Have you ever searched the internet or looked in magazines to determine what the “correct” squat stance is only to be bombarded by completely contradictory information?
Some say toes pointed forward, some say outward; some say shoulder width spacing while others say more narrow or even wider.
So, what is the correct answer?
As with most things in the fitness world, the answer is “it depends on the trainee”.
This article will teach you how to perform a few simple movements that will determine the correct setup for your specific hip/femur structure.
The first step is to determine your toe angle (whether your toes point straight forward, out to the side, or somewhere in between).
To do this sit on a bench with your feet dangling off the end as shown in the diagram below.
Next, we will test the internal and external rotation of your hip joint and look for excessive movement in either direction.
To test the internal rotation, try to rotate your femur by pushing your foot out as shown below.
Next, test external rotation by trying to rotate your femur the other way by pushing your foot inwards as shown below.
Note how much or little movement you get in either direction. In the example case, you can see it is about the same with a VERY slight skew towards greater internal rotation.
Now, we will do the same exercise in the prone position. Set up as shown below.
We will now perform the same movements as before, noting the movement or lack thereof in either direction.
First, we test internal rotation, which appears to be slightly limited in the example case.
Then, we test external rotation which, in the test subject case, is very excessive when compared to internal.
So, what does all this mean?
In our test subject case, we had almost equal internal and external rotation in the seated position with a very slight amount more internal rotation. In the prone position, however, we had majorly excessive external rotation.
What this means for the test subject is that their toes should point out moderately or slightly more, approximately 30-40 degrees.
If you have excessive internal rotation in both positions, you will need to use a stance with your toes pointed straight forward.
On the other hand, if you have excessive external rotation in both positions, you will need your toes pointed out substantially.
Finally, if you have a mixed bag with excessive internal seated and excessive external prone, a standard “medium” stance of about 30 degrees will work.
Now that we have determined proper foot angle, we will look at proper stance width and depth.
To do this lay on your back and bring one leg up to your chest with the femur (thigh) straight up and down as it would be if you performed a close stance squat as shown below.
What you need to note here is where the knee is in relation to the hip crease. The top of the knee even with or above the hip crease is widely accepted as the correct squat depth. As you can see in the test subject, it is far past the hip crease and thus, this person should use a shoulder width (heel to heel) stance as they can meet depth in that position.
But what if the knee does not pass the hip crease? Some people have deeper hip sockets than others and the femur will hit the hip bone when this is performed not allowing proper depth. To fix this, we widen the stance.
Push your femur out away from your body as it would be in the bottom position of a squat using a wide stance. As you can see in the image below, the knee comes MUCH further past the hip crease. This should allow folks with deeper hip sockets to squat to depth properly.
To summarize, if your knee can get past the hip crease with your femur straight up and down, you have a shallow hip socket and can squat in a shoulder width stance. If you must rotate the femur outwards to meet this depth, squat with a wider stance.
Finally, we need to determine the proper depth for your squat. To do this, utilize the foot angle and stance width discussed above and perform an air squat with a camera to the side. Watch for the depth where you lose your flat back and your butt starts to curl under (known as buttwink). Your optimal depth is right above this level.
If you cannot squat until your knee is above your hip crease, that’s fine, you can continue to work on flexibility by performing full ROM body weight squats and stretching but, DO NOT try to force your body into a full squat with weight on your back if you cannot perform a full squat while maintaining a flat back. This will end in injury as your lower back is shifting while you have compressive stress resting on it.
You should be retesting your depth abilities from time to time using the method above, always striving to go lower but, don’t push it when you have weight on your back or you’ll be dealing with a nagging back injury instead of stacking more plates.