Squat stance too narrow

[bigbonustoday]

Hi -

I've been squatting on my own for a while. I started out with the correct, shoulder-width stance (for me, feet about 12in apart). But as my squat went up in weight, my knees started to cave in more and it became harder to keep them out. But if I squat in a narrower stance, it'd be harder for the knees to cave in (since they start out closer) and I'm able to squat more weight as a result. So my squat stance became narrower over time. Eventually it got to the point where it's just a little wider than my deadlift stance. I didn't realize this could be an issue until now.

I did some reading and this article says that the main issue with a narrow stance is depth. I'm somewhat underweight and don't have any issue reaching full depth at a narrower stance.

Potentially related to this - I've been having some pain in my IT band lately. A sports medicine doctor told me it's due to weak glutes.

My question - can a narrow squat stance leave out glutes and cause weakness there?

Thank you.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The glutes are hip extensors. Hip extension is the primary action in the squat. And I guess you paid the "sports medicine doctor" to tell you this.

Post a video and let's get this over with.

[Maybach]

The effort required to drive your knees out ends up going into extension of the hips. If you narrow your stance so that your adductors can remain slack, they cannot contribute to hip extension. You pretty much have to be doing something very wrong.

[bigbonustoday]

The glutes are hip extensors. Hip extension is the primary action in the squat. And I guess you paid the "sports medicine doctor" to tell you this.

Post a video and let's get this over with.

Pls see video below. Thank you Rip.
Squat x5 2024-09-25 - YouTube

Btw I tried hard to upload the video as video not short on YouTube per guideline but wasn’t able to do it. Hope the above still works.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Standard high-bar squat.

[Jason Donaldson]

Btw I tried hard to upload the video as video not short on YouTube per guideline but wasn’t able to do it. Hope the above still works.

Required reading before posting , General Filming Guidelines, the section with the red header - the code block shows you how to alter the URL of your video to post it as an actual video and not a short.

[bigbonustoday]

Standard high-bar squat.

Thank you for weighing in Rip.

I recorded another video from a higher angle. The screenshot shows the bar position on my back. Is it too high? I tried putting it lower but any lower the bar starts to slip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaYs1Om9xP0

[Mark Rippetoe]

How is it possible that you don't understand that "high-bar squat" refers to the back angle, not the bar position that causes the back angle? Have we not discussed this enough?

[bigbonustoday]

How is it possible that you don't understand that "high-bar squat" refers to the back angle, not the bar position that causes the back angle? Have we not discussed this enough?

I see your point. Back too vertical. And I get that you might be frustrated if this is very obvious and could have been easily learned otherwise. I'm in fact an avid follower of your books/articles/podcast/videos. I do think some in the starting strength universe have defined low/high bar squat in terms of bar position on shouler. Here's a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jq39iErdho&t=11s) from a starting strength coach. Around 1:10 says exactly that.

Back to me - here's a side shot at the (almost) bottom of my squat today. My knees are barely in front of my toes. I tried really hard to move my hips back and make my back more horizontal. But leaning in any further the bar moves forward of my mid foot and I loses balance.

I suspect it's because I have a long torso relative to femur length. So my back has to stay somewhat more vertical to keep the bar in balance over mid foot. I believe you addressed this point explicitly for deadlifts in your book with an illustration of 3 lifters of different builds. I would think the same logic applies to squat?

I am hesitant to use anthropometry to explain abnormal reference angles, since statistically it's more likely that I just have the wrong form. What does it look like to you?

Any input and feedback is appreciated.

Here's the full video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIS4X8fNXF0


IMG_2697.jpg

[Mark Rippetoe]

You post a video that is supposed to show back angle, and you shoot it so that the plates cover up the back angle. I'm done here, you guys want to puzzle this out, go ahead.