Differences in squat stance due to anthropometry - toe direction

[Jeff LC]

Mark,

Wonder, among all the different people you have coached, if you have ever encountered someone who's natural squat stance for their anthropometry, was to have the toes pointed pretty far out.. as in, much further out than most people.

For me, when i squat, i have found this sweet spot with my stance where it feels perfectly natural to have my knees go right over the toes in that direction, and lets me get really deep without feeling any discomfort or wierd mobility constraints, it just feels like the best possible squat stance for me, but my toes are pointed basically like 45 degrees out almost.

Anyway, curious if you have ever seen someone that squats best with toes pointed further out, or whether you would always coach to correct that, not matter what. If i turn them further in, more in line with the videos, i feel this wierd tightness as I get toward the bottom and it makes getting deep feel less natural - i meet resistance, my outer thighs seem to tighten up etc.

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you are naturally duck-footed or "out-toed" you will need a stance angle wider than the recommended 30-35 degrees. This is fairly common, and I believe it is addressed in the blue book.

[Iron Patriot]

I’m in this category too. I’m very duck footed, more so on the right than the left. My legs are bowed (maybe my Texas roots?), and when my patella is facing straight forward, my foot actually turns out. I just learned at a pretty young age to not stress about my toes pointing out more than my knees.

[Bestafter60]

I find that when I warm up with an empty bar, the only way I can reach depth is with my toes out wide (>45 degrees). With 135 on my back, if I bring my toes in, my form goes bad, I lean forward and fail to reach depth. Only when I get close to my work sets am I able to reach depth without an exaggerated toe angle. Could be just an age-related thing, but maybe that's true for you to?