Squatting and your Knees

On more than one occasion in the past year, I have overheard other trainers in the various gyms I have worked in and trained mention that they believe squats are bad for the knees. More specifically that "squatting below parallel is bad for the knees."

It's just a bunch of nonsense. So by that rationale, going to the bathroom is "bad?" Most people go below parallel when they go poo. Additionally, I was spending time with my niece (a little over two years old) and nephew (just turned five not too long ago) yesterday and they were able to repeatedly perform a picture perfect squat with no harm to their knees. I don't hear people telling them not to go below parallel.

IMO, what's "bad" for the knees is squatting with a limited range of motion. In this case, I am referring to partial squats (ie: what most people do when you see someone squatting in the gym). Partial squats put ALL the emphasis on the quadriceps and knees, totally neglecting the hamstrings and glutes. To all those people who say that squatting below parallel is bad for the knees, let me ask you a question. Which joint do you think would be able to handle a greater load: the knee or the hip?

Hopefully you answered the latter. By learning to squat the RIGHT way, and with a full ROM, you allow the hips to take more stress OFF the knees, hence saving them. Conversely, I feel that for those people who want full leg development, training with a full ROM only makes sense.

***Side Note: I am NOT referring to powerlifters here, so relax.

In the end I find it comical that many personal trainers will go off on how squatting is so bad for the knees, yet have no issues with using a BOSU ball to teach clients to squat "the right way," which only reinforces atrocious squatting mechanics (ankle eversion, knee valgus, etc) and just makes people weaker in general.