I recently (last workout) switched to a much closer stand, just wider than shoulders, with my toes pointing straight, I previously had a much wider stance with my toes pointing out. I noticed I did less reps this workout(previously progressing in reps each workout) and was wondering if it is normal to be a little weaker(used same weight though) with a closer stance?
i had to switch because the wide stance hurt my hip
Anytime you change the way you complete a particular exercise, you’re going to be a bit weaker at first, simply because your body has gotten used to performing the task repeatedly in the style to which you’ve obviously grown accustomed. (This isn’t always evident by muscle growth, but sometimes simply by becoming more efficient neurologically.)
Don’t sweat it 
S
I had started with a relatively wide stance (I was having some back and knee trouble, I suspected it was because I couldnt push my knees out to match my turned feet) and then just tried a narrower one … and found it much easier, and was considerably stronger with it. I don’t know why, as I thought the whole point of a wider stance was to move more weight (hence the powerlifting style), but the narrower seems much more natural/able to spring back up.
For the love of God, please do NOT point your toes totally forward (feet parallel), point them out at least slightly.
From what I understand, one of our (Canadian) coaches had our runners squatting real narrow stance, toes pointing forward because “that is the way our legs are positioned when we run which will make the squat more functional” and they pretty much all ended up having to get knee surgery.
Whether it was the overly narrow stance or the toes pointed completely forward, or some other underlying issue that caused the knee problems, remember that if an exercise’s movement doesn’t feel natural you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
The best injury rehab is prevention. Lift safe guys.
for high rep squat sets i abosolutely need to use a close stance, i find that kind of stance makes it easier to perform a high number of reps (10 plus) it gets less comfortable as you increase in the load but generally it works pretty well for me even if i am doing heavy sets
[quote]jak3_dude wrote:
For the love of God, please do NOT point your toes totally forward (feet parallel), point them out at least slightly.
From what I understand, one of our (Canadian) coaches had our runners squatting real narrow stance, toes pointing forward because “that is the way our legs are positioned when we run which will make the squat more functional” and they pretty much all ended up having to get knee surgery.
Whether it was the overly narrow stance or the toes pointed completely forward, or some other underlying issue that caused the knee problems, remember that if an exercise’s movement doesn’t feel natural you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
The best injury rehab is prevention. Lift safe guys.[/quote]
Your knee should be directly in line with your second toe to avoid knee complications.
Whatever feels comfortable. I had it in my head, fuck gotta squat close to get my quads up, but all I was doing was putting myself into an awkward position that wasn’t comfortable for my body and now I am squatting with a stance that’s a little wider than shoulder width and is hella comfortable on my knees, legs etc.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Whatever feels comfortable. I had it in my head, fuck gotta squat close to get my quads up, but all I was doing was putting myself into an awkward position that wasn’t comfortable for my body and now I am squatting with a stance that’s a little wider than shoulder width and is hella comfortable on my knees, legs etc.[/quote]
I gotta agree with this. My stance is pretty wide, and I get some good quad activation from squats. Once I get past rep 15 my tear drop burns like someone set it on fire.