Narrower squat stance

[richardleethefirst]

I apologize in advance for not having a video posted, but my account just got approved today.

My question: I can't squat with the same setup I used when I was younger. It starts to bother my hip when the weight gets higher. After backing off to light weight for a few weeks, I started to find that a narrower stance feels better. I've been slowly adding weight for 3 weeks. Is there a guideline/cue/practical limit for how narrow the squat stance can be?

My previous setup was about as wide as you would get in a football stance. Does that foot width create a moment arm between the hip and the foot in the way that too wide a pressing setup creates a moment arm between the hand and shoulder?

[Jeff Illingworth]

Does your squat match the model?

Go ahead and post a video, it makes all of this much easier.

If your stance is too wide, think of what it does to the knees (particularly the articulation of the femur and tibia) as well as how the femoral head articulates with the pelvis.

[Adam Skillin]

I apologize in advance for not having a video posted, but my account just got approved today.

My question: I can't squat with the same setup I used when I was younger. It starts to bother my hip when the weight gets higher. After backing off to light weight for a few weeks, I started to find that a narrower stance feels better. I've been slowly adding weight for 3 weeks. Is there a guideline/cue/practical limit for how narrow the squat stance can be?

My previous setup was about as wide as you would get in a football stance. Does that foot width create a moment arm between the hip and the foot in the way that too wide a pressing setup creates a moment arm between the hand and shoulder?

The physics of the situation notwithstanding (we can discuss and draw diagrams if necessary, I just think it's not germane to your question as I understand it so far), if you need to squat with your feet placed a little narrower to avoid injury due to hip anthropometry, then do it. Lots of lifters with femoroacetabular impingement manage to get hella strong (technical terminology) despite needing to make stance and toe angle adjustments to accommodate their hip architecture. Also, it would be useful and informative to post a video so we can see whether you're talking "a little narrow" or "stupid crazy narrow," but to paraphrase Rip, the bottom line is you have to squat if you can do so. If you have to use a slightly or even moderately different-than-baseline stance in order to do so injury-free, then that's what you do.

[richardleethefirst]

Here's a deadlift set. I'll post a squat shortly. 405x5

YouTube

[Jeff Illingworth]

Your deadlift is pretty sloppy. Please watch and apply tge info from the two different 5-step deadlift setup videos posted on the site. Set the bar down between reps, too.

[richardleethefirst]

Here's the squat with the stance to which I've adjusted. 290x5

YouTube

[Satch12879]

Your squats are high because your knees are going forward and not out and in line with your feet. I think your earlier hip problems at a wider stance were related to that, i.e., knees going forward and not out. I’d revisit a shoulder-width stance, with feet turned out appropriately, and a focus on shoving your knees out and keeping them there.

You’re also looking straight ahead instead of at the floor and your grip needs work.

[Nockian]

I watched a guy next to me squat over 300lbs with his feet nestled tightly together. He had perfect form. He didn't put hid knees out to the side, just held them together out front. Went all the way to parallel really neatly. I wanted to ask him how he had come to use that technique, but he had his ears full of music. Never seen anyone else do it.

[Jeff Illingworth]

These are a kind of high bar squat. Is that your goal?

[richardleethefirst]

Do you think I should widen my stance?