squat stance

[VGalanti]

with over 25 years of squating, i find i cant do the normal shoulder width stance with squats anymore, unless i want to kill my lower back for 5 days afterward.

i find with shoulder width squats, i'm pushing more from my hips and lower back....so i started squating with a very wide stance.

i have found that i push more with my quads, than i do with my hips and back....and i seem more powerfull.
and my legs are getting bigger, and filling out more.

has anyone else experienced this?

[fitnessman]

I use quite a wide stance as well.

[someday]

Originally Posted by fitnessman

I use quite a wide stance as well.

but do you think this is an easier stance?

i tend to go wider due to an old hip injury. when i have them shoulder width i absolutely feel more strain in my hips and low back. hubby thinks i need to just suck it up, but i dunno.

[Mark1T]

I started using a slightly wider stance than shoulder width because of an outer quad strain, and it seems to relieve the pressure somewhat. Been doing them for a couple months, and I like them. No strain on the lower back, either.

[fitnessman]

Originally Posted by someday

but do you think this is an easier stance?

i tend to go wider due to an old hip injury. when i have them shoulder width i absolutely feel more strain in my hips and low back. hubby thinks i need to just suck it up, but i dunno.

I train for strength and this stance allows more weight to be used.

I feel if it is more comfie for you then you should do it this way. Noone likes squat pain.

[jspirate]

I am finding that squats require muscles that I wasn't even aware of. When I change my stance it puts emphasis on some of those "unaware-of" muscles. My theory is that I am unaware of them because they do not get used regularly. As such, these muscles are inherently weak (relatively speaking). This weakness manifests itself in a very noticeable uncomfortableness. In other words, I might be going to heavy. My personal solution is usually to back the weight down and workout enough to let those other muscles catch-up.

Don't let me fool you though... I am basically clueless about this stuff. I just try to listen to my body and adjust as I THINK necessary.

[Mark1T]

Originally Posted by jspirate

I am finding that squats require muscles that I wasn't even aware of. When I change my stance it puts emphasis on some of those "unaware-of" muscles. My theory is that I am unaware of them because they do not get used regularly. As such, these muscles are inherently weak (relatively speaking). This weakness manifests itself in a very noticeable uncomfortableness. In other words, I might be going to heavy. My personal solution is usually to back the weight down and workout enough to let those other muscles catch-up.

Don't let me fool you though... I am basically clueless about this stuff. I just try to listen to my body and adjust as I THINK necessary.

Squats are known to bring on the pain or soreness. To increase your comfort level, you might want to practice your form for squats with very low weight. Normal pain (DOMS) is expected, but pain that can also be a warning of impending injury, and a different matter.

Squats are a great exercise, but they must be done with good form, in order to: (1) Gain maximum benefit of the movement, as you never want to waste your time in the gym; (2) Minimize risk of injury(ies).

[gsegal]

When using a wider than shoulder width stance, I feel greater emphasis is placed on the inner thighs. When I use a shoulder width or slightly narrower stance, I feel it in the quads and lower back more. I was planning on widening my stance, but am concerned that I will no longer be hitting the quads directly. Is this an accurate assumption? Should I use leg presses with a narrow and lower stance to directly hit the quads?

[Mark1T]

Originally Posted by gsegal

When using a wider than shoulder width stance, I feel greater emphasis is placed on the inner thighs. When I use a shoulder width or slightly narrower stance, I feel it in the quads and lower back more. I was planning on widening my stance, but am concerned that I will no longer be hitting the quads directly. Is this an accurate assumption? Should I use leg presses with a narrow and lower stance to directly hit the quads?

You do hit the quads with a wider stance, but yes, you probably hit the inner-quads more, but your stance does not have to be extreme. IMO, yes, you can overcome your concern by using a narrow stance with the leg press to compensate. That is what I do.

[gsegal]

Originally Posted by Mark1T

You do hit the quads with a wider stance, but yes, you probably hit the inner-quads more, but your stance does not have to be extreme. IMO, yes, you can overcome your concern by using a narrow stance with the leg press to compensate. That is what I do.

Mark1T, do you do your squats before leg press or vice versa?

[Mark1T]

Originally Posted by gsegal

Mark1T, do you do your squats before leg press or vice versa?

I always start with squats, because it is the main exercise for legs that I put the most effort in for progression. But, there is no rule.

[jspirate]

Originally Posted by Mark1T

Squats are known to bring on the pain or soreness. To increase your comfort level, you might want to practice your form for squats with very low weight. Normal pain (DOMS) is expected, but pain that can also be a warning of impending injury, and a different matter.

Squats are a great exercise, but they must be done with good form, in order to: (1) Gain maximum benefit of the movement, as you never want to waste your time in the gym; (2) Minimize risk of injury(ies).

Oh no.... there is no time when it acceptable to compromise form. That is why I am only squating 205 pounds. That goes hand-in-hand with the fact that my squat muscles are not in sync yet. Some of the muscles used are stronger than others. That in an of itself is a recipe for injury. Thus my theory of backing down and getting everything right.

I can't grow muscles when I am injured so the number one focus during lifting is safety - PERIOD.

BTW - do you really consider DOMS pain? From dictionary.com:
1. physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

Thats not how I view DOMS. Sure I am tearing down my muscles to rebuild them and that could be classified as a planned injury, but that is not really the way I view it.

Kindest regards...

[Mark1T]

Originally Posted by jspirate

BTW - do you really consider DOMS pain? From dictionary.com:
1. physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

Thats not how I view DOMS. Sure I am tearing down my muscles to rebuild them and that could be classified as a planned injury, but that is not really the way I view it.

Kindest regards...

Hmmm. I don't go by the dictionary for my definition of training pain, as it relates to DOMS. Because DOMS pain is good pain. But, the next two to three days after squats, even the DOMS pain is real pain, but it isn't injurious. Squats are the only exercise that give me serious enough DOMS that I walk funny for three days.

[StrongT]

Originally Posted by VGalanti

with over 25 years of squating, i find i cant do the normal shoulder width stance with squats anymore, unless i want to kill my lower back for 5 days afterward.

i find with shoulder width squats, i'm pushing more from my hips and lower back....so i started squating with a very wide stance.

i have found that i push more with my quads, than i do with my hips and back....and i seem more powerfull.
and my legs are getting bigger, and filling out more.

has anyone else experienced this?

i know i dont belong to this section, but i aslo wanted some more info about the squat stance, what is the most effective technique to hit the glutes?...is it goin' deep with wide stance?

[phikappa]

Slightly wider that shoulder-width for me.

[VGalanti]

Originally Posted by gsegal

When using a wider than shoulder width stance, I feel greater emphasis is placed on the inner thighs. When I use a shoulder width or slightly narrower stance, I feel it in the quads and lower back more. I was planning on widening my stance, but am concerned that I will no longer be hitting the quads directly. Is this an accurate assumption? Should I use leg presses with a narrow and lower stance to directly hit the quads?

All i can say is...since i have been squating wide, i'm getting thicker inner fullness, AND my sweep is better. also my upper thighs have become more seperated, and my hamstrings hang more....

no more lower back pain the next day, and i'm handling 365 again for 10 reps.....back in the day, i was doing regular stance with 405 for 20 reps, i cant even do 225 for 8 today with a regular stance....right now i'm a happy camper...lol

here is what i did yesterday:

leg curls 4 sets of 12, very slow
wide squats 135 for 10
135 for 10
185 for 10
225 for 10
275 for 10
315 for 10
365 for 10

walking lunges....3 sets with 70lbs in each hand

1 leg, leg press 3 sets for 20 reps with 3 45's each side

stiff legs...3 sets of 12 with 225

[user9438904904]

i squat with a wide stance because my femurs are long and my back ends up at like a 45 degree angle otherwise. to compensate i do front squats to hit the quads. these allow a narrower stance to be used but does not cause you to lean forward.

[jspirate]

Originally Posted by Mark1T

Squats are the only exercise that give me serious enough DOMS that I walk funny for three days.

... and what a wonderful three days it is. Especially the second morning when first getting out of bed. If that doesn't make you feel good about lifting, then I suspect nothing will

[VGalanti]

Originally Posted by jspirate

... and what a wonderful three days it is. Especially the second morning when first getting out of bed. If that doesn't make you feel good about lifting, then I suspect nothing will

i hear ya....i was burned out a few years ago, didn't touch a weight for 1 full year....i thought i'd never love it again....walking funny today is a good thing...

[Most Muscular]

When I did squat I tended to squat with a wide stance except if I was using a Smith Machine that did not require me to provide so much balance with heavy weight.

Here are a few tips I've gained from successful powerlifters and when utilized dramatically improved my squat form and more importantly, my squat performance and reduced injuries due to lower back, knee, and neck pain:

1. Choose a wide stance that gives your body a solid balancing point. To narrow of a stance may build the do called "core" muscle groups but we're trying to build big legs here. Leave the core muscle groups for the ball huggers.

2. Don't place the bar on your neck or even on top of your traps but let it fall down the back aways into the grove that forms on your upper back just below your traps. I feel this grove much more when I extend my arms out and touch the plates. I used to have a grip that was a bit wider than shoulder width and found I had to wrap my wrists because I was tying to push the bar off of my neck. I wasted energy this way and was concentrating so much on reducing the pain on my neck by trying to push the bar off of it that I got sore wrists and couldn't concentrate on pushing with my legs when I was thinking about pushing the weigh off of my neck area. Placing the bar farther down the back also provides you with a more center of gravity for the weight. If you draw a vertical line from the weight, through your hips, down to your ankles you will find this is a straight vertical line when you place the bar in this position. Now you just have to squat vertically down and you won't find pressure being put on your lower back... which is accomplished by the next tip...

3. Before each rep thrust your hips forward. The one thing I see happen more often than not when someone squats is that they start the squat rep leaning forward. When you start the squat with a forward lean you can expect it to end in a much more forward lean.... and what usually happens is that each successive rep the lean gets to be more and more so that by the last rep the person is leaning way over and can't understand why their lower back hurts so much. At the beginning of each rep thrust your hips to a way forward position and try and maintain this hip position as you squat down. Eventually you'll find your hips will swing to the rear but you'll be in a much more vertical squat by using this technique!

4. Look slighly up when squatting down. If you tend to look down you'll tend to lean forward. Looking slightly up will help you maintain your vertical decent.

5. Rember to breathe correctly. An inhale on the decent and exhale on the way up.

6. Tighten up your midsection to provide a solid posture. Keep it tight both during the decent and the way up.

7. Use a spotter if you're going heavy and squat in a cage with safety bars. Even if they're not used it'll give you confidence and you won't have to worry so much. You can concentrate on what you're doing instead of worrying about what you might not be able to do.

I'll add more later if I think of any but for now...

nuff said...

[Hibiscus09]

I use a very wide stance and tend to do box squats more than back squats. It gets me in my inner thighs and my bottom the most, but my quads get sore also.

In fact, I'm a little concerned about doing the wide stance squats now. I've been doing these lately and I went to measure my hips today and they were 1/2" wider!! I've noticed lately in my pants that my bottom is sticking way out behind me and is definitely lifted -- which isn't a bad thing -- but it's usually that way anyway and I don't need it to be sticking out any further behind me. I've been losing bodyfat and my waist size is down but my behind is bigger. This is not good.

I have noticed my sweep is showing up well again like it used to. I don't especially want bigger legs either, but they aren't measuring bigger around the top.

Problems, problems.

[justtryn]

I squat with a wide stance for 1) balance and 2) I find it helps with any lower back issues. I certainly feel the quads working with this stance. Oh, and before DC I used to always squat first on leg day. Now squats are at the end of the routine after biceps, forearms, calves and hamstrings.

[Hibiscus09]

Originally Posted by justtryn

I squat with a wide stance for 1) balance and 2) I find it helps with any lower back issues. I certainly feel the quads working with this stance. Oh, and before DC I used to always squat first on leg day. Now squats are at the end of the routine after biceps, forearms, calves and hamstrings.

Is your ass getting bigger?

[IdahoViking]

Originally Posted by justtryn

I squat with a wide stance for 1) balance and 2) I find it helps with any lower back issues. I certainly feel the quads working with this stance. Oh, and before DC I used to always squat first on leg day. Now squats are at the end of the routine after biceps, forearms, calves and hamstrings.

I prefer a wide stance because of knee and hip issues.



btw Justtryn, I just got an e-mail from a ex-coworker of mine about a job at BSU (my alma-mater); but I respectively declined.


BSU - home of the Bemidji Beavers!

[jspirate]

Originally Posted by Hibiscus09

I've noticed lately in my pants that my bottom is sticking way out behind me and is definitely lifted -- which isn't a bad thing -- but it's usually that way anyway and I don't need it to be sticking out any further behind me. I've been losing bodyfat and my waist size is down but my behind is bigger. This is not good.

Problems, problems.

I know that women are sensitive to this, but I personally like seeing a nice squat ars on a woman. Anyway, I too have noticed ars growth, as has my wife. All of my work khakis are now too short. My wife noticed it first and subsequent discussions have led us to believe that my ars is sucking up the length. I need probably 3/4 of inch more on the length of my pants.

Here we go again with the "sir mix-a-lot" song "baby got back."

[justtryn]

Originally Posted by Hibiscus09

Is your ass getting bigger?

I dunno - wanna come see?

[Chi_town]

Originally Posted by justtryn

I dunno - wanna come see?

The nerve of some people.


Being the official over 35 chaperone, I would have to accompany anyone from our section on such a task. LOL

[Hibiscus09]

LOL -- yeah, I'll come take a look-see Mark, but I'm not bringing along the chaperone!!

jspirate, I like having a round bottom but only so round. I'm short and I start looking tubby if it gets too big!

[VGalanti]

Originally Posted by StrongT

i know i dont belong to this section, but i aslo wanted some more info about the squat stance, what is the most effective technique to hit the glutes?...is it goin' deep with wide stance?

Hey come on in....yes it will hit your glutes, no i dont go too deep, my hips are just a little higher than my knees.

and i'm walking around like a new guy in prison...lol

[empresscat]

I suspect it's partly dependent on how you're built - that someone with a smaller frame might be comfortable at shoulder width... I personally need to go a little wider for a couple of reasons: 1) I have wide hips and 2) I still have a big belly - it gets in the way on a narrow stance and restricts my ROM (though this is more of an issue on the leg press than squats)