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2x4

Richmond_Hrvat

Richmond_Hrvat

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So I've been squatting with a pretty wide stance thus far in my career because it's the only way I can squat with my particular flexibilities. It's been working as far as weightlifting, and in 9 months I progressed from no lower body training at all to squatting 405.

However, I'm not lifting to just get the weight up, as noble a goal as that is. I'm lifting for increases in athletic performance. And recently I've felt a bit unstable on the inside of the knees (my stance and toe out is substantial) and noticed that my slewfoot (toe out) feels more pronounced. So to try and correct this, I want to work towards ankle flexibility and flexibility in general, of course. But I also want to narrow my squat stance and start using a 2x4 under my heels more often. I'm aiming for proper athletic development by putting the stress on my legs while they're more directly under my body, and developing muscle with my toes being further forward.

So who has squatted with a 2x4? I know a lot of professional bodybuilders have done it. What are your thoughts? Any other tips on lifting to improve athletic development? Changes to make?
 
adistar.jpg
 
How about working on your ankle felxibilty and using olyshoes.
Olyshoes just rock!
 
Definitely work on your flexibility. Throughout the day, squat down and stretch yourself through as full a ROM as you can. Sit in the bottom positon and push out on your knees to stretch your groin. A friend of mine has had a lot of success doing this. When we started, he could only get to about 6" above parallel, and now he can drop to a legit squat with the tops of his thighs parallel. part of it was due to working with weight and increasing ROM every time he worked out, and a lot was from stretching consistently throughout the day. Just a few seconds here and there make a huge difference.
 
What about the "risks" of stretching cold? How should I stretch throughout the day?

Would it be worth it to try front squats? I feel like that way my body could lean back a bit more (requiring less flex of ankles) with the back more straight up.
 
It shouldn't be a hard stretch. More like you'd stretch when you've just gotten out of bed in the morning. Basically, squat down, relax in the bottom position, push out on the knees a little bit, hold it for 5-10 sec, than stand back up and go on about your day.

It's kind of like grabbing a broomstick throughout the day and doing shoulder mobility work. I know Revok is a big fan of that. Same principles apply here.
 
The problem is that for me, squatting down in the bottom position to do this stretch means my heels are about 3 or 4 inches off the ground. Does that matter? My hips are actually quite loose.
 
Richmond_Hrvat said:
The problem is that for me, squatting down in the bottom position to do this stretch means my heels are about 3 or 4 inches off the ground. Does that matter? My hips are actually quite loose.
Click to expand...

Do the same thing, but work on lowering your heels down. Also work on ankle flexibility (which I need to work on a bit too, altho you're a lot worse than mine). If you need to squat with somethin' under your heels, reduce the height of it and push through your heels every time until your heels are flat on the floor.
 
Richmond_Hrvat said:
Right, the problem is that my heels raise higher than that.
Click to expand...

The standard Do-Win shoes have a higher heel than the Adidas that liquid! posted. Give them a try, it's a much better solution than putting boards under your heels.
 
A 2x4" is actually 1 1/2" thick finished, the Do-Wins have a 1 1/2-1 3/4" heel, the Addidas shoes are like 1 1/4". So really, they would be exactly comparable. If you can't squat with that much rise, you probably shouldn't be trying it until you get the flexibility.
 
Donut62 said:
A 2x4" is actually 1 1/2" thick finished, the Do-Wins have a 1 1/2-1 3/4" heel, the Addidas shoes are like 1 1/4". So really, they would be exactly comparable. If you can't squat with that much rise, you probably shouldn't be trying it until you get the flexibility.
Click to expand...

That's fine, except that, assuming I'm wearing shoes, the sole would add a bit to the board's height. Is it bad for your legs to squat with a board under you, even if you don't lose balance?
 
I've noticed something new.

And that is that while doing a basic, standing, one leg forward stretch of the hamstring with the standing leg's toes pointing forward, I have what I would consider to be very limited flexibility.

I have throughout my life done this stretch, but always with the standing foot far pointed to the side. Switching it in produces a massive feeling of stretch.

This is leading me to believe that, when squatting more narrowly, my hamstrings have far less flexibility, and that could be part of the reason my heels rise.

I did a test of bending my knee out with my hamstrings at rest, and my knees can make it to the toe of my foot, where they should be when squatting.

So perhaps Do-Wins and some heavy hamstring stretching after activity are what I need.
 
Could you link or explain pause squats, zero? Or is it just pausing at the bottom?
 
Donut62 said:
A 2x4" is actually 1 1/2" thick finished, the Do-Wins have a 1 1/2-1 3/4" heel, the Addidas shoes are like 1 1/4". So really, they would be exactly comparable. If you can't squat with that much rise, you probably shouldn't be trying it until you get the flexibility.
Click to expand...

Actually to get the accurate heel height of a shoe, you have to subtract the thickness of the sole from the thickness of the heel. My VS Athletics, which are just rebadged Do-Wins have a heel height of just under 1 1/4 inches. These are the highest heels on the market it seems.

Richmond, I was sort of in the same situation as you, but not as bad. Although I could do back squats below parallel in flat shoes with a shoulder width stance, I couldn't do front or overhead squats without heel lift. For a while I was using a one inch think board, but then I got some VS Athletics weightlifting shoes and I love them. The difference in stability is amazing. Most coaches will tell you that if you need some heel height, get it with a shoe, not a board, for stability reasons. But you need to really work on hamstring and ankle flexibility because nobody should need that much heel height.
 
K. Noted. I'll use a board for a while, but I'm going to dog the fuck out of my lower body's flexibility. Thanks.
 
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