For years I have tried just about every squat technique pointer such as knees out, spread the floor, open groin, push up on the bar etc…some have worked for me others have not. But the one I have always had a difficult time believing would work for anyone is Louie Simmon’s advice to keep your toes pointing straight ahead in order to increase tension, and make reaching a low position in the squat more difficult. While it is true that this makes the descent more difficult it also causes an enormous amount of knee pain. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had success w/ some westside concepts, and respect Louie very much, but I really have to wonder about the above mentioned advice. Has anyone been able to employ the “toes straight” advice successfully
i mostly do them knees straight, knees out gives me some problems… i am alot stronger knees straight
so it worked for me !
In a word: “no.”
In two words: “Fuck no!”
I have to agree with you here…i like to flair my toes much like ed coan and brent mikesell…it really allows me to sit into my hips and gut and spring out of the bottom…bm
I have no knee pain from keeping my toes pointed straight. If you cant keep your toes straight then point them out to the sides a little until your hip flexibility will allow you to point them straight. It will come with time. It took me a while. Good luck
Sure, I box squat every Thursday with a very wide stance, toes forward. I would have to say you are lacking in your hip flexibility. If it is that much of a problem, point your toes out slightly until the pain stops. I recall an article by Dave Tate that addressed this point. I am almost positive he said for guys that lack a little hip flexibility, pointing the toes out is ok. Also, do your knees drop in? May need to strengthen your abductors, do some band work for them. It just takes a little work, but point your toes out a bit for now and see if that helps. Adapt and overcome brother.
ralf how much do you weigh…bm
big martin,
I weigh 200lbs.
I guess the real question is does less toe flare help your squat more than a wider flare?
ok i figured you were fat like me…it seems that most heavy set people in the hips and gut squat better with there feet pointed out…if you have a blocky build even at 200lbs then you may want to open the hips up by pointing the toes out…but your question cant be truly awnswerd becuase squat stance and style is much like the baseball swing…each player has his own style and technique that works best for him…bm