Squat Critique Plus Programing Question

Thanks honest_lifter! I appreciate it!

Squat workout today. My buttwink is really bothering me! I really have to keep my back straight!!! Hopefully my ankles become more flexible and my hips open up more. One thing I’m wondering is if how far your feet are spread and how much toe flair you have matters? What do you guys think? I’ve always say people who can squat with a close stance and can’t figure out how they can do it! It seems like a lot of better lifters have closer stances.

Here’s that squat program… credit to Mike Burgener. You can do some other stuff after the squats, but you will be tired so keep it to a minimum. For example in my case, one day I do push-ups and abs, another day, chin-ups/push prowler.

WEEK 1

Wednesday

  1. Front Sqt: 70% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 70% x 3 x 3 sets

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 2

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 75% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 75% x 3 x 3 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 75% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 75% x 3 x 3 sets

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 3

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 80% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 80% x 3 x 3 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 80% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 80% x 3 x 3 sets

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 4

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to 90%x2, then 85%x3x3

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 5

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 80% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 75% x 3 x 3 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 80% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 75% x 3 x 3 sets

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 6

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 83% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 83% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

WEEK 7

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 85% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 85% x 3 x 10 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 75% x 3 x 4 sets

WEEK 8

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

Thursday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

WEEK 9

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 88% x 2 x 7 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 88% x 2 x 7 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

WEEK 10

Tuesday

  1. Front Sqt: 90% x 2 x 3 sets
  2. Back Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

Thursday

  1. Back Sqt: 90% x 2 x 3 sets
  2. Front Sqt: 78% x 3 x 4 sets

Saturday

  1. Front Sqt: work up to a heavy single

… more to come

Do what’s comfortable for you, honestly. Just don’t go too wide, slightly outside shoulder width is the most you should go. A little toe flair is good if flexiblity/mobility is an issue. I used to flair my toes out, but now I don’t because of some right side hip pain.

Sorry for the quadruple post.

I used to be a wide squat, but I started bringing them in over time. I used to be afraid of the whole “don’t put knees over your toes” thing, but after I got over that and realized my knees started feeling better when I changed it up, I got adventurous and got a pair of olympic shoes, narrowed my stance and never went back. Honestly, at least right now, the heavier toe flair just lets me really get down there without any loss of arc in the lower back. Really work on the adductor flexiblity and do mobility drills for your ankles.

Thanks PB Andy and honest_lifter! I’m thinking that I just need some toe flair so I can sit between my legs more. However I am working on bringing my stance in a bit. And I’ll definitely be trying that squat program soon PB Andy.

Here’s today workout. My floor is a bit slanted, so I decided to face the other way so I’m facing “downhill” rather then “uphill”. It’s a slight incline, but its enough to show my lack of ankle flexibliity. When I faced downhill, I was able to easily hit below parallel. When I face my normal way, getting to parallel is hard for me. Should I face downhill or uphill? Is it more important to have depth?

Deloading this week. Then I’m going to do more maxing next week. I feel stronger when I’m constantly pushing my 1-3 rep max up. I’ve noticed that when I squat, when my back gets tired, my hips shoot up and I almost do a good morning. When this starts to happen, should I stop my set/max or can/should I keep going? Also, I do romanian deadlifts for my hamstrings and back. However, I don’t know if they’re helping a lot. I feel like I need a back extension or something. Is there something I can do instead of good mornings and deadlift variations that will help my back strength more?