How does one really know if they are one inch below parallel?

[Plato209]

Hello Mr. Rippetoe,

I am now two months into SS and am having a lot of trouble figuring out when I am about one inch below parallel in a squat.

After reading the book my initial form was acceptable, since it said all that I needed to do was go below parallel, I just aimed for somewhere around ATG and progressed that way. But then after reading more of your articles and Q&As here I found out that I should be aiming for my hip joint to be parallel to the top of my patella (I go one inch lower to be safe), since going further down reduces the maximum amount of weight I can lift and prevents a helpful tight bounce.

My problem is that I have no sense of when I actually hit that exact point 1" below parallel, so I resort to finding that position with an empty bar and then use the mirror in front of me at my gym to find some sort of cue I can use (like I see my butt go just below the bench behind me in the mirror). The problems with this are that:

1. I have the tendency to lean forward to reach that cue earlier; hurting back safety and making a little moment arm with the bar. I am trying to correct this.

2. Trying to concentrate on hitting that cue while maintaining the back angle is resulting in an inconsistent tight bounce at the bottom.

3. Looking a the bottom of the mirror instead of 6' in front of me might be affecting my hip drive.

How have you dealt with this issue in the past? Should one just know when they hit that point; and may I just have bad kinesthetic sense? Or maybe am I just going too advanced with my form too soon, and would have eventually have hit that perfect level with only your stated guidelines of just going below parallel?

I fear that worst case scenario is I will have to get a home gym and set up a camera with an monitor on the floor 6' in front of me or put some flexible object below me that cues me when I hit that position. Sorry for the length of this, I searched around and have not found any other solution.

[Viking Metal]

Kinesthetic awareness is how. Do an air squat and watch the corner of your hip, then memorize how it feels when you cross that plane, once you've figured that out its just a matter of repetition and being honest with yourself.

[Plato209]

Thanks. I guess I will just have to hammer this point into my body for the next few months until it learns on its own. It is just very hard compared to the rest of the exercises that have a clear top and bottom point of extension, whereas here I am trying to not only hit a specific 1" level in the dark, but I am trying to tighten my muscles beforehand and bounce from this position too, all while keeping my back angle constant. Also my greatest fear is that I might accidentally not go below parallel and not count the rep. I can't wait until this hell is over.

[Corrie]

Thanks. I guess I will just have to hammer this point into my body for the next few months until it learns on its own. It is just very hard compared to the rest of the exercises that have a clear top and bottom point of extension, whereas here I am trying to not only hit a specific 1" level in the dark, but I am trying to tighten my muscles beforehand and bounce from this position too, all while keeping my back angle constant. Also my greatest fear is that I might accidentally not go below parallel and not count the rep. I can't wait until this hell is over.

Either get a friend/coach who can audibly cue you when you hit parallel or video as many sets as you can and watch them after each set and adjust.

Don't worry about missing a rep because it was slightly high, it's not that big of a deal. Just go for depth each time, do your best to monitor it and adjust. Don't overthink it!

[tallison]

Thanks. "...hammer this point into my body..." "...my greatest fear..." "...can't wait until this hell is over..."

Oddly the point you are making about judging "below parallel" is a reasonable one and you are quite articulate in expressing the problem, but then you just kind of go off the rails. The kind of language that you use in your last post would seem to indicate a serious loss of perspective on the whole matter. OK, you take your training seriously - good, but, dude, nothing about learning to do it right should ever really qualify as "hell" or rank amongst your "greatest fears". My advice would be to seriously take it down a notch, re-read the material Coach Rip has made available on the subject and get a second pair of eyes to offer you some feedback.

Someone correct me, if I'm wrong, but this is the sort of thing even seasoned lifters have to keep an eye on with respect to their form because it can drift. If you keep at it, you will develop a feel for it, but you will always need a way of checking and adjusting.

[Tamara Reynolds]

If you were squatting fine before, why don't you just go back to that instead of being all traumatized about it?

Also, the hell is never over. Unless you plan to quit squatting at some point, and then you should just give up on life anyway.

[Plato209]

According to Rip I wasn't squatting fine before, as he says ATGs are inferior since they are inconsistent, do not allow maximum squat weight, and hamper the tight bounce at the bottom, further reducing maximum squat weight. So if Rip considers just below parallel and no further to be the best level for consistent form and maximum squat weight, then I will aim for that.

Also no trauma bro; hell is merely not knowing where I am nor why I can't naturally feel it (now guessing inexperience). My actual squats and the rest of my lifts are as cool and sweet as some Pots de Crème au Chocolat. I could enjoy them forever.

[Tamara Reynolds]

According to Rip I wasn't squatting fine before, as he says ATGs are inferior since they are inconsistent, do not allow maximum squat weight, and hamper the tight bounce at the bottom, further reducing maximum squat weight. So if Rip considers just below parallel and no further to be the best level for consistent form and maximum squat weight, then I will aim for that.

Also no trauma girl; hell is merely not knowing where I am nor why I can't naturally feel it (now guessing inexperience). My actual squats and the rest of my lifts are as cool and sweet as some Pots de Crème au Chocolat. I could enjoy them forever.

Very few people who think they are squatting ATG are actually squatting ATG. Most people could benefit from a little more depth because no one likes to go deeper as the bar gets heavier. It's not easy to squat ATG low bar.

There isn't a separate tightening of your muscles to get the bounce. You stay tight throughout the rep, and the bounce happens automatically when you get the appropriate depth. It might not be easy to feel when you DON'T get it right, but you will know when you DO. If you descend and try to feel for the bounce, then it's just not going to happen.

You just need to video your sets, and that will eventually solve the problem.

Fixed that last part for you.

[Spoon]

hi i had this same problem. what fixed it for me was suck up my ego and drop the weight. i noticed as i progressed with the squat i was slowly
going above parallel. i started getting coached and what worked for me was to alternate some box squats to get way below parallel. i used a very
light weight and did the normal progression. i can now go below parallel with weights i could not do before.

may not fit in the SS protocol but i think that box squats and the higher bench squats has really helped me in my squats.