Nordic...you're so sweet! I just want a great ass thus the interest in any exercise that will help me achieve it. What's your excuse?
As somebody else suggested, it would be a good idea to check that other area of the forum. I've read that you shouldn't bend the knee more than 90 degrees, and that you should keep your heels on the floor. btw, I've done simple routines that incorporate body-weight-only squats for years. I think it's a great exercise.
Ahhhhhhh! You have a cute lil ass there Lily. You got that by doing squats huh? :love: Imagine what you'd have if you did push-ups.
The 90 degree angle is where your joints suffer the most tension in the squat. So I ask you, Why would you want to stop your momentum at that point and drive yourself out of it? It's dangerous to do squats like this. Ass to grass if possible, is the way to go on squats. Besides. When you were being formed in the womb your joints were fused in the fetal position so most peoples knees should be able to take it. Usually it's the muscles that can't take it.
ATG squats should not be dangerous provided you are well versed in the form. If an individual is squatting with weight, I would say that a bigger safety concern with regard to ATG squats would be spinal injuries. This is not because the exercise is intrinsically dangerous to the spine, but rather because most people lack the knowledge to try to correct the posterior pelvic tilt that results from lack of mobility at the bottom of the squat position. Obviously the OP is not squatting with weight, so spinal injuries are not much of an issue, but I suspect people are far too cavalier in general with recommending squats. The squat is a phenomenal movement but people need to understand that they should absolutely not be squatting with weight without a very solid understanding of the movement, and the mobility to match it.
I always liked Matt Furey's response to the people that criticise squating past 90 degrees. I'm paraphrasing here but... "If squating past 90 degrees is bad for the knees then half the world is damaging their knees everytime they have a dump" (because many millions of people squat in this way when going to the toilet). Many people also squat this way when eating, working and tending children etc.
