The #SquatUclub is now on UA-cam! As soon as I upload a new video, "like" it and comment with the hashtag #SquatUclub ASAP. I'll pick amongst those who do so within 1 hour of the video going live and pick one winner to start working on whatever you need help with (squat technique, an achy hip, help with back pain during deadlifts, etc). You must be SUBSCRIBED to my UA-cam channel for a chance to win. Turning on notifications by clicking the little bell next to the SUBSCRIBE button on my channel will make sure you can be first in line to win every time! I’ll reply under the winners comment - so make sure you keep up on your notifications!
Wow, NO ONE is talking about this. I've always thought I had mobility issues with HIR and my ankles, now I know I just needed a wider and more toe out stance. THANK U!!
The Renaissance Periodization guys had a video going over this before but it was kinda lengthy and I believe it went over multiple topics, its been awhile so not sure what it all went over. But yeah not many people actually talk about this type of stuff.
Ankles do matter greatly but poor dorsiflexion can be alleviated with a good squat shoe. Also it is even more intricate than this video as people have natural variance in femur to torso length, length of femur neck, size of femur head and depth of the actual foramen where the head inserts into to pelvis. I get upset when trainers critique students for form without considering all variances. Drills are vital but at some point its bone on bone for some people which requires alot of nuiance
This makes so much sense, im so tired of people/trainers telling me im squatting wrong when i feel more comfortable doing a wide stance(feet outwards) when i do my squats. i knew something was wrong when i felt pain with every rep with my squats. Thank you for this!
what qualifications does your trainer have I want to get one and am worried I will know more than they do after doing so much research!!! Jennifer you are wasting your money with those.
I've squatted myself to the point of injury trying to maintain a forward facing foot squat. After I recovered, I gave outward facing a shot and noticed a major increase in strength, depth, and comfort. Seeing this makes me confident I was correctly listening to my body when I made this change. Great video!
@@UltrabenbooyahI’ve been doing PT for my knee after ACL replacement, PTs keep getting on me for favoring a wide stance. I get stuck on the straight stance which they call proper form even though I can do ass to grass with the wider stance.
My squat was always shit. I could never get further than 185 lbs because my knee would always start to hurt. Since this vid, I've gotten rid of that knee pain and crushed through the 200 lbs barrier. Thanks so much guys.
I've had knee pain for so long its ridiculous and I'm only 22, I've always squated with my feet facing forward and my knee would pop every time and have pain. I knew a wider stance would be better but I was always told it's not right, I was almost brought to tears when I tried it and there was no pop or any pain when I squated down, this has changed my life for the better and I am forever grateful.
@@Experience76 not that hard to believe if the discomfort wasn't major. Like most things, anteversion / retroversion are on a spectrum. If it was just a bit of one or the other, I can see someone just gritting their teeth and pushing through it over the long term. On the other hand, for me it felt like my knees were gonna rip out from my legs if I had any weight on my back with feet pointed straight forward, so... Yeah. That was never going to be me lmao.
This makes sense. Squatting always felt terrible to me and my trainer kept saying to keep my toes pointing forward, but it just felt wrong... Good to know i was in the right by pointing my feet outwards
Same here. Toes forward causes pain in my ankles. Toes pointed out feels much more natural and allows for a very deeper squat. Thank you for the video.
Usually the toes try to go outwards because your adductors are tight as shit. It feels like the ankles are immobile, but try to do a frog pose and if that's really "too easy", then your anatomy might the cause for it. Otherwise you probably have very likely inner thighs tight like concrete and won't even feel a stretch and just a dull feeling at best which can take months to open up.
FINALLY someone pointing out and explaining why some people cannot do a toes-straight-forward squat without either injuring themselves, or extremely limiting their range of motion! I cannot get a low, deep squat unless my toes are pointed more outward. I got sick of constantly questioning if I was squatting right or wrong, so I gave up on them all together. I will start incorporating them back into my workouts, thank you!
I am in shock!!!!!!! I have difficulty keeping my feet straight and would always end up with feet outward. I would reposition and was confused as to why I had such trouble. This totally makes sense. No more discomfort in my knees struggling to stay straight!!!! Thank you so much.
Squats have always felt uncomfortable with feet straight, and everyone told me that was how to do it! The moment I turned my feet out, it immediately felt more comfortable. Thanks much for this!
I've always seen squat videos of people pointing their toes more forward, while that has always felt unnatural for me, and even caused knee pain. Then I started putting my feet more out, and it felt WAY better. All those squat videos never explained that I'm "Retroverted". This is by far the best squat video I've seen, since it actually explains your anatomy and to do what feels natural to you.
I was hoping for some mind blowing technique change that would improve my squat, instead I was given an intelligent understanding of what I slowly learned over time while squatting. Thanks for the knowledge and explanation.
Same.Had to learn to listen to my body regarding form. But what I want to know is how you can perform this test without a second person to move your leg??
@@mrsaye499 For me I am just literally not able to move my leg in the other directions. Its pretty clear for me that I am slightly wider stance with toes out and thats what I have learned doing squats over the past 3 years.
@@mrsaye499 for most people it's literally impossible to move your leg to one particular sode. I am extremely retrofitted, which explains why my normal gait is very toed out and a comfortable standing potion for me is also very toed out.
Thank you!! I've always had a very wide/toes out squat stance and it's confused coaches to no end why I can't squat with a 'textbook' stance. Team retroverted hips!
this was a life changing 5 minute video! I have aways been told in classes to point my toes forward when squatting and I have thus always had a "pinching" feeling on my hip flexors when squatting. Changed to a wider, toes turned out and the pain was MASSIVELY reduced. Thank you so much!!
I have been a yoga teacher for many years and always struggled to do a squat pose with my feet pointed straight ahead. This is the first time I have been able to understand why. I always thought my calves or achilles was just too tight. Now I no longer feel like I'm not trying or practicing hard enough. I know it's just how my hips are put together. Wish I had known this 10 years ago!
This was actually super helpful. I had no idea why having a smaller stance was hurting and why I wasn’t able to hit depth like others around me. When I reached a certain point my knees would start to wobble in and out aggressively and I felt like my hip was pinching. I was confused because I’m young so I didn’t think my hips should be causing so much trouble. Now that I’m using only a wider stance I feel infinitely more comfortable with my form.
I had a revelation from this. All the stretching in the world wasn't helping and I thought I just couldn't be flexible enough to squat properly. Just angle my feet out and I'm good. Mind...blown.
You can't really stretch to change your body structure once you're an adult. If you stretch a lot when you're still growing and doing lots of high kicks then probably you can deep squat anyway you want. At least I do.
@@howardlam6181 there's nothing you can do (short of surgery) to change the depth of your hip sockets and the length of your femur bones. Even if you're still growing. He literally said that in the video lol
This makes so much sense.. Last week, I tried the “how to squat the correct way” by other how to videos and 1) I couldn’t get lower than I should and 2) I had knee pain for days! Last night, I tried the angled outwards legs stance, because I thought it had always felt natural for me, and it worked so much better, I felt my glute muscles activated for my barbell squat (which I was really going for) instead of my knees! Today, I woke up with no pain on the knees, just the glutes, which is great! ❤
No wonder I felt lower back and knee pain with just an empty bar as a total noob and it’s because I was too narrow when my natural position should’ve been wide lol. Best video advice I’ve watched hands down.
It wasn't mentioned in the video, but it's also entirely possible that you have femoral ante/retroversion on just the one leg. That's the case with me. When I squat, I let my right foot sit in a more externally rotated position than my left. It may look odd, but it's the optimal stance for my anatomy.
You literally just changed my whole life with this video. I'm so excited to do some squats now. I kept watching different people do them the wrong way FOR ME. The correct way for them, but not me. I am so excited to work out tomorrow. Thank you endlessly
I'm not even Joking with this Video. It has made my squats 1000x better. I no longer struggle with pain or depth. Weight has gone up and it's changed my life. From almost crying in pain after sets, to feeling like 100kg is a warmup weight. I'm so happy. Thank you so much for your incredible knowledge!🙏🙏🙏
My son, a lifter, follows your information closely and introduced you to me. I was a non-professional Fitness instructor for the Military in the 1980’s. During my time as a Basic Training Company Commander and then a Project Officer for the training Base, I helped redesign the outdated Physical Training Manuel for the US Army. Since my Army days, I was an owner/Therapist in Neuromuscular Treatment and the Personal Trainer of a Physical Health & Fitness company; and then just a Master Fitness Instructor for Gyms such as Bally Total Fitness and Gold’s Gyms. …. I wish that the information you’re putting out to the population was available for me to use. I had some knowledge of what you teach, but not the in-depth knowledge you’re handing out. Thank you! You’re helping me start to return to a more flexible and fit individual since my fluke “Sudden Death Heart Attack” in 20210, Hip replacement ion 2017, and a previous injury (crushed T7) in 1997. Again. Thank you.
an important rule when exercising is to listen to your body. when it hurts, STOP. no matter what others say. pain exists for a reason... people tend to mix up the moment when it gets difficult, and pain.
Finally, someone who actually takes into consideration the anatomy of the person. I really feel like shoving this information down my local gym trainer's throat. Thanks a ton for this!
Jesus, this is the most important squat video I've ever seen. I bench 315, but squat only 245 with a ton of discomfort. Tried toes out and i can go way deep with no disconfort. This changes everything!
"Toes out" isn't really a recent breakthrough in squat theory, but this video is the first I've seen that addresses the logic and reason of "toes out" beyond "it opens your hips".
SO HELPFUL. I always thought I *had* to keep my feet pointing straight, but it was always so uncomfortable. I will definitely start doing my squats with my toes pointing out. (And know I know it's not wrong!)
Toes facing straight forward always felt horribly awkward for me as well. Outward facing ~ 45 degree works for me too. It just kinda naturally happened though, idgaf about the video. Happy squatting : )
same here. but don't you feel uncomfortable in Powerclean? wide toe reduces balance during initial phase of Clean ie up to the barbell just below the knee.. how do you manage it? can you explain a bit or suggest some video to follow up.....
Between mobility issues, muscular imbalances, and being new to squatting as a whole, this monstrosity of an exercise has taken me close to a year to be able to perform pain free, but this video was one small piece that helped me get there, so thanks for that. Not as if Squat U needs anyone to vouch for them, but can confirm that as someone with mild-moderate hip retroversion my most comfortable foot angle it around 20 degrees.
what helped for you? I do oly lifting and started having some hip discomfort. i do a myriad of mobility a day (im not joking this shit takes me like hours).
@@lkerygma dude the trial and error has felt endless. The amount of tweaks I've had to do across my entire body has been insane and I've spent more time with knee tendonitis since I started squatting than my entire life beforehand lol. That said, what appears to have been a main culprit for me other than trying to keep my feet pointing forward a little too much is bad pelvis control. You see when you're used to having a lot of anterior tilt, a neutral position feels like posterior tilt (at least to me) and it sort of feels like I'm inducing low back rounding early by keeping a flat back. However, what's actually happening is that it's allowing me to better recruit my glutes and hams and when I go down to parallel, my back can stay flat and solid, whereas if I let myself go into anterior tilt at all, it actually ends up tucking back under me for some proper butt wink, instability in the knee, etc. When I'm close to parallel You might not be having the same source as I did, but that was the last and probably biggest piece of the puzzle for me - figuring out what a neutral pelvis felt like and learning how to control my core muscles / change my movement patterns (esp hip hinging) in consequence to use the right muscles for the job.
Thank you so much for this video! I’m rehabbing from a hip and low back injury because a trainer told me I wasn’t squatting right because my toes were out. Spent months trying to “correct” my form, only to have injured and reinjured myself multiple times in the process. After your 5 minute video, I can clearly se e I am extremely retroverted. Thanks so much!
As someone in their early 30s who has been told their entire life that they can't properly squat due to inflexibility, this video literally changed my life and approach to working out. Thank you so fkn. much.
As a future PT student I can't put into words how helpful and motivating this channel is. I HIGHLY recommend listening to his podcast as well. Absolute gold.
Never heard this before but this explains so much of the difficulty I have from "textbook" squatting positions. Now if I can continue to work on my hip and ankle mobility I can progress safely.
I don't know if you'll see this because the video is so old. But I want to thank you because your information about how to squat for your particular anatomy was extremely helpful. Thank you so much
Hats off sir for sharing this knowledge for free. No huffing and puffing or flexing muscles, just straight up to the point. One of the best fitness and physiotherapy channels on youtube for sure!
I just learned I’ve been squatting wrong my whole life and I believe this is why I have hip/knee pain! Thank you, this information is invaluable! Hopefully its not too late to rehabilitate my joints!
This is a game changer for me. Everytime I force squat with toes pointing straighter than I'd like it feels sooo uncomfortable. This video and the screening proved without a doubt my preference for wide toes is exactly the way to go. Thanks!
I don't know how to express my gratitude. Thank you for giving me this insight. I've tried to work on my squat technique for more than 4 years, and this is the first time I've come across the idea of anteversion and retroversion. I've always thought that my squat was wrong and hips handicapped because I never could do a "normal" straight squat. The anxiety/feel of inadequateness kept me from trying any barbell squat progress at all :( In reality, I might simply be even more retroverted than Ed is in this video. I feel most comfortable with my feet in 45-50 degree angles. I've just done several body weight squats, and I can nearly hold a full deep squat perfectly in this position. I'm going to start my next leg workout with some barbell squats! Again, thank you so much Dr. Horschig. Your video might just have enabled me to finally incorporate barbell squats in my workout!
Hope you've found the results you're hoping for! Congratulations on taking the next step in your squatting journey. I was shocked at how much more I was able to squat than I realized, pain free, once I put all the pieces together and figured out how my body squats. Literally went from painful body weight squats to squatting 100lbs over night (I mean I had to let my knees heal for a little while first but... From one session to the next, if not overnight lol) with only moderate effort. Lemme know how you've fared since you posted this comment if you're up for it!
Great info on squat stance - this is the most helpful video I’ve seen yet, and it addresses the reason why squat stance is so individual. I could never hit parallel with coaches telling me feet & toes directly forward and was told it was because I lacked strength or wasn’t trying hard enough (mental barrier, fear, etc.). It wasn’t until last year that I found better coaching to achieve a squat below parallel, and your video helps to make so much more sense of things!
Finally a professional who recognizes that all bodies have their own unique alignment! So many times I have been told how to angle my hips, where my feet should point, etc, with complete disregard of what my body actually feels in these positions. Thank you so much for this video! I really learned a lot!
I've been squatting improperly for months when I started training because I thought keeping your toes pointing forward was a must have for proper form. It wasn't until one gym instructor saw me struggling and pointed to me that I should try other stances and find what works for me. So many videos just fail to mention this. And it's not about squats either: deadlifts, bench pressing - all our bodies are different and we must find the sweet spot for each exercise.
Dear Mister. You just saved my whole day with this video. I always thought I was just unable to squat deep because of some stiffness in my hips or so. Who would've thought that rotating my feet outwards would instantly fix this problem. Thank you very much 🙌🏼
So i don't feel like a freak anymore! I toe out A LOT, and I've always been pushed to bring my toes in. I litterally can't. There is bone in the way. Forwarding this video to a few peeps!
THANK YOU, talk about perfect timing. I've always squat with my feet out, but recently tried shifting my toes inward because I thought that was more natural. I started having knee pain since then so I'm definitely switching back. Thank you!
From one of your UA-cam shorts, I learned about offset squats. It has changed my squat completely. It's involving, effective, and fun again. And the form is spot on. Getting up in age, and just getting stronger was alarming. I could really feel the internal pressure mounting. And with a bad family history of stroke and heart attack, I had zero desire to pop something. Really glad to learn about these! I get a lot of double takes, though!
Thank you for doing this and explaining it in simple terms. I did the two tests and practiced both types of squats, even though I was sure I already knew from paying attention to my body lately, but I'm definitely very retroverted. Now I can quit trying to do feet straight forward because my body is not made for that. I appreciate this video!
Omg, I always hated squats because it felt impossible for me to do them "properly". Turns out, the thing that feels natural for me IS the proper way for me! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this. I used to hate squats coz i can't go low enough and generally feel awkward. After learning about this, im slowly able to reach the right depth to perform full range of motion. Plus, i know enjoy squats!
This has been a game changer for me. I always thought that I just couldn't squat but this has opened my eyes to my natural range of motion and the squats are just so much easier.
it affect anything with hip extension yes with deadlifts for example I externally rotate by pushing out my knees into my elbows before initiating lift off, this helps fire your glutes aswell 1 legged squats/step ups are just different forms of hip extension and the same applies
I’ve ran track for 4 years ( 100, 200, 4x100). I have retroverted hip, and I’ve noticed that how I run, squat, jump, walk, etc. is pretty much the same. In all of those cases I have my toes pointing outward.
Your explanation is better than any other video on UA-cam about squats and proper foot placement! I have always felt more comfortable with my toes pointed out but was told I was doing it wrong. It makes sense that not all body's have their bones in the same position.
Thanks for sharing this! Being 6'6'' I was told to squat with wider stance and toes out, but this video shows that adopting a wider or narrower stance and different toe angle is not necessarily linked to height alone...
This is dope. I am retroverted (I learned that today), and have been trying to push through an unnatural position for YEARS. It feels a lot better, though I had to lighten up the weight a bit, my connection felt incredible. Great stuff.
This made so much sense! Thank you so very much.I have always felt I was tearing down muscles with forward squats. I finally just started doing them the way they felt right to me and I started developing strength. We truly need to listen to our bodies.
Thanks so much for this video! I noticed my feet naturally point outward when I squat and a friend told me that that was bad form - one article I read also said that you should squat with forward-facing feet. However I am definitely retroverted according to the test and I can get a much deeper squat (and feels more comfortable on my joints) with my feet angled a bit outward so I'll keep doing that.
Thank you! I didn't realize this was a thing. I thought my stance with toes out like a ballerina was "wrong" and I've been trying so hard to "fix" it with a narrower, toes forward stance. Now I know, it's actually optimal for me. Thank you!
Wow I've been trying to straighten out my feet because I thought I was fixing my squat form and as it turns out I was doing it right and I'm just making my life harder than it needs to be. Thanks a lot!
This is the single most important video that anyone ever doing a squat should watch beforehand. It's insane that this isn't common knowledge. I can now see that SO many people are teaching and doing squats wrong. My mind is blown, lol.
Fantastic! I think this follows the same concept of why I struggled with side lunges. I learned to step forward a bit, not just to the side and I was much steadier. Great video, great info.
Thank you! I think I've injured my lower back trying to emulate the "correct" squat position. My hips would impinge and there was no way to squat down further except to sacrifice my back by rounding it unintentionally.
I always felt like I was squatting wrong because of my exaggerated out toed stance and squat and I thought I wasn't squatting correctly. Not to sound like an infomercial but now I can squat more confidently lol
I am so happy I found it! All trainers and teachers all my life were telling me I am moving wrong and need to do it with parallel feet, so I have never could go deep, it was and is extremally painful. Thank you so much for this video!
This is so helpful. Without knowing this, I was trying to do my squats straight and ended up with a discomfort in my knees. Altering the squat with an angled foot made so much difference. Thank you for the clarity.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!! My friends keep saying that my feet are too far apart and that they’re pointed too far out for a squat. But for me though, attempting to keep my feet too close together and feet pointed forward is harder than to just naturally let my body do its thing
Amazing video with essential information. I do taekwondo at a basic level and my hips were doing the crackling thing all the time and hurt with some of the kicks I did. This has helped me understand why that happened and how to prevent it. Thank you so much
This was simple and excellent description. I go with feel. When squatting when I feel balanced and I get up from bottom easiest and biggest weights with no pain. It must be a right way to squat.
This pisses me off because I remember being in weight lifting in Highschool and not being able to squat at an adequate depth with the standard shoulder-width stance the same way Ed can't go all the way down in the same position and I've been discouraged from squating ever since. Thanks so much for this video.
I can see why you would be mad because me forcing myself to try to squat the way my coaches wanted me to in high school eventually led to 2 knee surgeries
@@victoraraoz75 That was mostly just an expression. I'm not actually pissed at this video, I'm pissed that I went so long feeling disouraged from participating in weight lifting just because my body isn't built for the one-stance-fits-all approach. It's not some debilitating hang-up lol. I go to the gym regularly now, but now I don't feel like I'm doing squats "wrong" just because I'm taking a wider stance.
Might sound like a stupid question but have you tried more toe out in a narrow stance? I've got some degree of retroversion as well, but I can squat comfortably to depth with feet at shoulder width at long as my feet are pointed out at the correct angle (about 20deg for me). Any narrower than that's a no-go because it I just run into my legs on the way down, and toes any less pointed out feels like an invisible force is trying to rip my knees off my body, but at least for me a narrow(er than wide) stance is still totally possible and can be a good way to vary up your squat (if you too can perform it comfortably)
Very enlightening piece of crucial information. It's clear that most gym instructors don't have such knowledge of the human anatomy. Thank you very much.
I'm curious about this too, seeing as someone like a ballerina would have a large amount of external rotation that isn't all due to natural anatomy but lots of training/stretching
This is so straight forward! I always gravitated to wider , toe out stance , but then all then”experts” , both in person and on video would tell you to force your way towards toe forward. This video should be required viewing . Thank you.
Fantastic, I thought I was squatting incorrectly even though it felt normal. I've tried the straight toes and I always found it difficult and was afraid to injure myself. Thank you!!❤
Thank you so much for this video. Unfortunately there are a lot of coaches and almost all Crossfit trainers that think that you should be able to squat with toes pointing forward. (Like Kelly Starrett )
Dr. Aaron, you have cracked the code for me with this video! For YEARS, I used to think that toeing out was cheating and thus I keep trying to make the "standard" no-angle position workout. In that position, I struggled to get to 90 degrees...even after all types of isolation exercises to strengthen the associated muscle groups. After watching this assessment and then trying out the recommended toe position (35 degrees for me), I was able to get MUCH deeper than ever before...with much more power AND control. Thank you so much for this tip! Follow-up question: does this same toe positioning translate to a seated leg press?
Thanks for this video! I used a toe-out squat position years ago when I squatted just because it felt most natural. Now that I'm returning to squatting I thought I needed to align my toes forward, but it's good to see I don't. I'm glad I checked before I started increasing the weight!
THANK YOU!!! So many people are dead set on telling you that you MUST point your toes straight out in a squat and it never felt comfortable. I’d get knee and back pain. Toes angled outwards feels so much more natural for me.
I used to think having parallel feet was the correct way and I never squat 135lb with full range of motion and never asz to grass. Learning from others is not always correct as everyone is different and love the video teaches this. Used to have constant knee pain, ego lift, and never went up in weight about 135. I now comfortably front squat 265 atg and back squat 315 for 8 reps. Squat correctly and it will fix your knee cracking, and knee pain. If you are in pain everyone automatically assume strength training will hurt you. It benefits you and is why physical therapy is alive and well. I'm ranting now.
Always chosen to disregard the "best position" in an exercise, for whatever feels mechanically right for my body when I try to perform a movement naturally. Glad to now know I haven't been screwing up 😅. Thanks for the great content!
It's definitely a grey area, as some movements might feel better to you when you compensate for weaknesses/limitations/instability and therefore use improper form that only reinforces the compensation pattern. At best this is leaving blind/weak spots and not hitting the target muscles, at worst risking injury. Or of course it could be natural variation and absolutely fine, best to look into it on a case by case basis 🙂
@@erenjaegerbomb8653 I must disagree. Whenever I've improperly used my body, pain / discomfort of some sort inevitably follows sooner or later, which allowed me to know where I needed to adjust. Starting a case-by-case research project on imdividual exercises / variations, instead of just getting started & troubleshooting along the way, is a good way to never get started at all.
@@nomadicwolf6132you may have misunderstood what I meant, I just meant sometimes the 'best position' does feel more awkward than what feels comfy, so sometimes yes you should adjust the movement to what feels right and sometimes you definitely shouldn't, that's all.
THANKS A LOT MAN!! Now I understand why I was having pain in my glutes region. I was trying to do squats and pistol squats keeping my legs straight. I didn't even notice this positioning would affect this much.
this is very informative, when I first went to the gym I'd look at the pictures on the machines and all the research I did said feet shoulder width apart and feet straight so naturally I did that and my squat was messy and I'm lucky I never hurt myself but roughly a year ago I changed gyms and tried a slightly wider stance with my feet angles a little out and everything worked as it should.
Ive Always done It wide feet outword naturallt once i tried in a machine which IS not wide enough i ve hurt myself pretty Bad in the fémur i Never done It again
Thank you for this video. My hip has been killing me, now I know my hips are retroverted, and this has completely changed my ability to get myself in shape. People need to talk about this more.
@singerliljermz was just at the gym wednesday (after my previous post) and did squats for the first time in 10+ yrs. I asked the front desk if someone could give me a refresher on how to do it... the female trainer told me "make sure you have your feet pointed straight!" Ugh...
@singerliljermz I told her about how I prefer my toes wide and after a quizzical look she said to just make sure my knees were over my toes. Would be nice to find the definitive authority on proper squat form.
Don't be disillusioned. ALL men are retroverted and ALL women are introverted. Test it with your family members, etc. Just as women can bear children while men can't.
Finally someone! It answered my question I had earlier ;-)...now how do you discern if you have tightness or weakness vs genetic structural limitations?
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This is amazing. I always wondered why I struggled with getting down low in my squats. I tested myself according to what you showed us and I fixed the issue!! You ROCK!!
![Squat Form For Your Anatomy [Perfect Depth Stance And Width]](/img/n.gif)
The #SquatUclub is now on UA-cam! As soon as I upload a new video, "like" it and comment with the hashtag #SquatUclub ASAP. I'll pick amongst those who do so within 1 hour of the video going live and pick one winner to start working on whatever you need help with (squat technique, an achy hip, help with back pain during deadlifts, etc). You must be SUBSCRIBED to my UA-cam channel for a chance to win. Turning on notifications by clicking the little bell next to the SUBSCRIBE button on my channel will make sure you can be first in line to win every time!
I’ll reply under the winners comment - so make sure you keep up on your notifications!
#SquatUclub definitely helps me to understand those that I coach more...thanks.
amazing video, very well explained
question: what if i have a lot of internal and external movement in both sitting and laying down positions?
Very informative video, but you OVERLOOKED ONE THING. *Excessive is not spelled excesive*. I am surprised no one has pointed it out.
Is it possible to have a retroversion right leg and a anterversion left leg? if so how do you fix this?
Wow, NO ONE is talking about this. I've always thought I had mobility issues with HIR and my ankles, now I know I just needed a wider and more toe out stance. THANK U!!
Yes, me too!! I was starting to think squatting wasnt for me!
Me four 😂😂 had a coach tell me that a wider stance means you’re not recruiting all the right muscles
The Renaissance Periodization guys had a video going over this before but it was kinda lengthy and I believe it went over multiple topics, its been awhile so not sure what it all went over. But yeah not many people actually talk about this type of stuff.
Ankles do matter greatly but poor dorsiflexion can be alleviated with a good squat shoe. Also it is even more intricate than this video as people have natural variance in femur to torso length, length of femur neck, size of femur head and depth of the actual foramen where the head inserts into to pelvis. I get upset when trainers critique students for form without considering all variances. Drills are vital but at some point its bone on bone for some people which requires alot of nuiance
Nuckols has been talking about this for years.
This makes so much sense, im so tired of people/trainers telling me im squatting wrong when i feel more comfortable doing a wide stance(feet outwards) when i do my squats. i knew something was wrong when i felt pain with every rep with my squats. Thank you for this!
Agree 100%
what qualifications does your trainer have I want to get one and am worried I will know more than they do after doing so much research!!! Jennifer you are wasting your money with those.
Same. Feels so awkward squatting with feet straight mine always go out to the side.
does it matter that he used the left leg when seated and the right leg when prone? shouldnt he use the same leg?
@@skitzcunt4213 wouldn't really make a difference since he's assessing bone structure and they're mostly the same on both sides
I've squatted myself to the point of injury trying to maintain a forward facing foot squat. After I recovered, I gave outward facing a shot and noticed a major increase in strength, depth, and comfort. Seeing this makes me confident I was correctly listening to my body when I made this change. Great video!
Why would you even attempt to squat in a forward facing foot position in the first place?
@@Ultrabenbooyah Because it's very often said to be "the Proper Form" and you may be shamed for not being able to achieve it.
@@UltrabenbooyahI’ve been doing PT for my knee after ACL replacement, PTs keep getting on me for favoring a wide stance. I get stuck on the straight stance which they call proper form even though I can do ass to grass with the wider stance.
My squat was always shit. I could never get further than 185 lbs because my knee would always start to hurt. Since this vid, I've gotten rid of that knee pain and crushed through the 200 lbs barrier. Thanks so much guys.
Congrats!
Wow!
May the squat force be with you padawan :)
Im black
Will to power !
23 years old...not going to lie. You just probably saved my life with this. Thank you brotha!
Same!!
Plz support and donate him so he can save more lives
Like, I wonder how to correct knee pain when squatting... Also I've found I cannot point my toes outward, I have to point them straight...
@@bradleyhauf312 did you not watch the video Bradley? He just explained that...
Always wondered why I had a problem with this exercise . Wouldn’t even do them! Thanks!
I've had knee pain for so long its ridiculous and I'm only 22, I've always squated with my feet facing forward and my knee would pop every time and have pain. I knew a wider stance would be better but I was always told it's not right, I was almost brought to tears when I tried it and there was no pop or any pain when I squated down, this has changed my life for the better and I am forever grateful.
Someone should pin this comment
Same here.
10 years of bad squats. I can't thank you enough for this explanation.
Damnn any effects on ya?
Probably occasional knee pain
@@devonhood 10 years!?!?
@@Experience76 not that hard to believe if the discomfort wasn't major. Like most things, anteversion / retroversion are on a spectrum. If it was just a bit of one or the other, I can see someone just gritting their teeth and pushing through it over the long term.
On the other hand, for me it felt like my knees were gonna rip out from my legs if I had any weight on my back with feet pointed straight forward, so... Yeah. That was never going to be me lmao.
This makes sense. Squatting always felt terrible to me and my trainer kept saying to keep my toes pointing forward, but it just felt wrong... Good to know i was in the right by pointing my feet outwards
Fire your trainer! Lol.......Honestly for most people the toes are usually going to be at least slightly outward instead of straight ahead.
@@IKARIANOFFICIAL Love your comment so much!!
Same here. Toes forward causes pain in my ankles. Toes pointed out feels much more natural and allows for a very deeper squat. Thank you for the video.
@@IKARIANOFFICIAL Ye i'm at a new gym now, doing my own thing and if something feels wrong i look up a video or 2 and check if i'm doing it right.
Usually the toes try to go outwards because your adductors are tight as shit. It feels like the ankles are immobile, but try to do a frog pose and if that's really "too easy", then your anatomy might the cause for it. Otherwise you probably have very likely inner thighs tight like concrete and won't even feel a stretch and just a dull feeling at best which can take months to open up.
FINALLY someone pointing out and explaining why some people cannot do a toes-straight-forward squat without either injuring themselves, or extremely limiting their range of motion! I cannot get a low, deep squat unless my toes are pointed more outward. I got sick of constantly questioning if I was squatting right or wrong, so I gave up on them all together. I will start incorporating them back into my workouts, thank you!
I am in shock!!!!!!! I have difficulty keeping my feet straight and would always end up with feet outward. I would reposition and was confused as to why I had such trouble. This totally makes sense. No more discomfort in my knees struggling to stay straight!!!! Thank you so much.
I’ve been wondering for years why I can’t squat the ‘correct way’ without falling backwards. Thank you so much!
Same!! People wouldn't believe I just couldn't do it even though I tried my whole life!
Me too! A trainer was making me squat and I fell backwards every time. It just felt awkward to try to squat like that.
YES. Thank you.
@@MicukoFeltonWell, no matter how I deep squat, I keep falling backwards. 😢
@@grenade8572 ankles too tight?
Squats have always felt uncomfortable with feet straight, and everyone told me that was how to do it! The moment I turned my feet out, it immediately felt more comfortable. Thanks much for this!
I've always seen squat videos of people pointing their toes more forward, while that has always felt unnatural for me, and even caused knee pain. Then I started putting my feet more out, and it felt WAY better. All those squat videos never explained that I'm "Retroverted". This is by far the best squat video I've seen, since it actually explains your anatomy and to do what feels natural to you.
Same here, I did try to squat with my feet forward for 3 months, and I get tendinites in both knees, now I get well n I figured what's wrong with it
yeah same I started to experience hip pain
I was hoping for some mind blowing technique change that would improve my squat, instead I was given an intelligent understanding of what I slowly learned over time while squatting. Thanks for the knowledge and explanation.
Same.Had to learn to listen to my body regarding form. But what I want to know is how you can perform this test without a second person to move your leg??
@@mrsaye499 For me I am just literally not able to move my leg in the other directions. Its pretty clear for me that I am slightly wider stance with toes out and thats what I have learned doing squats over the past 3 years.
@@mrsaye499 for most people it's literally impossible to move your leg to one particular sode. I am extremely retrofitted, which explains why my normal gait is very toed out and a comfortable standing potion for me is also very toed out.
Thanks fDr. Aaron Horschig this is the most amazing gift you have given all of us .
I'm a certified coach and no one EVER taught me this. Incredible info. Thank you for sharing
I want my money back coach!
Things you learn in medical school by very good lecturers. Not all lecturers will teach you this during anatomy class.
YOu must not be a very good coach , then. Just sayin'.
@@chivalrous_chevy1163
LMAO.. OK Shitty I mean Chevy...👌🏼
Remember that coach =/= doctor
Thank you!! I've always had a very wide/toes out squat stance and it's confused coaches to no end why I can't squat with a 'textbook' stance. Team retroverted hips!
Saaaame here!
Sameee
High five
#teamanteovertedhips 😂😂
Big same. Always felt annoyed when coaches would try to "correct" my stance when I knew it didn't feel right.
this was a life changing 5 minute video! I have aways been told in classes to point my toes forward when squatting and I have thus always had a "pinching" feeling on my hip flexors when squatting. Changed to a wider, toes turned out and the pain was MASSIVELY reduced. Thank you so much!!
I have been a yoga teacher for many years and always struggled to do a squat pose with my feet pointed straight ahead. This is the first time I have been able to understand why. I always thought my calves or achilles was just too tight. Now I no longer feel like I'm not trying or practicing hard enough. I know it's just how my hips are put together. Wish I had known this 10 years ago!
The best video about squat I've ever seen. Thank you so much
Thanks David
Jeff Cavaliere covered this long time ago but this is a good video too
Yes, I follow SquatU since he presents everything in a very professional (and clear) way.
Once a bust Always a bust
Yeah but personally i prefer this one!
@@OnceABustAlwaysABust Yes, but Aaron Horschig doesn't use fake weights and teach people to breath out before squatting....
This was actually super helpful. I had no idea why having a smaller stance was hurting and why I wasn’t able to hit depth like others around me. When I reached a certain point my knees would start to wobble in and out aggressively and I felt like my hip was pinching. I was confused because I’m young so I didn’t think my hips should be causing so much trouble. Now that I’m using only a wider stance I feel infinitely more comfortable with my form.
I had a revelation from this. All the stretching in the world wasn't helping and I thought I just couldn't be flexible enough to squat properly. Just angle my feet out and I'm good. Mind...blown.
You can't really stretch to change your body structure once you're an adult. If you stretch a lot when you're still growing and doing lots of high kicks then probably you can deep squat anyway you want. At least I do.
@@howardlam6181 doing high kicks doesn't change your anatomy
@@tjcogger1974 It does if you're still growing.
@@howardlam6181 there's nothing you can do (short of surgery) to change the depth of your hip sockets and the length of your femur bones. Even if you're still growing. He literally said that in the video lol
@@tjcogger1974 he is talking about adults. You may as well say there is nothing you can do about your scoliosis but we all know it isn't true.
This makes so much sense.. Last week, I tried the “how to squat the correct way” by other how to videos and 1) I couldn’t get lower than I should and 2) I had knee pain for days! Last night, I tried the angled outwards legs stance, because I thought it had always felt natural for me, and it worked so much better, I felt my glute muscles activated for my barbell squat (which I was really going for) instead of my knees! Today, I woke up with no pain on the knees, just the glutes, which is great! ❤
No wonder I felt lower back and knee pain with just an empty bar as a total noob and it’s because I was too narrow when my natural position should’ve been wide lol. Best video advice I’ve watched hands down.
It wasn't mentioned in the video, but it's also entirely possible that you have femoral ante/retroversion on just the one leg. That's the case with me. When I squat, I let my right foot sit in a more externally rotated position than my left. It may look odd, but it's the optimal stance for my anatomy.
You literally just changed my whole life with this video. I'm so excited to do some squats now. I kept watching different people do them the wrong way FOR ME. The correct way for them, but not me. I am so excited to work out tomorrow. Thank you endlessly
lol i feel the exact same way after seeing the vid
Woow, I was going to say (or write) almost the same!!!! This explanation or video changed my life. 😌🙏😃 ..greetings and take care.
Same
I'm not even Joking with this Video. It has made my squats 1000x better. I no longer struggle with pain or depth. Weight has gone up and it's changed my life. From almost crying in pain after sets, to feeling like 100kg is a warmup weight. I'm so happy. Thank you so much for your incredible knowledge!🙏🙏🙏
Where was your pain located?
My son, a lifter, follows your information closely and introduced you to me. I was a non-professional Fitness instructor for the Military in the 1980’s. During my time as a Basic Training Company Commander and then a Project Officer for the training Base, I helped redesign the outdated Physical Training Manuel for the US Army. Since my Army days, I was an owner/Therapist in Neuromuscular Treatment and the Personal Trainer of a Physical Health & Fitness company; and then just a Master Fitness Instructor for Gyms such as Bally Total Fitness and Gold’s Gyms.
…. I wish that the information you’re putting out to the population was available for me to use. I had some knowledge of what you teach, but not the in-depth knowledge you’re handing out. Thank you! You’re helping me start to return to a more flexible and fit individual since my fluke “Sudden Death Heart Attack” in 20210, Hip replacement ion 2017, and a previous injury (crushed T7) in 1997. Again. Thank you.
The whole time the rest of the world makes you think that there's something wrong with how your body naturally feels the most comfortable
an important rule when exercising is to listen to your body. when it hurts, STOP. no matter what others say. pain exists for a reason...
people tend to mix up the moment when it gets difficult, and pain.
Finally, someone who actually takes into consideration the anatomy of the person. I really feel like shoving this information down my local gym trainer's throat. Thanks a ton for this!
Jesus, this is the most important squat video I've ever seen. I bench 315, but squat only 245 with a ton of discomfort. Tried toes out and i can go way deep with no disconfort. This changes everything!
"Toes out" isn't really a recent breakthrough in squat theory, but this video is the first I've seen that addresses the logic and reason of "toes out" beyond "it opens your hips".
It looks like Jesus helped you, since you mentioned him.
SO HELPFUL. I always thought I *had* to keep my feet pointing straight, but it was always so uncomfortable. I will definitely start doing my squats with my toes pointing out. (And know I know it's not wrong!)
Yeah me too
Toes facing straight forward always felt horribly awkward for me as well. Outward facing ~ 45 degree works for me too. It just kinda naturally happened though, idgaf about the video. Happy squatting : )
same here. but don't you feel uncomfortable in Powerclean? wide toe reduces balance during initial phase of Clean ie up to the barbell just below the knee.. how do you manage it?
can you explain a bit or suggest some video to follow up.....
@@a_l_o_k_1111most of us aint power cleaning lol
This deserves 1 million views! You are helping many people with their gym gains and avoid injuries. Thank you so much 🙏🏾
993,000 so far lol, only took a year
I see how well this comment aged lol
Between mobility issues, muscular imbalances, and being new to squatting as a whole, this monstrosity of an exercise has taken me close to a year to be able to perform pain free, but this video was one small piece that helped me get there, so thanks for that.
Not as if Squat U needs anyone to vouch for them, but can confirm that as someone with mild-moderate hip retroversion my most comfortable foot angle it around 20 degrees.
what helped for you? I do oly lifting and started having some hip discomfort. i do a myriad of mobility a day (im not joking this shit takes me like hours).
@@lkerygma dude the trial and error has felt endless. The amount of tweaks I've had to do across my entire body has been insane and I've spent more time with knee tendonitis since I started squatting than my entire life beforehand lol.
That said, what appears to have been a main culprit for me other than trying to keep my feet pointing forward a little too much is bad pelvis control.
You see when you're used to having a lot of anterior tilt, a neutral position feels like posterior tilt (at least to me) and it sort of feels like I'm inducing low back rounding early by keeping a flat back. However, what's actually happening is that it's allowing me to better recruit my glutes and hams and when I go down to parallel, my back can stay flat and solid, whereas if I let myself go into anterior tilt at all, it actually ends up tucking back under me for some proper butt wink, instability in the knee, etc. When I'm close to parallel
You might not be having the same source as I did, but that was the last and probably biggest piece of the puzzle for me - figuring out what a neutral pelvis felt like and learning how to control my core muscles / change my movement patterns (esp hip hinging) in consequence to use the right muscles for the job.
I can now officially stop trying to force my feet straight. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for this video! I’m rehabbing from a hip and low back injury because a trainer told me I wasn’t squatting right because my toes were out. Spent months trying to “correct” my form, only to have injured and reinjured myself multiple times in the process. After your 5 minute video, I can clearly se e I am extremely retroverted. Thanks so much!
As someone in their early 30s who has been told their entire life that they can't properly squat due to inflexibility, this video literally changed my life and approach to working out.
Thank you so fkn. much.
As a future PT student I can't put into words how helpful and motivating this channel is. I HIGHLY recommend listening to his podcast as well. Absolute gold.
Thanks David
Never heard this before but this explains so much of the difficulty I have from "textbook" squatting positions. Now if I can continue to work on my hip and ankle mobility I can progress safely.
I don't know if you'll see this because the video is so old. But I want to thank you because your information about how to squat for your particular anatomy was extremely helpful. Thank you so much
Hats off sir for sharing this knowledge for free. No huffing and puffing or flexing muscles, just straight up to the point. One of the best fitness and physiotherapy channels on youtube for sure!
Thank you!
I just learned I’ve been squatting wrong my whole life and I believe this is why I have hip/knee pain! Thank you, this information is invaluable! Hopefully its not too late to rehabilitate my joints!
This is a game changer for me. Everytime I force squat with toes pointing straighter than I'd like it feels sooo uncomfortable. This video and the screening proved without a doubt my preference for wide toes is exactly the way to go. Thanks!
I don't know how to express my gratitude.
Thank you for giving me this insight. I've tried to work on my squat technique for more than 4 years, and this is the first time I've come across the idea of anteversion and retroversion. I've always thought that my squat was wrong and hips handicapped because I never could do a "normal" straight squat. The anxiety/feel of inadequateness kept me from trying any barbell squat progress at all :( In reality, I might simply be even more retroverted than Ed is in this video. I feel most comfortable with my feet in 45-50 degree angles.
I've just done several body weight squats, and I can nearly hold a full deep squat perfectly in this position. I'm going to start my next leg workout with some barbell squats!
Again, thank you so much Dr. Horschig. Your video might just have enabled me to finally incorporate barbell squats in my workout!
Hope you've found the results you're hoping for! Congratulations on taking the next step in your squatting journey. I was shocked at how much more I was able to squat than I realized, pain free, once I put all the pieces together and figured out how my body squats. Literally went from painful body weight squats to squatting 100lbs over night (I mean I had to let my knees heal for a little while first but... From one session to the next, if not overnight lol) with only moderate effort.
Lemme know how you've fared since you posted this comment if you're up for it!
Great info on squat stance - this is the most helpful video I’ve seen yet, and it addresses the reason why squat stance is so individual. I could never hit parallel with coaches telling me feet & toes directly forward and was told it was because I lacked strength or wasn’t trying hard enough (mental barrier, fear, etc.). It wasn’t until last year that I found better coaching to achieve a squat below parallel, and your video helps to make so much more sense of things!
This channel is a gold mine. Period.
Finally a professional who recognizes that all bodies have their own unique alignment! So many times I have been told how to angle my hips, where my feet should point, etc, with complete disregard of what my body actually feels in these positions. Thank you so much for this video! I really learned a lot!
I've been squatting improperly for months when I started training because I thought keeping your toes pointing forward was a must have for proper form. It wasn't until one gym instructor saw me struggling and pointed to me that I should try other stances and find what works for me.
So many videos just fail to mention this. And it's not about squats either: deadlifts, bench pressing - all our bodies are different and we must find the sweet spot for each exercise.
Dear Mister.
You just saved my whole day with this video. I always thought I was just unable to squat deep because of some stiffness in my hips or so. Who would've thought that rotating my feet outwards would instantly fix this problem.
Thank you very much 🙌🏼
So i don't feel like a freak anymore! I toe out A LOT, and I've always been pushed to bring my toes in. I litterally can't. There is bone in the way. Forwarding this video to a few peeps!
👍
THANK YOU, talk about perfect timing. I've always squat with my feet out, but recently tried shifting my toes inward because I thought that was more natural. I started having knee pain since then so I'm definitely switching back. Thank you!
From one of your UA-cam shorts, I learned about offset squats. It has changed my squat completely. It's involving, effective, and fun again. And the form is spot on.
Getting up in age, and just getting stronger was alarming. I could really feel the internal pressure mounting. And with a bad family history of stroke and heart attack, I had zero desire to pop something. Really glad to learn about these!
I get a lot of double takes, though!
Thank you for doing this and explaining it in simple terms. I did the two tests and practiced both types of squats, even though I was sure I already knew from paying attention to my body lately, but I'm definitely very retroverted. Now I can quit trying to do feet straight forward because my body is not made for that. I appreciate this video!
Omg, I always hated squats because it felt impossible for me to do them "properly". Turns out, the thing that feels natural for me IS the proper way for me! Thank you so much!
Gaining mobility helps a ton
Thank you so much!! I’ve always asked which way is best. I really appreciate you breaking down the mechanics. We need more creators like you!
Thank you for this. I used to hate squats coz i can't go low enough and generally feel awkward. After learning about this, im slowly able to reach the right depth to perform full range of motion. Plus, i know enjoy squats!
This has been a game changer for me. I always thought that I just couldn't squat but this has opened my eyes to my natural range of motion and the squats are just so much easier.
And THIS is why I listen to my body, not what others tell me I should do! Thank you for affirming my squat stance!
So does this also affect the way you one legged squat, step up and lunge and even deadlift?
Would love to hear more on this. So informative :)
I was thinking the exact same thing
Good question
I’d love to hear the answer here
it affect anything with hip extension yes
with deadlifts for example I externally rotate by pushing out my knees into my elbows before initiating lift off, this helps fire your glutes aswell
1 legged squats/step ups are just different forms of hip extension and the same applies
Question here good sir: How does this affect body mechanics when running or deadlifting? Great video, thanks
good question, bump
Yup. Now, I really wanna know how it’s affects running.
I’ve ran track for 4 years ( 100, 200, 4x100). I have retroverted hip, and I’ve noticed that how I run, squat, jump, walk, etc. is pretty much the same. In all of those cases I have my toes pointing outward.
@@ricefields7539 can u let us also know (for one example) what your results are based on the pelvis test?
+Aleks Hatz I’m not sure I understand. Explain please.
Your explanation is better than any other video on UA-cam about squats and proper foot placement! I have always felt more comfortable with my toes pointed out but was told I was doing it wrong. It makes sense that not all body's have their bones in the same position.
It is a very helpful video or explanation!!
Thanks for sharing this! Being 6'6'' I was told to squat with wider stance and toes out, but this video shows that adopting a wider or narrower stance and different toe angle is not necessarily linked to height alone...
This is dope. I am retroverted (I learned that today), and have been trying to push through an unnatural position for YEARS. It feels a lot better, though I had to lighten up the weight a bit, my connection felt incredible. Great stuff.
This made so much sense! Thank you so very much.I have always felt I was tearing down muscles with forward squats. I finally just started doing them the way they felt right to me and I started developing strength. We truly need to listen to our bodies.
Thanks so much for this video! I noticed my feet naturally point outward when I squat and a friend told me that that was bad form - one article I read also said that you should squat with forward-facing feet. However I am definitely retroverted according to the test and I can get a much deeper squat (and feels more comfortable on my joints) with my feet angled a bit outward so I'll keep doing that.
Thank you! I didn't realize this was a thing. I thought my stance with toes out like a ballerina was "wrong" and I've been trying so hard to "fix" it with a narrower, toes forward stance. Now I know, it's actually optimal for me. Thank you!
Whoa. This is why I like the science in exercise! Have always noticed that my feet are angled differently. Thanks to this channel, now i know😊.
Wow I've been trying to straighten out my feet because I thought I was fixing my squat form and as it turns out I was doing it right and I'm just making my life harder than it needs to be.
Thanks a lot!
This is the single most important video that anyone ever doing a squat should watch beforehand.
It's insane that this isn't common knowledge.
I can now see that SO many people are teaching and doing squats wrong. My mind is blown, lol.
Fantastic! I think this follows the same concept of why I struggled with side lunges. I learned to step forward a bit, not just to the side and I was much steadier. Great video, great info.
Thank you! I think I've injured my lower back trying to emulate the "correct" squat position. My hips would impinge and there was no way to squat down further except to sacrifice my back by rounding it unintentionally.
I always felt like I was squatting wrong because of my exaggerated out toed stance and squat and I thought I wasn't squatting correctly. Not to sound like an infomercial but now I can squat more confidently lol
I am so happy I found it! All trainers and teachers all my life were telling me I am moving wrong and need to do it with parallel feet, so I have never could go deep, it was and is extremally painful. Thank you so much for this video!
This is so helpful. Without knowing this, I was trying to do my squats straight and ended up with a discomfort in my knees. Altering the squat with an angled foot made so much difference. Thank you for the clarity.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!! My friends keep saying that my feet are too far apart and that they’re pointed too far out for a squat. But for me though, attempting to keep my feet too close together and feet pointed forward is harder than to just naturally let my body do its thing
Amazing video with essential information. I do taekwondo at a basic level and my hips were doing the crackling thing all the time and hurt with some of the kicks I did. This has helped me understand why that happened and how to prevent it. Thank you so much
This was simple and excellent description. I go with feel. When squatting when I feel balanced and I get up from bottom easiest and biggest weights with no pain. It must be a right way to squat.
This pisses me off because I remember being in weight lifting in Highschool and not being able to squat at an adequate depth with the standard shoulder-width stance the same way Ed can't go all the way down in the same position and I've been discouraged from squating ever since. Thanks so much for this video.
it pisses you off? .... really?........ just let it go and your life will be that much better.
I can see why you would be mad because me forcing myself to try to squat the way my coaches wanted me to in high school eventually led to 2 knee surgeries
@@victoraraoz75 whats wrong with feeling anger towards what could of messed up his health
@@victoraraoz75 That was mostly just an expression. I'm not actually pissed at this video, I'm pissed that I went so long feeling disouraged from participating in weight lifting just because my body isn't built for the one-stance-fits-all approach. It's not some debilitating hang-up lol. I go to the gym regularly now, but now I don't feel like I'm doing squats "wrong" just because I'm taking a wider stance.
Such an easy test but life changing results! I now understand why I was having issues with narrow squats #teamretroversion thank you!!
Might sound like a stupid question but have you tried more toe out in a narrow stance? I've got some degree of retroversion as well, but I can squat comfortably to depth with feet at shoulder width at long as my feet are pointed out at the correct angle (about 20deg for me). Any narrower than that's a no-go because it I just run into my legs on the way down, and toes any less pointed out feels like an invisible force is trying to rip my knees off my body, but at least for me a narrow(er than wide) stance is still totally possible and can be a good way to vary up your squat (if you too can perform it comfortably)
Very enlightening piece of crucial information. It's clear that most gym instructors don't have such knowledge of the human anatomy. Thank you very much.
Curious how much of this could also be caused by tightness as far as range of motion.
Subbed cause I wanna know the answer to this too
I think most people don’t really have any problems with either.
Maybe weakness in the muscles as well
Could contribute to not pulling on the tendons to balance out the bones for proper alinement.
I'm curious about this too, seeing as someone like a ballerina would have a large amount of external rotation that isn't all due to natural anatomy but lots of training/stretching
@@victoriasepulveda1508 Another great point actually...
This is so straight forward! I always gravitated to wider , toe out stance , but then all then”experts” , both in person and on video would tell you to force your way towards toe forward. This video should be required viewing . Thank you.
Fantastic, I thought I was squatting incorrectly even though it felt normal. I've tried the straight toes and I always found it difficult and was afraid to injure myself. Thank you!!❤
Thank you so much for this video. Unfortunately there are a lot of coaches and almost all Crossfit trainers that think that you should be able to squat with toes pointing forward. (Like Kelly Starrett
)
Gosh, it's thanks to people like you that I am improving in my home workouts!! Thanks a million
Dr. Aaron, you have cracked the code for me with this video! For YEARS, I used to think that toeing out was cheating and thus I keep trying to make the "standard" no-angle position workout. In that position, I struggled to get to 90 degrees...even after all types of isolation exercises to strengthen the associated muscle groups.
After watching this assessment and then trying out the recommended toe position (35 degrees for me), I was able to get MUCH deeper than ever before...with much more power AND control. Thank you so much for this tip!
Follow-up question: does this same toe positioning translate to a seated leg press?
Thanks for this video! I used a toe-out squat position years ago when I squatted just because it felt most natural. Now that I'm returning to squatting I thought I needed to align my toes forward, but it's good to see I don't. I'm glad I checked before I started increasing the weight!
THANK YOU!!! So many people are dead set on telling you that you MUST point your toes straight out in a squat and it never felt comfortable. I’d get knee and back pain. Toes angled outwards feels so much more natural for me.
I used to think having parallel feet was the correct way and I never squat 135lb with full range of motion and never asz to grass. Learning from others is not always correct as everyone is different and love the video teaches this. Used to have constant knee pain, ego lift, and never went up in weight about 135. I now comfortably front squat 265 atg and back squat 315 for 8 reps. Squat correctly and it will fix your knee cracking, and knee pain. If you are in pain everyone automatically assume strength training will hurt you. It benefits you and is why physical therapy is alive and well. I'm ranting now.
Always chosen to disregard the "best position" in an exercise, for whatever feels mechanically right for my body when I try to perform a movement naturally. Glad to now know I haven't been screwing up 😅. Thanks for the great content!
It's definitely a grey area, as some movements might feel better to you when you compensate for weaknesses/limitations/instability and therefore use improper form that only reinforces the compensation pattern. At best this is leaving blind/weak spots and not hitting the target muscles, at worst risking injury. Or of course it could be natural variation and absolutely fine, best to look into it on a case by case basis 🙂
@@erenjaegerbomb8653 I must disagree. Whenever I've improperly used my body, pain / discomfort of some sort inevitably follows sooner or later, which allowed me to know where I needed to adjust.
Starting a case-by-case research project on imdividual exercises / variations, instead of just getting started & troubleshooting along the way, is a good way to never get started at all.
@@nomadicwolf6132you may have misunderstood what I meant, I just meant sometimes the 'best position' does feel more awkward than what feels comfy, so sometimes yes you should adjust the movement to what feels right and sometimes you definitely shouldn't, that's all.
THANKS A LOT MAN!! Now I understand why I was having pain in my glutes region. I was trying to do squats and pistol squats keeping my legs straight.
I didn't even notice this positioning would affect this much.
I always thought my feet needed to be straight. And sometimes my knees would start to hurt now I know why. Thank you👍👍
this is very informative, when I first went to the gym I'd look at the pictures on the machines and all the research I did said feet shoulder width apart and feet straight so naturally I did that and my squat was messy and I'm lucky I never hurt myself but roughly a year ago I changed gyms and tried a slightly wider stance with my feet angles a little out and everything worked as it should.
Ive Always done It wide feet outword naturallt once i tried in a machine which IS not wide enough i ve hurt myself pretty Bad in the fémur i Never done It again
Thank you for this video. My hip has been killing me, now I know my hips are retroverted, and this has completely changed my ability to get myself in shape. People need to talk about this more.
Almost 50 yrs old. This is the first I've heard of this. I just figured out my style because my hips hurt.
i'm retroverted. I never knew, but it is way more comfortable with my toes out wide!
@singerliljermz was just at the gym wednesday (after my previous post) and did squats for the first time in 10+ yrs. I asked the front desk if someone could give me a refresher on how to do it... the female trainer told me "make sure you have your feet pointed straight!" Ugh...
@singerliljermz I told her about how I prefer my toes wide and after a quizzical look she said to just make sure my knees were over my toes. Would be nice to find the definitive authority on proper squat form.
Don't be disillusioned. ALL men are retroverted and ALL women are introverted. Test it with your family members, etc. Just as women can bear children while men can't.
@@haviskam *FALSE*
My gosh you make so much sense! THANK YOU 🙏🏼
MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL THE GOOD AWARENESS YOU BRING & YOUR GENTLE GUIDANCE
Finally someone! It answered my question I had earlier ;-)...now how do you discern if you have tightness or weakness vs genetic structural limitations?
Yes, I was wondering this as well!
Physio's swear by the textbook "dead straight" parallel stance when squatting but no matter how much stretching I did I could never do it
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This is amazing. I always wondered why I struggled with getting down low in my squats. I tested myself according to what you showed us and I fixed the issue!! You ROCK!!