This is also a really good thing to factor in. I can REALLY go ass to grass with nothing, but even with lighter weight, I have to be careful not to go THAT low to avoid injury and rounding my lower back.
I’ll have to see if I can upload a video!
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Good to know! I suppose this also fits in with the idea of adjusting the exercise to do what works for your body and for what allows you to get the most out of the movement, rather than adjusting/forcing your body to do something that just isn’t right for your build
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I mean sure … i could stick with Olympic shoes and adjust things accordingly. But… thats going to take allot of reps and time to develope a new pattern which will be automatic without allot of thought. Which in the long run may or not be beneficial. At this point its just not worth the squeeze for the amount of juice on my end.
Out of curiosity…. i decided to research this some more from several different sources.
OK… LETS CUT AND PASTE!
If it is allowed ill post a link to one of the origional articles.
Regarding my statement regarding the heel felt too high.
How to Know if Your Heel is Too High
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Knee Pain: Increased pressure or pain in the knees.
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Lower Back Strain: Feeling the weight more in your lower back than your hips.
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Instability: Feeling off-balance or like you’re falling forward.
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Overemphasis on Quads: If you’re a cyclist or want balanced leg development, too much heel can over-activate quads and reduce hamstring/glute engagement.
Regarding myself….
- Not significant
- slightly
- Yes
- Most definitely…. Which threw my mechanics off since I tend to depend on everything working in unison.
HERE IS SOME KEY FACTORS..
Anthropometrics
Leg and torso length are two keys to choosing the perfect lifter. Analyze your body and decide whether your legs and torso are shorter or longer (if you don’t know, ask a coach). Sometimes a lifter has a combination of both. Once you’ve done this, use the points below to help you choose.
Long Legs
If you’re someone with longer shins and femurs, then you may benefit from .75″ or higher heel. It’s harder for someone with long legs to achieve the bottom position of the squat with an upright torso and no heel to sit back on.
Short Legs
Lifters with short legs have it a little easier when trying to achieve optimal depth. They can sit back and keep their torso upright with less heel. If you know your shins and femurs are short, then start with a .75″ heel and adjust accordingly to your bottom squat position.
Torso Length
Your torso angle is the cherry on top when choosing the perfect lifter. The perfect heel will allow full squat depth with an upright torso.
Long Torso
A longer torso is more prone to forward lean, which can sabotage lifts. If you have a long torso with short legs, then you can get away with a shorter heel. Although, for lifters with both long torsos and legs, then they should look into a higher heeled shoe.
Short Torso
The shorter a torso is, the easier it is to remain upright at full depth. For those with long legs and a shorter torsos, look for a taller heel. Lifters with both short torsos and legs have it easiest, and can typically work with a variety of heels.
The table above can be used as a guide when assessing your torso and leg length. It’s important to keep in mind that everybody’s anthropometrics are slightly different. This chart may not match your body perfectly, even if you fall into a certain category. Use this as a guide when you begin your search so you have an idea of what you should look for.
Squat Style
After anthropometrics have been assessed, it’s time to focus on squat style. The way we squat will also have an influence on the lifting shoe we’d benefit most with. Width of our stance plays a part, along with high-bar and low-bar style.
Narrow Stance
A narrow, or quad dominant squat will benefit from lifting shoes with standard (.75″) or higher heels. In a narrow stance, typically a lifter’s knee and ankle flexion will be greater. This being said, often a higher heeled shoe for a lifter to sit back on will support this style of squat.
Wider Stance
A lifter using a wider stance will often place more emphasis into their hip flexion, which lessens knee/ankle flexion. It’s less imperative for a higher heel in this style of squat, so a lower heel can work just as well
Based of all this it confirms on my end I had already deducted for myself. Based on my body structure and squat style. As I stated on my own log. I squat better with a slight heeled shoe as opposed to Chucks but not as extreme as a Olympic shoe just somewhere in the middle.
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That’s a great list. But it should be emphasized unless doing a front squat, your torso is not actually vertical during a squat despite popular belief.
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Well I agree … very few indviduals will have a exactly vertical torso. At most its needs to say more upright or more vertical
Now … you get into some of the olympic level lifters who are freaks they get pretty damn close. Of course they have the body mechanics for it which most mortals do not.But they also treat the squat as assistant to their main lifts.
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How long will it take for someone to post a picture of some freak weightlifter?
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There you go 
I was already on it before you posted.
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I only ever train and compete in elevated heels.
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Super interesting to read - thanks for bringing this up! I have no idea if I have relatively short or long femurs, or a long or short torso. I’m trying to upload a video but my stupid phone doesn’t have enough storage GAGH i’m gonna try to make something work here.
DAMN that’s impressive.
OKAY here is a video about a month ago (?) of me front squatting. I’m wearing low rise converse here, flat heel. These are the last 2 reps of my set of 3. This was also my last working set, so if it looks like I’m struggling it’s because I am. My back started slightly rounding once I hit 3 so I stopped there.
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Tom Platz said that if you’re squatting, you should wear squat shoes. That’s all you need to know.
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Looks like you tend to have a shorter torso . Femur looks about standard length by eyeballing it but its hard to tell by video at least for me. Your limb ratios looks similar to my oldest son. There are charts and calculators based on your height and limb length that will give you a more precise ratio.
Another thing that you might want to look into is your hip anatomy…
Again im lazy and ill throw this video link in.
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What % of your estimated 1 rep max would you say you were working with?
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It does look close to vertical. But to be honest, unless you see it from the side it often is hard to tell.
When I Kroc Row, I want my back at 15-20 degrees. And it is. But it feels pretty horizontal.
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I have the upmost respect for Tom Platz…BUT he also claimed leg presses to be an inferior movement. Yet there have been/are lots of guys with huge legs who primarily did/do leg press. Ultimately I’m team Platz if I had to choose.
That’s not particularly related to this topic, but i think that just because someone super successful did one thing, doesn’t mean that the same will work for everybody. Again, I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of doing heels elevated.
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Thanks for the link! I’ll also look into some chart calculator stuff. Thank you so much!
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Maybe 85-90%??
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It really is hard to tell sometimes 