To squat or not to squat????

Just found this very interesting article on Juice Performance, my comment........I agree!!!!!
Techie Tips - What’s the Score on Squats?
There is a lot on confusion nowadays about the squat exercise. And I’m not just talking about clients. I have continual discussions with Instructors and Personal Trainers on the courses I teach about the depth and technique for squats. This confusion stems from having an industry that is constantly progressing and evaluating current thinking on topics like ‘fat burning’, ‘low-CHO diets’, ‘aerobic exercise for fat loss’ and the continual question…. Is this Functional?The Question of Squatting is one of these little gems. Should I squat? Should I keep my knees back? Should I go down to 90 degrees or parallel with the floor? Mummy why’s that sweaty man doing Squats going ass-to-the-grass (aka Full Squat)? Let me lay out my cards from the start… I’m a big fan of Full Squats (definition – where an athlete controls the application of gravity in a sitting position, until the distal hamstrings make contact with the proximal calves). So should everyone be full squatting with identical technique every time they perform a sitting action… No. Why? It depends on a multitude of factors - ahhhh ‘the grey area’ of a topic. Students hate grey areas; they want it to be black and white, right and wrong, yin and yang etc. Unfortunately that isn’t the case with a lot of things. Should I be following a low-CHO diet? – well it depends. How much aerobic training should I be doing each week? – well it depends. Should I stay with my wife or go on a road-trip around Australia? – well it depends. As I said – grey area. With squatting it would come down to factors like exercise variation, ROM, anthropometrics, desired outcomes, stability, sport and style. Squatting will never be a one-cap fits all exercise.So what’s the issue with Full Squats? The reasons people seem so scared of this exercise is because of articles and books written in the 1960s by an Doctor called Karl Klein. He proposed that Full or Deep squats could increase knee instability, promote acute knee injuries and predispose athletes to long-term knee degeneration. Whoe, sounds serious! Well they are valid concerns, however Klein seems to be the only researcher that proved these claims. A comprehensive literature review by the NSCA in 1991 demonstrated that the ‘research has indicated that the squatting motion has no detrimental effect on medial and lateral knee stability, rotational stability or anterior and posterior knee stability’. Many authors question the reliability of Klein’s measurements. Unfortunately every muppet that had an issue with squatting jumped on the bandwagon, chastising anyone who continued to use a classic exercise within their routine. This opinion continues today with many training providers and ‘knowledgeable’ educators teaching their students to undertake only half squats and/or restrictive knee squats. These fresh-faced students nod and repeat parrot-fashion, unaware that the advice they are being given is out-dated. Claims of ‘That’s not what I was taught when I did my course’ are heard throughout the land. The ability to critically evaluate something is a moderate to higher plane of learning rather than simple parrot-fashion reproduction statements, which are the very basic level of learning (where do you fit?). For anyone that’s screaming it’s bad for your knees, they should think about going on holiday. I would advise Thailand, Indonesia… indeed any South-East Asia, African or Australisian country. Why? Well you will see dozens, no hundreds, no maybe even thousands of men, women and children sat for hours in a full squat position, undertaking tasks such as food preparation, reading or even (if you’re lucky) defecating! No knee problems, no back problems, pretty good postures and good ROM. Interesting. Maybe if the likes of Sir John Harington and Thomas Crapper hadn’t invented and popularised the flush toilet, we would all have adopted the full squat position once or more per day, and may (repeat ‘may’) not have some of the postural and flexibility issues we encounter today in the UK and western world.As a concluding comment for those of you about to commence squatting as a part of your conditioning programme. I would advise mastering the bodyweight full squat, with a ‘natural’ technique, nit just a technique you were ‘taught on your course’. Seek a knowledgeable trainer who can assess and correct and technical flaws and restrictions. These trainers are usually the one’s who appreciate that learning only starts when you finish your level 2 or level 3 course, and will spend anywhere between 5 and 10hrs a week (yes a week) on improving their own knowledge. Good luck and happy squatting.