Ultimate World Meet Frank Yang
April 2, 2009
Frank is like a car crash. Some times you don’t want to look , but you just have to. Beyond his crazy in-gym and out-of-gym antics, Frank is a very gifted athlete. He trains like a mad man, and gets mad man results. Check out his training highlight reel.
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Ok, that man is a machine. However, I disagree with going that low on squats. Anything past 90 degrees is just hell on your knees and not very beneficial.
No, it isn’t. Basic biomechanics tells us that the load in an above-parallel squat causes an anterior shearing force into the knee, whereas it is instead concentrated directly into the hips in a full squat.
The only below-parallel situation in which your knees are intrinsically at risk is one in which the hamstrings and calves are pressing together and, by proxy, forcing the shin and femur to lever away from each other and strain the knee ligaments.
Sorry Mike, but that is simply not true. If I remember correctly, the knee is under the most stress when it is at a 90 degree angle. And by going down to the point where the hip is below the knee (i.e. past parallel), you recruit much more of the hamstrings and the hips into the movement. This is a good thing.
David – You forgot the glutes, calves, and sometimes the abductors (depending on how wide the squat is).
Mike – Here is an excerpt from Kelly Baggett’s Vertical Jump Bible on full squats. I couldn’t say it any better.
“A full squat fully activates the muscles of the quadriceps and also strongly engages the hamstrings, glutes, and even calves. Not only does this build strength, but it also keeps the lower body in developmental balance and helps prevent knee injuries and muscle strains. A ¼ squat doesn’t strengthen the muscles of the posterior chain nearly as well and also puts a lot of stress on the tendons of the knee. However, there is a time when the ¼ squat can be effective. That is after a base of strength has been developed. The ¼ squat can then be used for short periods for further enhance strength development. If I could throw out one piece of advice to every young athlete in the world it would be, “Do squats and do them full and deep!”
By recruiting this other major muscle groups you can improve the strength and health of your knees.
I agree about the full squats. Good stuff.
However, this guy is rounding the hell out of his back when he does them, which is bad news. He’s either got too much weight, his hips aren’t flexible enough to go as deep as he’s going, or both. If you can’t keep your back flat when you’re squatting, it’s time to lighten up and stretch your hips. Unless you *like* back injuries.
Quibbling,
MC
MC
I agree. I think some of those are max effort lifts as well so the a slightly rounded back it be expected when you are pushing your limits, but this shouldn’t be standard practice when lifting.
Good point about the glutes, calves and abductors Matt. However, I don’t think there is ever a reason to accept poor form, regardless of how much weight you are lifting. Some of those squats look horrendous. That said though, Frank is clearly committed, and talented as you say. And everyone should take something from his level of intensity. I only wish I could get myself that amped up when I lift (I do try though).
Cheers,
Dave.
A little rounded back is OK if you have enough lower back strength.
To get more flexible hips, the best things are deepest squats and split squats.
Splitsquat are the best exercise because they activating hamstrings full
and so you dont tend to be extremly quad dominant like near everyone who does to much squats. But the quad dominant guys are the guys with the highest standing vertical for sure i think.