ATG Squat: How Low Should You Go?

We don’t dare go below knee height. This is a shame because we’re cheating ourselves out of a world of benefits. You should enter the ATG (ass-to-grass) squat.

This deep squat variation, also known as the Asian squat is one where you drop it as low as you can go, literally trying to get your ass down to the grass (or the gym floor). 

In this article, we’ll look at how to unlock deep squats, what benefits ATG squats have for your overall hip and knee mobility, and what risks to be aware of if you’re attempting ATG squats. 

We’ll also go through the distinction between this type of squat and the ATG split squat, which is a part of the knees over toes program (KOT training).  

What is an ATG Squat vs. ATG Split Squat? 

The ATG (ass-to-grass) squat is a deep squat variation emphasizing your full range of motion. 

In this squat variation, you’re aiming to squat as low as possible, ideally until your hamstrings touch your calves.

What’s great about this variation is that it engages more muscles, especially in the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. 

The ATG split squat is a particular movement developed by personal trainer Ben Patrick, aka Knees Over Toes Guy. 

This movement might look more like a lunge to you than a squat. But split squats vs. lunges are significantly different in how they’re performed. 

A lunge is dynamic and simulates a walking motion since you step your front foot back into place after lunging forward. 

Split squats are more static in that you stay in your staggered stance the whole time during a set without bringing your body weight back over your standing leg. Although you can pulse in place (see this in Ben Patrick’s video), essentially, you’re relegating the work to your front leg in a split squat, while the back legs support. 

The ATG split squat is an example of unilateral training since you actively work one leg at a time. 

How to Do ATG Squat 

Let’s take a closer look at how to perform the ATG squat with perfect form:

1. Set-Up

• Foot Position: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Your toes should point slightly outward (15-30 degrees).
• Bar Placement: If you want to use a barbell for your ATG squat, put it high up on your upper traps (high-bar position) or across your rear deltoids (low-bar position), depending on preference. If you want to know the benefits of each bar position, you can read High vs. Low Bar Squat. 

2. Brace Yourself

• Core Engagement: Tighten your core by bracing like you’re about to take a punch to the gut. It’s an odd visualization, but this helps stabilize your spine.
• Back Position: Keep your back straight and your chest up to brace. Make sure not to round your lower back.

3. Descent 

• Hips: Push your hips slightly back, then begin to bend your knees to descend into the squat.
• Knees: Let your knees track forward in line with your toes. Make sure your knees don't buckle and collapse inward or splay too far outward. In deep squats, your knees will most likely go past your toes, but this is natural in an ATG squat.
• Depth: Lower yourself as deep as possible, ideally until your glutes are close to or touching your calves. Make sure to keep your heels flat on the ground.

4. Reverse

• Drive: Press through your heels and midfoot to stand back up, driving your knees outward to maintain alignment.
• Hips: Push your hips forward as you come up, engaging your glutes.
• Core and Back Position: Keep your chest up and core tight as you ascend to avoid collapsing your torso forward.

Pro-Tips 

• Mobility: If you're struggling to reach full depth, focus on improving ankle, hip, and hamstring mobility. Exercises like calf stretches, hip openers, and hamstring stretches can help.
• Heels Elevated: You can place small plates under your heels to improve depth and posture if ankle mobility is a limiting factor.
• Weight Progression: Start with bodyweight squats or light weights to master the form before adding heavy loads.
• Don’t Forget to Breathe! Inhale as you drop down into your squat and exhale forcefully on the way up. If you’re stuck at the bottom, this will help you properly drive out of your squat. Coordinating your breathing with movement is also a way to generate more power and ease during your workouts. 

Benefits of ATG Squats

Any kind of deep squat where you’re bringing your hips below your knees is a great way to improve hip mobility. Here are other benefits that ATG squat has.

1. Supercharge Your Quads

Compared to other squat variations, the ATG squat puts more muscular emphasis on your quadriceps. 

If you want to grow thicker thighs to get a hockey player or male gymnast body, this is a great way to do it any work toward quad hypertrophy. 

2. Competitive Power

If you’re interested in fitness competitions like Olympic lifting, you’ll need to get familiar with moves like the power clean and the squat clean— both of which rely immensely on the quality of your squats. 

Squats with a better range of motion like you’d see in an ATG squat tend to prepare you better for competition lifts. 

Although you’re not quite squatting as deeply, the dynamic quality that you need to drive your barbell up into a clean from a squat is easy to build with strong knees. 

3. Bulletproof Knees

As long as you don’t have a history of knee injuries, ATG squats can be a great way to build your knee strength. 

There’s a major fitness myth that sending your knees over your toes in any movement automatically puts you in the danger zone for knee injuries. 

Point blank: Yes, you certainly do put yourself at risk if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

But letting your knees pass over your toes during training is not inherently bad. We actually do this every day in functional movements. Think about the shape your body makes when you walk up or down the stairs. Often your knees will surpass your toes. 

It’s a natural position for the body. Adding heavy weight before you’re ready, though, or hyperextending the knees TOO much can lead to injuries. 

Always progress gradually and if you feel pain (not intensity, but sharp pain) STOP. 

4. Better Flexibility

Finally, the ATG squat is a great exercise for improving your flexibility and mobility. 

Because of the extended range of motion, it’s a great way to challenge your body’s flexibility limits. 

Risks and Considerations

Meanwhile, ATG squats is not without risks. Like all other exercises, there are some tips you should know to reduce the risks of this exercise.

Here are the risks:

1. Knee Injuries

If you struggle with knee injuries or mobility problems in your knees, the ATG squat may not be for you. 

Hip pain when squatting or knee pain during squats can be an indicator that the muscles around that particular joint aren’t quite strong enough to progress to the squat variation that you’re working on. 

2. Ankle Pain

The ankles are another joint that can suffer during ATG squats. 

To get your ass to the grass, you need a deeper bend in your ankles than in a parallel squat to counterbalance the extra deep knee bend. 

Common Mistakes

Now that you know the risks, it's time to know the mistakes that you should avoid to prevent injuries:

1. Lifting Too Heavy

Loading too much weight onto your barbell in an ATG squat poses a higher risk of you getting stuck at the bottom. 

Many people can actually rest in deeper squat positions and find it easy for their joints to settle. This makes it harder to drive up and out of than a shallower squat. 

A parallel squat, on the other hand, is less comfortable to sit in so your body usually has an easier time getting back up. You can imagine that this would be made even more difficult while holding a heavy weight.

Fortunately, you can use the Flex Fitness app to track your weight so you don’t overdo it if you’re a newbie to this lift. 

2. Pushing the Knees Beyond Their Limit 

When your knees go past your toes, especially when you drop your ass all the way to the grass, it’s easy to push your body beyond what it’s capable of. 

The issue with having an idealized look for what you should see in an ATG squat is that many people that don’t have enough knee or ankle flexibility will attempt to get their butts all the way to the ground, closing the gap between the thighs and calves. 

Most people who don’t practice this squat type regularly aren’t flexible enough to do this. 

On the other hand, most people can get down into a 90-degree squat. Going too deep too soon will only exhaust or potentially injure your knees. 

3. Incorrect Alignment 

With knees over toes positions like the ATG squat, you’re extra susceptible to letting your knees buckle either inward or outward. 

This can be a dangerous position for your knees and lead to injuries, including: 

• Meniscal Tears
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Knee Injury (ACL Tears)

A lot of the fearmongering that you’ll see about knee injuries is prevalent because when they do happen, knee injuries can be more severe than other sports injuries. 

We often see them put athletes or weightlifters out for long recoveries. Knees are easy to reinjure once you’ve done it once. 

Plus, they factor into most of the actions we perform daily like running, walking, or bending down to pick things up. 

FAQ 

Are ATG squats better for hypertrophy? 

The mobility you develop from ATG squats can be a boost to your overall hypertrophy. 

Look at the Tom Platz leg workout for example. Platz was known for doing very deep knee over toe squats and even a variation where he would hinge his torso back so his knees came almost to the floor! 

While this is an extreme variation, you can see that he clearly wasn’t struggling with hypertrophy. Platz managed to build some massive quads with his squat workout, but more importantly, he build good mobility. 

What’s the difference between an ATG squat and a normal squat?

A normal squat only goes to about 90 degrees (parallel position) or slightly lower. In the ATG squat, you’re going as low as possible for your body. 

This is the main difference. Form for both squat types is pretty much the same in terms of hip, knee and foot alignment. 

Either type of squat can be done weighted or unweighted.  

How low should you go in regular squats? 

As a rule of thumb, getting your hips to just below a parallel position, with your seat dropping below your knees is a good depth for a regular squat. Your thighs and calves should form about a 90-degree angle. 

This is a far shallower squat than an ATG squat 

Are ATG squats bad for your knees? 

There’s a persistent fitness myth that we can’t seem to shake that “the knees should never go past the toes!” 

You’ve probably heard this from many coaches. 

This is the reality: knees are expensive, and while you don’t want to replace one (or both) at a young age, knees over toes squats are perfectly safe for most people. 

If you don’t have any known knee problems and if sending your knees over your toes doesn’t hurt, you can continue to do deeper ATG squats. 

In Summary

In the deep ATG squat variation, you are literally trying to get your ass down to the grass (or the gym floor). This squat should work your maximum range of motion. 

Many advanced squatters can actually get the backs of their thighs to touch their calves. 

This is different from the ATG split squat, a one-legged exercise developed by trainer Ben Patrick as part of his knees over toes training program. 

ATG squats can help you build bigger quads, increase flexibility in your hips, knees, and ankles and prepare you for competition lifts. On the downside, you should skip this squat variation if you have severe knee injuries or pain. It may end up aggravating your joints if you have a history of knee problems. 

Squat with a spotter if you want to try this variation. Because of its depth, it can be harder to bail if you need to. It’s a good idea to be mindful of the weight you’re using too, since this squat can be a bit more difficult.