front squat foot placement

[dawong]

my friend noticed (i kinda noticed too in the mirrors)that my feet arent lined up when i front squat. 1 foot is slightly infront of the other.

1. well this cause a muscle imbalance between the legs?

2. how do you correct it? i cant really tell too well in the mirrors

thx in advance

[GqArtguy]

Originally posted by dawong:

1. well this cause a muscle imbalance between the legs?

No.

2. how do you correct it? i cant really tell too well in the mirrors

Stop looking at yourself in the mirror and look down at your foot placement before you squat.

[dawong]

GQ

when i look down it feels like the weight is going to tip me over. im kinda afraid to do it. ehh..whatever, i try looking down more next week.

thank you

[GqArtguy]

Originally posted by dawong:
GQ

when i look down it feels like the weight is going to tip me over. im kinda afraid to do it. ehh..whatever, i try looking down more next week.

thank you

Look down before you actually get the bar. Your problem is that youre relying on visual cues from the mirror so you dont have a real sense of whats going on. I guarantee, if you squat away from the mirror, its going to feel completely different because now your body needs to use other senses to figure out whats going on. If you squat away, you will have to pay attention on what it feels like to hit a certain depth, flare your legs out, keep the weight back, etc. I can front squat in my sleep because I know what all of that feels like and know exactly what it looks like.

[GqArtguy]

One more thing: uneven feet is not a bad thing by itself. Ian King wrote an article about it t-mag waaaaaaaay back in the day. You have a dominant leg and if the uneven placement (ie an inch or so) gives you more leverage, then roll with it.

[dawong]

oooo ok. good info.

thx GQ

[bignasty105]

What are some main differences between front and back squat?

[wingsfan]

Originally posted by bignasty105:
What are some main differences between front and back squat?

probably the biggest difference is that in the back squat, you tend to lean forward, which then means that the bar is farther (perpendicular distance) from your hip than from your knee, thus meaning that your hip extensors (glutes and hamstrings) are used more than your knee extensors (quads).

on the front squat, your back stays straight, thus the perpendicular distance between the bar and the hip is shorter, but the distance is longer between the bar and the knee, meaning more stress is being put on the knee extensors than on the hip extensors.

[bignasty105]

So in front squating there is a greater stress put on the knees, so wouldnt it be better for your knees to back squat or an i misunderstanding this informatoion. Also because hip flexors are such an important muscle wouldnt back squat be more beneficial?

Once again these are questions

[Rev]

Front squats used to be used by bodybuilders under the belief they isolated your quadriceps more than a high bar oly squat, this has been proven untrue. So the only reason I see for ever doing a front squat would be either to benefit you as an olympic lifting competitor as the movement replicates sequences performed in olympic lifts themselves or to just throw in variation and place more stress on trunk stabilization.

References: http://www.purepowermag.com/samples/pdf/squat1to39.pdf
pages 26-27.

[diamondpete]

Hi Dawong

Take a peice of masking tape (or a yard stick if the gym would get up set and line it up with the bar (or vice versa if like moving the bar for fun lol) and then place your feet accordingly grip the bar, double check your feet, look up, and GO! lost of sports use these kinds of set up hints (especially golf) . That should not only correct you feet position but will give you confidence that your feet are in the right position so you are not second guessing and not focusing on the lift

Peter

[Keith S.]

dawong:

I can only offer one suggestion to foot placement. Make sure you keep them under you .

[dawong]

plutes - good idea, ill try that

keith - =) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Jerry Hill]

I shifting foot could be due to an imbalance in strength. Make sure that you are not bowing your knee in.
Try lowering the weight you use until you have perfect foot placement every rep. Slowly work back up in weight when things are perfect.

Improper tracking could lead to long term trouble.
Good luck!
Jerry

[dawong]

its not that my foot shifts. its when i unrack the bar from the rack and step back, 1 foot is always slightly infront of the other.

[Jerry Hill]

Gotcha - then sneak a peak down and make sure they are aligned properly, everyone does it!

jh