foot position while squatting

[John Izzo]

I'm really not that rehearsed in muscle of the foot....

Try this....roll your foot on a tennis ball (shoes off) for 10 seconds. Switch feet and go right into your squat. If your toes don't turn out themselves it can be a foot musclature issue...as well as hamstrings.

[Terry Monk]

Originally Posted by standAPART

I'm really not that rehearsed in muscle of the foot....

Try this....roll your foot on a tennis ball (shoes off) for 10 seconds. Switch feet and go right into your squat. If your toes don't turn out themselves it can be a foot musclature issue...as well as hamstrings.

I will try this. Something new that I hadn't even considered in dissecting the squat. Just goes to show how much I have to learn. Thank you.

[RacerBill]

That's really interesting John. Do you think there will be some research on the foot muscles published sometime soon?

[GqArtguy]

Originally Posted by gymrat

I will try this. Something new that I hadn't even considered in dissecting the squat. Just goes to show how much I have to learn. Thank you.

This is good stuff as some people have tight tendons in their feet and cramp up during a squat.

Feet foward is a matter of can vs should. If you can do it, great. If you lack the ankle flexibility or if it is uncomfortable to the knee, then dont do it that way.

I can squat with my feet foward if I have to because my hip and leg flexibility allow that, but if I am going to move some real weight beyond the bar, my feet turn out about 30 degrees.

Its not a glute issue, its a leverage issue. Anyway, single leg work and glute work is never in vain, but if you find that toes out is where you get the best leverage, then go for it.

As far as quad activation, thats determined by how much you flex the knee, not toe angle or stance. Look at what happens with single legged work to verify this.

[Irishdazza]

Hmmm toes straight forward puts more stress on my knees....am I weird?

[nanook]

Here is an interesting article on using a staggered foot position for squatting. It could help with your problem.

http://home.comcast.net/~joand bryce/bsquat.html

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by gymrat

Exactly what I was thinking Lisa. That said, and following your advice, I CAN squat with toes and knees straight forward, but I prefer toes slightly out. It seems to be my natural positioning. I wonder if this, if continued, could lead to more problems down the road?

Read GqArtguy's post above. I agree with everything he said. If you prefer it, then no problem. The issues at the start of this thread were about each foot pointing out at a slightly different angle, not the same angle, or one foot more forward than the other. Those issues are things I would try to correct.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by nanook

Here is an interesting article on using a staggered foot position for squatting. It could help with your problem.

http://home.comcast.net/~joand bryce/bsquat.html

Bryce Lane does a TON of single-sided stuff, like one-armed pullups and all kinds of weird pushups. The guy's a maniac! He's very cool and in a Crossfit kind of vein, his stuff is interesting. But if your goal is to squat more weight, I'm not sure this is the way you want to go.

And please take note of the fact that he's talking about endurance and repitition effort. Place it in your mind along with things like crossover lunging and multi-directional lunging. This is cool stuff. It's just more of an "out-of-the-box" kind of idea or a supplemental kind of lift.

[John Izzo]

A couple of things that need to be addressed...
We throw around teh word "naturally" alot. Naturally, in some cases, simply means "the path of least resistance" chosen by the body. I can have imbalances all over my body and they can feel natural because my body has physiologically adapted to the altered firing patterns. Just like when I take someone who suffers from upper-cross syndrome and make him perform cuban press movement--it feels Un-natural to him--although it is the optimal and safest ROM that that joint should perform (given there is no history of injury).

What I am trying to say is naturally is not always the right way.

I can naturally hunch over in my chair and it feels "right", but when you ask me to sit upright--I will tell you that it feel unnatural beause it is uncomfortable for me (path OF resistance). Hunched over is dysfunction...but it still feels comfortable (path of LEAST resistance).

Also, staggered stance squatting has been around for years. NASM included itin its OPT curriculum, I believe since 2001. Great stuff.

[nanook]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

Bryce Lane does a TON of single-sided stuff, like one-armed pullups and all kinds of weird pushups. The guy's a maniac! He's very cool and in a Crossfit kind of vein, his stuff is interesting. But if your goal is to squat more weight, I'm not sure this is the way you want to go.

And please take note of the fact that he's talking about endurance and repitition effort. Place it in your mind along with things like crossover lunging and multi-directional lunging. This is cool stuff. It's just more of an "out-of-the-box" kind of idea or a supplemental kind of lift.

If you read about halfway down, he talks about using the squat for heavier weights and lower reps. He mentions squatting 350lbs with ease.

I agree that the staggered stance may not be for everyone, but more than a few people have found it to have a more natural feel. Just look at boxers and wrestlers. They are taught the staggered stance. It gives a more stable base.

[BamaDave]

I have always squatted with my feet pointed slightly outward - not dramatically or anything, but that's the stance I initially read was correct over 4 years ago when I first started lifting regularly, and now I don't even think about it.

[Newlife]

Originally Posted by standAPART

A couple of things that need to be addressed...
We throw around teh word "naturally" alot. Naturally, in some cases, simply means "the path of least resistance" chosen by the body. I can have imbalances all over my body and they can feel natural because my body has physiologically adapted to the altered firing patterns. Just like when I take someone who suffers from upper-cross syndrome and make him perform cuban press movement--it feels Un-natural to him--although it is the optimal and safest ROM that that joint should perform (given there is no history of injury).

What I am trying to say is naturally is not always the right way.

I can naturally hunch over in my chair and it feels "right", but when you ask me to sit upright--I will tell you that it feel unnatural beause it is uncomfortable for me (path OF resistance). Hunched over is dysfunction...but it still feels comfortable (path of LEAST resistance).

Also, staggered stance squatting has been around for years. NASM included itin its OPT curriculum, I believe since 2001. Great stuff.

What would one gain by changing their stance to have the toes pointed forward? I spent my lunch looking at squat videos on Google and Yahoo, and not one person had their feet pointed straight forward.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by Newlife

What would one gain by changing their stance to have the toes pointed forward? I spent my lunch looking at squat videos on Google and Yahoo, and not one person had their feet pointed straight forward.

I was just goofing around with this and realized that the angle that my feet point outward is pretty small. How far outward are the feet of the squatters on the videos?? I don't even stand with my feet facing precisely straight ahead. That feels awkward to me.

[John Izzo]

Originally Posted by Newlife

What would one gain by changing their stance to have the toes pointed forward? I spent my lunch looking at squat videos on Google and Yahoo, and not one person had their feet pointed straight forward.

Newlife,
I am a big believer in performing movements optimally--especialy under loads. I can't visually see that extent of rotation of the hip(and thus, toes) and be able to comment whether it is excessive by compensatory actions or plain 'ol favoritism.

What I can tell you is this: the leg (and every other joint) should be in proper anatomical position. Pointing your toes out and then lowering yourself and then watching the knees "cave-in" can cause servere rotation in the knee (which can lead to injury). Thus, maintaining proper alignment of joints ensures that everything is moving the way it was designed. If you squat with your toes turned forward after years of squatting with toes out and it feels uncomfortable, chances are your have tight/weak adductors. Most guys DO have weak or tight adductors.

[Jimmy Smith]

Originally Posted by Tony G

I'd say a healthy dose of x-band walks, clams, etc would be in order. As well as more unilateral work for the lower body. Probably some static stretching and foam rolling of the TFL would help, as well as foam rolling the IT band.

Great info Tony. I'd also throw in some Hip Hikes or Hip Corrections as as well as some bodyweight squats with a band around your quads and shearing out on the eccentric. I'd also shear out on some supine 2 leg bridges. We really need this glute med to kick in. Like Tony said some static stretching for the TFL is huge, I'd also do some piriformis strecthing and add in some QL stretching too. If your glute med is weak, your going to have a super-tight QL on the same side as it then begins super over active.

[Lisa~]

Good stuff Jimmy! This is what the original poster needs to hear.

[John Izzo]

If you fix the glute med..every else falls into place easier....