squat stance

[jeremys]

(a lot of the stuff i'm posting shoudl probably be in the PLing board, but there's not much traffic over there)

ok, like a few people, i feel more comfortable squatting with a narrower stance. i'm not talking feet 1 foot apart, but sorta sumo-conventional.

my squat rack is a piece of shit. the braces on teh bottom are too big. i can either put my feet inside the edge and have a narrower stance or i can put them on the outside..making the stance VERY wide.

i have been doing DE box squats with no problem getting to parallel, but i'm either at parallel or slightly above..hard to tell with my fat rolls and a wide stance. i'm also very unflexible with this very wide stance and just can't power out of the hole with heavier weights good enough.

i have been getting killer knee and hip pain the last week or so..i havent been squatting with a suit/briefs because i dont have any and cant afford any at the moment.

i know westside guys usually have sumo stances in squatting and deads and its supposedly better in the long run, right? if so, why? (i go to school with a kid that squats about 750..note the narrow grip and narrowish stance.. here

i have been doing pullthroughs, reverse hypers, progressive DE box squatting, glute/ham, heavy ab work, still the same problem out of the whole..

think i should go w/ the narrower stance?

 

[jeremys]

and when i say i'm getting stuck in this inflexible spot with 'heavy' weights, 'heavy' is only about 275-300..which is fucking pathetic for my size..any size, really

i dont get the wide stance idea though. if you squatted with the same foot spread that you train reverse hypers and glute/ham, wouldnt you get more carryover?

but if a wide stance is better in the long run perhaps i should just stick to it..

 

[Hannibal]

i dont get the wide stance idea though. if you squatted with the same foot spread that you train reverse hypers and glute/ham, wouldnt you get more carryover?

but if a wide stance is better in the long run perhaps i should just stick to it..

Funny you should mention that. The new Glute Ham Machine has a wider toe plate...that allows you to use the same wide stance that you should squat with. As you said...I think it will give a better carryover.

The reason for the wider stance is that you have more potential to lift big weight with the wider stance. Shorter bar distance...and using more of the bigger muscles (glutes/hams).

 

[jeremys]

Funny you should mention that. The new Glute Ham Machine has a wider toe plate...that allows you to use the same wide stance that you should squat with. As you said...I think it will give a better carryover.

The reason for the wider stance is that you have more potential to lift big weight with the wider stance. Shorter bar distance...and using more of the bigger muscles (glutes/hams).

alright, wide stance it is. i think i'm going to have to bring it in just a little though so i can get out of the hole

thanks

 

[jeremys]

is there any kind of stretching or anyhthing i could do to help me get to/a little past parallel in my sumo stance?

 

[jeremys]

bump

 

[spatts]

jeremy, are you talking about stretches to help you go parallel in a wide stance squat?

 

[jeremys]

jeremy, are you talking about stretches to help you go parallel in a wide stance squat?

yes.

i'm either right at parallel or slightly above

my hips hurt getting out of the hole that wide

 

[edgecrusher]

If you are dead set on going wide, then you should probably work on stretching your hip flexors, as that is what will help u get to parallel. I personally don't care for the wide stance, although I do understand the thinking behind it.

Personally, I feel people should experiment and see what will work for them, as opposed to just following a system or technique that works for a select group of people. I say try to find your own "footprints" and see what works for you.

 

[spatts]

Do you have a vid of this?

Can you take a wide stance and squat to parallel without the box, or your knees come in? What happens to make you unstable?

How wide is wide? 52"? 48"?

 

[jeremys]

no vid

i can get on a box to parallel, but with no box i fall backward

my knees don't come in

my feet are 43-44" apart on the inside. i'm 5'9

 

[jeremys]

im not sure exactly why i'm falling backward but i think it's because i'm trying to sit back enough instead of sitting down

my squat sucks so bad. something just isnt right here

 

[spatts]

Perhaps you are too upright? How high do you carry the bar?

 

[louden_swain]

i have tried squatting using a wide stance in the past, but I cant seem to develop the flexibility.

 

[jeremys]

i put the bar on my mid-traps. i try to grip really wide..to the collars (and then the bar fits well), but that is very awkward

 

[jeremys]

i put the bar on my mid-traps. i try to grip really wide..to the collars (and then the bar fits well on my rear delts), but that is very awkward

 

[jeremys]

no. like an oly squat, just a little lower

 

[spatts]

Mid traps? The mid traps are at about your shoulder blades...is that what you meant?

 

[jeremys]

looks like the last couple posts in this thread got mixed up in order.

bump?

 

[rjl296]

im kinda wondering the same thing, it hurts m hips (groin) when i squat wide and to parallel. should i stretch, or just keep working at it ??