because unlike size and strength, increased mobility can be achieve quickly, yet still impress the unaware and unaccomplished.  Why bother achieving the goal (getting bigger and stronger) when we can instead simply achieve the mechanism that is part of achieving the goal?  When all else fails, simply move the goalpost.

This in turn has created a culture of insanity.  Observe and witness the comments bemoaning squat depth of videos that feature massive and powerful lifters.  The critics fail to realize that the training is clearly working by evidence of the results, and instead believe that the trainee progresses in SPITE of his methods.

In contrast, we have trainees that pride themselves on the depth of their squat.  They squat below parallel, ATG, as low as humanly possible, they “bury that shit”…and are unimpressive.  Their physique is lacking, as is their strength.  They have no actual results to speak of.  Why?  Because strength and size take a significant amount of time to build, and mobility doesn’t.  This is clearly evidence by how quickly they developed the ability to squat “ATG” and how minimal a difference it has made TO their physique.

How do people keep posting this and not realize the implications of it?!

Focusing your time and energy on getting a deeper squat is akin to a high school virgin perfecting their post coital pillow talk: you’re still not getting any.  Meanwhile, do we observe the top athletes in the sport worried about this nonsense? 

Olympic lifters squat deep because they HAVE to.  They are training to perfect the catch of the snatch and clean.  In turn, they squat as deep as they need in order to put themselves in the position to get stronger on these movements.  If a deeper squat equaled a stronger lift, wouldn’t these athletes stand each foot on a box so that they could squat even DEEPER than ATG?  Wouldn’t we simply keep the bar weight the same and increase squat depth as much as possible?

Or perhaps a redesign of the squat shoe is in order

Powerlifters are the only athletes that compete in a sport where the squat IS a judged lift (barring certain “Squatlifts” in strongman, but we’ll get into that).  Surely, if we want to know how to develop the strongest squat, we look to those who are concerned with making the strongest squat, no?  Once again, why is it NOT the case that competitive powerlifters are doing everything possible to increase squat depth?  Why is it that many powerlifters are content to simply squat to the depth required in a competition?  Why are some powerlifters so blasphemous that they even squat ABOVE depth?  Why is it that those powerlifters who make use of Olympic style squats only squat as deep as needed ON these squats?

Strongman competitors have to be strong in a variety of movements…and some don’t even squat.  They can’t even find a place to fit it into the routine.  Some only perform front squats, others low bar powerlifting squats, other high bar squats, there is no consensus, rhyme or reason to be found.  Don’t these Neanderthals KNOW that they should be striving to squat as deep as possible to get the most gains they can out of the movement?  Don’t they realize they are robbing themselves of the limitless potential found in squatting until your hip crease is 4” below the bottom of your shoes?

PSH, weak depth.  Big Z should be ashamed of himself.

And do I really need to bring up bodybuilders and squatting?  Those guys are going to feel pretty silly with their tiny legs when they aren’t squatting as deep as possible.

Dear God, why is it that the only people that seem to care about squatting as deep as possible are the people who AREN’T trying to get as big and strong as possible?  Why is it that the people who need the MOST out of their squats aren’t trying to squat the deepest?  Do the denizens of the internet have some sort of crazy secret that the top athletes in the sport have no idea about?

No

No one cares how deep you can squat.  All that matters are results.  If you’re not getting them, do something different.