Perhaps we need a diagnosis of your groin problem first.
Member
Toes forward
Rip, I've read all your brilliant articles and I know that knees out in the squat is what allows us to reach depth while maintaining the proper lumbar extension. And I've been quite successful in this. However, I have this nagging groin problem that won't go away and it's starting to interfere with my form because of the pain. I know in the book you advocate toes forward knees forward squat to heal the groin. However, having a history of back issues, isn't squatting like this going to interfere with my depth and having the proper back extension? I don't want to fix one problem by causing another in the back. Also, does starting a toes forward period mean a hefty reduction in weight, or will the loss of adductor in the squat not cause that much of a reduction?
TMPHBITEU
Perhaps we need a diagnosis of your groin problem first.
Member
I had to switch to toes forward (or very close to forward, I never go outside 5-10 degrees) because of hip pain. The change had no impact on my ability to keep my lower back in extension, did not require any reduction in weight, and actually made hitting depth a bit easier iirc.
Only thing harder now is controlling knee travel and staying over the midfoot, which I guess is due to the longer femur and me being an idiot when it comes to proprioception. I'm actually considering playing around with a lower/no heeled weightlifting shoe. I think that the combination of toes forward (which also limits how wide your stance is if you care about your knees), fairly long femurs anyway and a 0.75 inch heel don't mesh well with my low bar squat.
Member
Maybe I'm nitpicking semantics here, but I want to make sure you're aware. Using that form doesn't do anything to actively heal the groin, it simply allows the area to heal by minimizing the involvement of the adductors and avoiding a further pull of the injured area.Originally Posted by Chickma2
It's a way to work around an injury, rather than active rehab of it. Go figure out what the initial problem was.
Member
Well yea I knew that! It's nothing serious Ive been squatting through it for months and got up to 405, just too stubborn to stop. I also play a ton of basketball and it doesn't bother me at all. It really is only an issue on warmup sets but I was thinking I should address it because it can be painful (it's worst with the empty bar). Reslly all i wanted to know was if toes forward inhibits ability to get lumbar extension at the bottom?
TMPHBITEU
Toes has nothing to do with lumbar extension. That would be femurs.
Member
I think he's saying that toes forwards will lead to more forwards femurs, which will then impinge on the hips/ASIS and cause the low back to round.
TMPHBITEU
I am being precise. This guy has been here long enough to know this shit.
Member
I do know sorry for imprecision but you get the question.
Also you can't really get femur out w/ toes forward stance so it does have to do with lumbar extension.
Member
Seen this advocated by crossfitters (K. Starrett) it can be done easily with light weights, but there are a lot of forces on the knee and ankle in doing so. However I've never seen anyone move any significant weight using this technique.
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