Staggered Foot Squatting

[HOLA]

I always noticed Klokov does this. He always has his left foot slightly in front of his right.



When googling about it, I came across Keith Wassung writing this on another site.

Here is my theory on it

The body has to work in harmony with itself as a unit. Each muscle or set of contracting muscles has an opposite set of muscles, which are referred to as the antagonistic muscles. For example, the triceps are antagonistic to the biceps when doing barbell curls. To maximize your training, the antagonistic muscles need to be set or balanced against the contractor muscles. When standing in the traditional upright stance, there is little balance and once the lifting begins, the antagonistic muscles actually begin draining the contractor (the ones used in the exercise) muscles of strength and energy. To place yourself in the strongest standing position, you should place one foot approximately 3-4 inches in front of the other in a staggered stance. This will place you in a much stronger stance permitting more work to be performed. Boxers, martial artists, baseball players and track and field athletes also use the staggered stance. If you ever see pictures of past Olympic lifters such as Vasily Alexeev or Paul Anderson, you will notice that their feet are staggered when elevating weights overhead.

I use a staggered stance on just about everything that I do in the gym while standing.

Tried them today with very light weight, they felt pretty rock solid. I'd imagine keeping the same leg as the one in front like it seems like Klokov does, would lead to some weird muscle imbalances though? What do you guys think about it?

 

[grrthetree]

I've heard that Klokov has one leg longer than the other and that's why he staggers.

 

[Badger67]

^ I could see leg length discrepancy being the most likely reason.

 

[TheAugustKid]

Hmm thats interesting. I've tried some staggered stances before. I have scoliosis and my left leg is longer by an inch. Which leg would you put in front of the other? The shorter leg in front?

 

[HOLA]

Hmm thats interesting. I've tried some staggered stances before. I have scoliosis and my left leg is longer by an inch. Which leg would you put in front of the other? The shorter leg in front?

I believe so. If you "tilted" to the right when looking at your shoulders for example, which I guess you would if your left leg was longer, putting your right foot in front would seem to make them even.

 

[MatterOverMind]

As far as Keith Wassung goes, I think he used a staggered stance because sometimes the submarine would tilt.

 

[lpaulgib]

I didn't really notice a discrepancy with his feet like you're talking about.

 

[LiKeS]

I squat with a staggered stance. When I place me feet parallel with a 'high' weight I can't seem to develop any real power.

I know from haven x-rays taken that my hip isn't completely level and is 3mm higher on one side. I think that's why I squat this way.

I don't have any pain when squatting and don't have a noticable muscle imbalance

 

[HOLA]

I didn't really notice a discrepancy with his feet like you're talking about.

More noticeable in other angles. It isn't that much, maybe an inch or two.

 

[National Acrobat]

I didn't really notice a discrepancy with his feet like you're talking about.

 

[Tosa]

I would think you would have the shorter leg behind the longer leg, so that the hips and the rest of the body would be more even. It might not even be an entirely deliberate thing - it could be that since it compensates for different leg lengths it just feels right. Likewise, you'd have to be careful about deliberately staggering your stance to avoid over compensating. Video and feed back from training partners would be needed.

But that's making a lot of assumptions, and it's entirely possible that the reason Klokov lifts like that is something else. For example, athletes will often develop technical quirks after an injury.

 

[PUO3]

I squat in a very slightly staggered stance. Ankle issues and balance is awful, helps me stabilize.

 

[ripskater]

An ankle mobility issue in one leg could cause this IMO.

 

[ripskater]

I would think you would have the shorter leg behind the longer leg, so that the hips and the rest of the body would be more even. It might not even be an entirely deliberate thing - it could be that since it compensates for different leg lengths it just feels right. Likewise, you'd have to be careful about deliberately staggering your stance to avoid over compensating. Video and feed back from training partners would be needed.

But that's making a lot of assumptions, and it's entirely possible that the reason Klokov lifts like that is something else. For example, athletes will often develop technical quirks after an injury.

Yeah I think the longer leg would usually be in front. I heard someone say the shorter one is usually the stronger one. I don't know though.

 

[Stargazer Rex]

I stagger stance when I Press, but not squat. Feel stronger pressing like that.

 

[Halge]

Lulz.
I just watched a Youtube video with a compilation of Klokov's lifts, and the foot placement thing bugged the hell out of me. He did it when squatting, deadlifting, pressing etc. Had to google if someone else had noticed it, and a link to this thread is the first that showed up.

I've heard that Klokov has one leg longer than the other and that's why he staggers.

Is that why he looks so god-damn bowlegged? I always assumed his faberge egg sized testicles caused that.