There is continuing debate as to how you should perform barbell squats, some people believe you should half squat whilst others believe you should full squat. I am a big believer in full squats and over the last few years have been performing full squats in my workout routines, I have seen better strength gains in my leg muscles an increased also flexibility. However, some people say you should perform half squats, as full squats are bad for your knees, some also say full squats are bad for the back.

With this in mind I thought I would write a page explaining the differences between full squats and half squats. First though I think you should understand the importance of including barbell squats into your workout routine.

Reasons to Squat

There are many reasons why you should be including squats into your workout routine, below is a list of what I feel are the most beneficial reasons, for a list of 100 reasons to squat checkout EliteLifts.com page

• Mass Builder - Performing barbell squats is a pure mass builder, this compound exercise involves several muscle groups: The quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, back etc, in terms of intensity the barbell squat is up their with deadlifts and I recommend to include it with your workout program if you want to put on size.
• Good For The Knees – Over time, squatting will greatly increase the mobility of your knee joints (if done correctly), this is because the surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons become stronger and protect the knee.
• Growth Hormone – Squatting causes a big release of growth hormone, because squatting is so demanding on the body it has to release a lot of growth hormone to cope with the stress. This will of course apply to other compound exercises, such as deadlift, barbell bench press etc – See a study here on growth hormone release: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12905088
• Strengthens Your Core - Squats provide a high contraction of the core muscles, which will help improve your posture and balance long term.
• Improves Balance & Coordination - When you perform full squats your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus contract, over time the strengthening of these muscles will improve balance in the legs.

Full Squats

Full squats are when you perform the full range of motion, when the hips go at least parallel with the floor (or just below), some people like to go ass to ground (ATG) and that’s fine providing you have the flexibility to do so, if you don’t have the flexibility to go ATG then go as low down as comfortable, as long as its at least parallel.

I think the biggest reason people do not perform full squats is because they believe its bad for the knees, sorry to say but this is wrong, full squats are actually better for the knees than half squats and that’s because full squats provide a full contraction of the hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps muscles, allowing you to drive up to the start position using momentum in the leg muscles and not from the knees.

But don’t just take my word for it, here is a quote regarding full squats from the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NCSA), position paper, 1991:

“The full squat must be considered the cornerstone exercise, because it quickly stimulates overall strength increases in both men and women. Neglecting this exercise retards overall physical development and prevents the athlete from achieving optimal performance. Exercises that use a more complete range of motion at the knee joint may increase rather than decrease knee stability of the medial collateral ligaments and other ligaments.”

Half Squats

Half squats are when you stop before your hips are parallel to the ground. The problem with only performing half a squat is that when you drive back up from the bottom of the movement you are not fully activating the hamstrings and gluteus to lift the weight, therefore the momentum of the weight is stopped by the quadriceps and knees, placing undue stresses and shear forces on the knees.

Secondly, because the hamstrings and glutes are not as involved it causes imbalances between the hamstrings and quadriceps. The hamstrings are supposed to act as the antagonist of the quadriceps during a squat, but because the hips do not go below parallel this never actually happens. So if you were to continue training half squats for a period of time you would begin to see muscle imbalances between your quadriceps and hamstrings, which will also reduce your flexibility.

Here is a quote about half squats from Dr. Mark Rippetoe: Strong enough, Thoughts from thirty years of barbell training, 2007:

“The fundamental misunderstanding here is about what we’re trying to accomplish when we squat. The quadriceps are not the only muscles that are supposed to be involved in the exercise. The hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh attach at the front of the tibia, at the bottom of the knee, wrap around it on both sides and pull back on the knee from below it as they get tight. The adductors connect the groin area of the pelvis to the medial (inside) aspect of the femur, and these muscles also pull back on the knee when they tighten, but from above the knee and toward the inside. Both of these muscle groups tighten from behind the knee as the torso leans forward, the knees travel out to stay parallel to the feet, and the hips reach back of correct depth, balancing the forward pulling stress from the quadriceps and the patellar tendon around the ront of the knee. But they only exert this balancing pull when they are stretched, in the full squat position“

So why would anyone want to perform half squats? Well half squats can be useful for strengthening your legs at the top of the movement and can really improve strength in your thighs. Also if you have a sticking point at the top of the movement half squats can really help with this as you can load the bar with a lot more weight.

Conclusion

Now you have all the facts I hope you will consider performing full squats when you next enter the gym. If you have been performing half squats for a long time or have never squatted before you will need to start light and work your way up.

I was working out in the gym the other day when I noticed a young guy, probably about 18 or so, he was barely resting between his sets and appeared to be lifting quite heavy weights for his size. I spoke with him and asked: “why are you getting minimal rest between your sets?” to which he replied: “Cos im trying to get a good pump so I can build muscle!”.

It amazes me why people get confused by the amount of rest they need between sets, so I created this page to help those looking for the real answer.

So How Much Rest Should You Have?

Lifting weights is demanding on the muscles, bones, nervous system and cardiovascular system, once you have completed a set you need a short rest to recover all of these systems. You may have heard many theories on the amount of rest time required, such as 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 seconds etc, but the amount of rest you need between sets is actually down to you.

That’s right, only you will know how much rest is required between sets, because it will depend on many factors, such as: Age, fitness level, recovery level, time of day, nutrition, energy levels, intensity of the exercise, the exercise performed, room temperature, humidity, your goals etc. All of these and many more factors will determine how much rest is needed between each set.

I know the above doesn’t give you much to go on, but there have been scientific studies showing that rest times of between 60-90 seconds appear to recover up to 90% of your muscles capacity to do the work. So it would appear if you stick to this range as a starting point you can’t go wrong.

Too Little Rest Vs Too Much Rest

You have to remember that too little rest is just as bad as having too much. When you don’t rest enough between sets your muscles will have too much blood and lactic acid in them, this will cause you to fail too early during your set. When you fail too early in a set due to lack of recovery its not your muscles that are failing, its the fact you cant get any more oxygen into the muscle, which means you will not build muscle as effectively as when you are rested.

When you have too much rest your heart rate will have slowed near to its normal pace, also your muscles & joints will have cooled down. When you begin the next set your heart rate will spike and your muscles & joints will have to quickly warm up again, this is bad for the heart and also putting you at a higher risk of injury.

Rest Between Sets For Hypertrophy

If your main goal is hypertrophy (also known as building muscle), you should aim for a long enough rest period so that you can begin the next set to momentary muscular failure, this means you complete the exercise until you physically cannot contract the muscle any more. A typical repetition range for hypertrophy is between 8-12 repetitions for each set.

Rest Between Sets For Endurance

If you are trying to lose weight, increase your cardiovascular or muscular endurance levels, then make sure you get the minimal amount of rest between sets to keep the “pump” going throughout the workout. Doing this will keep your heart rate up and vastly improve your muscular endurance, whilst making your body a calorie burning machine. A typical repetition range for endurance is between 12-20 repetitions for each set.

Rest Between Sets For Strength

If your main goal is to increase your strength you should aim for the maximum optimal rest between sets. The rest time for strength training will be the highest rest time compared to all other training types. A typical repetition range for increasing strength is between 3-5 repetitions for each set.

Pass The Time!

During your rest period you should be taking in some much needed oxygen, I personally find it helps about 10-20 seconds after my set if I just take a few deep breaths, this helps me mentally prepare for the next set. I also drink small sips of water if I feel I need it, I don’t drink water for the sake of drinking water and you shouldnt either. Also I don’t do any stretches between sets, doing so can make you weaker and more prone to injury when you perform the next set, so don’t do it, stretching is for after the entire workout! see my section on the importance of stretching for more info.

Lastly I just want to say that you should not spend your much needed rest time chatting to your friends or browsing the web on your cell phone, as nine times out of ten you will take a longer rest period than needed. Stick to staying focused, if it helps purchase a cheap heart rate monitor with a countdown timer on it, this way you can see your constant heart rate and use the countdown function to give you an idea of your rest times.