Positioning of feet when squatting

[DieTrying]

I read a lot of guys talk about keeping feet "at shoulder width", but I'm much more comfortable with them wider than this. As long as I'm going ass to the grass, does it really matter if my feet are a few inches farther apart?

 

[TheTorch]

I was always under the impression that the narrower your stance, the more emphasis on the quads.

I tend to have a wider than shoulder width stance with my toes pointed slightly outward. I think this is more of a powerlifter stance really.

I think this makes it involve the hams/glutes more but I could be wrong. I only squat with a wider stance b/c I have had 2 acl reconstructions and 3 scopes all in the same knee, and trying to minimize the pressure on my knee is always a concern for me when it comes to training legs...and I'm only 25 so it sucks that this is gonna be an issue for me til the day I stop training(which will be...........never!).

This is also why I prefer to do sumo deads over conventional deads.

 

[Jcc]

I squat wiiiiiide. For me, that's the only way I can comfortably break parallel.

 

[Lean One]

I read a lot of guys talk about keeping feet "at shoulder width", but I'm much more comfortable with them wider than this. As long as I'm going ass to the grass, does it really matter if my feet are a few inches farther apart?

I usually do the same as torch does. The only thing I have noticed is that if your toes are pointed too far out, you will be more sore in the adductors later. Point your toes out slightly and you'll be fine.

Also, once you break parallel, that's when your glutes and hams really kick in to get you out from the bottom. The quads take over in the upper 2/3 of the movement. That has been my experience at least.

 

[jetset]

Its wide for me as well, but if your trying to hit your quads more put 2.5 or 5# plate under your heels(stance shoulder width or a little closer your comfort range). You will be able to bring your stance in, you will still be able to go parrallel, and it will put more into your quads

 

[Longdog]

I use shoulder width stance. I can handle more weight with a wide stance, but I get better quad development with a normal stance. I feel it more in the glutes wide. Developing the quads is more important to me that the amount of weight.

I have good flexibility, so I dont need plates under my feet or anything for full ROM.

 

[Cogar]

I fine-tune my stance by doing 2-3 reps without a bar and adjust my feet as narrow as I can while still going down all the way. Once I get that "feel," I start squatting. I end up with my feet being ever so slightly more than shoulder width and toes pointed out very slightly.

Incidentally, I have heard from numerous sources that putting plates under your heels is a bad idea. It has to do with adding more strain to your knees or something along those lines. Frankly, I do not like the idea of something that can move under my feet, so the idea never appealed to me.

 

[jetset]

When I was powerlifting I used a squatting shoe that had an elavated heel helped me get lower in my squat without openning up my stance. The shoe idea came from a world record holder(bent,deaed, and squat) that I use to train with.