If there was any doubt my glutes and thighs have grown in size since going to the gym, it was proved when I split my shorts doing deep squats the other day! Fortunately I had a spare pair with me and was able to see out the session.

Previously I wrote that weight training for runners really only needs to focus on 1/4 and 1/2 squats – the latter of which are to parallel. The former are useful for max velocity, the latter for acceleration particularly out of blocks.

Deep squats, which are a staple of power lifters and gym goers, where you go ass-to-grass and your bum is lower than parallel, thereby putting you in ‘the hole’, aren’t found to serve much purpose for runners.

Yet having pushed my squat up to 160kg in the Smith machine in early January, I found my deep squat was barely half of this. I was straining to do even 1 rep at 70kg despite the Smith machine channelling all my force into the lift rather than having to worry about stability or balance.

The disparity between my 1/4 squat and deep squat seemed too much and after Christmas I decided to focus on improving my depth. For one thing, everything you can do from a deep squat means you can do that weight at 1/2 and 1/4 squat too. I also suspect the disparity is because there is some underdeveloped muscle somewhere in my legs/hips which would benefit from strengthening by getting lower.

I know when I unracked 160kg it was the first time I’d felt like my back might not like the squats. I felt a little bit of strain there and as I lowered the bar, I was really conscious I couldn’t go deeper than about 8-10”. Pushing back up to standing was less of an issue than the lowering phase. I was never in any danger because I always set the safety bars on the equipment, and while they have tested twice with crashing out, I don’t want to attempt any lift with a gung-ho mindset.

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While the focus has been on improving my deep squat, every three weeks or so I slot in a heavy session to remind the body it’s still needed. In February that saw me do four sets of 6x150kg in the free squat area which suggests with the right training I’d be able to do 1 rep of 180kg. While these heavy lifts might only be a 1/4 squat at best – perhaps getting 30cm or so of depth – I’m still very pleased with them and what it might contribute to max velocity.

There is a suggestion that a 1/4 squat should be able to lift 30-45% more than a deep squat which works out as at between 124-138kg. Yet my latest deep squats see me only just able to do 3 reps at 90kg and I’m struggling with poor form such as hips lifting first.

This is why I’m working on the deep squat at the moment. The disparity is still too wide. I’m barely able to deep squat my body weight and from what I’ve read, focusing on 1/4 and 1/2 squats doesn’t become effective until you can deep squat at least 1.5x bodyweight which would be the upper end of the 124-138kg range.

Realistically I know I’m not going to get there in the month I have left at the gym during my winter membership but I’m certainly feeling the benefits of strength training and setting myself up to run faster through the summer and then get back to the gym to further improve next winter.