deep squat question

[wolfman87]

when you do deep squats (ass as far down as possible) do you keep your heels on the ground or let them come up a little? i've always tried to keep them down but i saw a guy doing them with plates underneath his heels.

idk if he had to do this due to an injury or if it's a legitimate way of doing it. can yall set me straight on this please, it's been buggin me.

 

[cmarcell]

My heels sometimes lift off of the ground. It seems that if you keep them on the ground your quads are used more to push the weight back up, and if they are off, your calves get more in the mix. But I could be completely wrong.

 

[SaiBoT]

It's a matter of flexibility if you can't squat all the way down your heels will raise by themselves otherwise you will lose balance or injure yourself. Placing the plates under the heels will help with the flexibility issues and place more emphasis on your quads and not so much on hips and glutes.

If you ask me I prefer doing squats without plates, all the way down and being so demanding I ain't looking for emphasis on any specific area so for squats I use everything I got, full throtle and flexibility it's something you can work on.

 

[DaveTSI]

when you do deep squats (ass as far down as possible) do you keep your heels on the ground or let them come up a little? i've always tried to keep them down but i saw a guy doing them with plates underneath his heels.

idk if he had to do this due to an injury or if it's a legitimate way of doing it. can yall set me straight on this please, it's been buggin me.

keep your heels on the ground, if your heels are coming off the ground its a problem with your form. You need to sit back more on your decent, this will keep you shins more perpendicular to the ground. This will keep you center of gravity over your heels rather than the balls of your feet. Dont let your knees go out over your toes when you are in the squat position, if they are you are not doing them correctly. Just think sit back, keep shins as close to 90* to the ground as possible. Hope this helps. Ill post a video that may help you understand more.

 

[DaveTSI]

heres a vid of me squatting, note how my first move is my hips breaking back (sitting back), and my shins are completely vertical, all the weight is centered over my heels

 

[wills_got_rythm]

DaveTsi, thats a pretty wide stance you have, I thought that your feet should be just a little past shoulder width, no?

 

[Big_BK]

Alot of power lifters use wide stances like that. I tried it for a while and should probably be going back to it to nail my week hips.

 

[wills_got_rythm]

Alot of power lifters use wide stances like that. I tried it for a while and should probably be going back to it to nail my week hips.

So that stance hits your hips a little more? Other than that why so wide?

 

[OneBreath]

So that stance hits your hips a little more? Other than that why so wide?

Its funny i just posted about this in the DC Widowmaker thread. Dave's hip action is fantastic. He's incorporating a shit ton of ham and glute strength to get that weight up.

You can use this style to work on glutes and hams while moving your feet closer to shoulder width and trying to go deeper will hit quads.

 

[OneBreath]

also wolfman rocking forward on the toes is a big red flag that your knees are going over your toes. Dave called this the 90 degree angle. When you break that angle a lot of pressure goes on your knees. I used to have bad squat form and my knees would ache for days.

Whenever squatting i'm always extremely conscious of form. Always work to make it better. I want to squat for many years to come.

 

[wills_got_rythm]

Just read that thread OB and understand now, I will incorporate that into my routine and see how it works. Would you alternate the stance between sets or between workouts?

 

[OneBreath]

Just read that thread OB and understand now, I will incorporate that into my routine and see how it works. Would you alternate the stance between sets or between workouts?

I'm doing DC training so my primary leg movement rotates between squats, hack squats, and leg press every other workout. Since i need to work on my hams and glutes i've been using the form dave shows in his video for squat days.

But then on the days i do hack squats i keep my feet about shoulder width and go all the way down until my ass literally hits the backs of my legs. This is brutal on the quads.

On leg press day i go just slightly wider that shoulder width and try to keep it all even.

If you want to just do squats then maybe rotating forms would be good. On the flip side you could always use the wide stance on squats, then get on the hack or leg press and move the feet closer and do some sets isolating the quads.

 

[DaveTSI]

DaveTsi, thats a pretty wide stance you have, I thought that your feet should be just a little past shoulder width, no?

its more of a power squat, i can move more weight cause i can activate my hips and glutes better wide. it takes alot of pressure off my knees too

 

[wills_got_rythm]

its more of a power squat, i can move more weight cause i can activate my hips and glutes better wide. it takes alot of pressure off my knees too

So do you feel like you can sit back easier, how much wider do you think you stand than shoulder length?

 

[DaveTSI]

Yes, id say its easier to sit back and get the other muscles involved. It is possible to do close stance, but its difficult to do right, its a very different groove. I go pretty wide, hard to explain, if you go through my log and check out the videos you can get a good idea of how i squat.

 

[desmond]

A narrow stance ATG back squat requires extreme balance.

I don't do it, but I'd stick something under my heals if that's what I desired. Or do front squats, where the balance issue is easier

 

[SaiBoT]

My squat workout involves power squats like Dave does then I drop the weight and go for 2x3 reps of ATG narrow stance and 2 second pause at bottom and during pause I literally sit on my ass on my calves. I have a sick flexibility that annoys or amazes most people who sees me whatever. I just know that I never had knee problems.

Sometimes when I feel suicidal I just grab a weight I can rep 3 times till failure with front squats, switch to back squats with the same weight till failure, the swith to Zercher till failure all in a set. Going from the weakest movement to the strongest one, then I do one set of leg curls rest 2 minutes and repeat all the stuff again 2 or 3 more times.

 

[BBQ or Mildew]

For me it had a lot to do with ankle flexibility, or lack thereof. I was able to solve the problem by using proper weightlifting shoes, which have a slightly elevated heel. This eliminates the need for plates under the heels.

 

[musketeer]

Heels should always be in contact with the floor and there should never be a question of them raising - it means your whole mechanics are wrong, regardless of the type of squat you are doing (power, oly, narrow) - most likely you are inflexible or maybe have strength imbalances. These issues should be addressed before the squat can be used as an effective strength builder. I would recommend developmental hip, ham and calf stretching and maybe some lower back arch work and a few months of lots of overhead squatting to get the sqatting posture correct. (I dare anyone to try to rise up on their toes in an overhead!)
DaveTSI has a good powerlifter's competition squat by the looks of things but your heels will NEVER come up at all when your toes are angled that far out. Your knees must come forward a bit if you're doing a regular stance Oly style squat, and that isn't a bad thing if you are sitting back and staying nice and upright.

 

[jungle4321]

If heals are coming up then form is off. It is better to drop the weight a little and keep strict form. No sense in tearing up knees to push a few extra pounds.

 

[ceo]

as many have said, heels coming up = bad form and possibly tight hamstrings. Work on form and stretch those hammies.

 

[b fold the truth]

I like to squat Michael Jackson style...on my tippy toes.

And what does Dave know about squatting anyway... (haaaaa...nice squat man...looks light for you)