Improving on Front Squats

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I have been doing front squats for a while and i have noticed that as my hip flexibility has increased that i have been able to go lower, which has led me to the following questions.

  1. Lately, with my current stance i have had my toes engage at the bottom of the lift. i haven’t felt anything like i am going up on the balls of my feet, but they engage nonetheless. is that bad/something that should be avoided? When i widen my stance, it fixes it and keeps the weight so that i can actually lift my toes up while squating.

  2. what is your take on olympic shoes to solve this problem? would that make it bad on the knees or would it just allow me to keep more pressur over my heals?

2

Engaging your toes?

Weight needs to stay on your HEELS firmly, they are bolted to the floor, weight on the heels throughout the front squat all the time.

The shoes will help you squat lower, no issue here. All lifters will wear them to squat. They are fine for your knees as long as you don’t have any pre existing injuries.

Koing

3

If you’re moving forward to the balls of your feet or toes, it generally means you’ve reached the limit of ankle mobility.

Oly shoes have the heel because it gives the ankle a bit more room to rotate with regards to squatting down.

If you can’t afford the shoes, you can possibly get by by wedging some 2.5kg (~5lb) or 5kg (~10lb) plates under your heels.