Hi, I’m new here but I’ve seen the board plenty of times. And I’m not a beginner of lifting either in my opinion.
Question-
Whenever I squat, my toes are never aligned correctly. Whether I do Close/Narrow, Medium, or Wide stance, my toes aren’t aligned. And when I do align them, it just doesn’t feel right at all. Whenever I do squat, the left foot is like 4 inches ahead of the right foot. I feel good this way and whenever I squat, I tend to feel more of a burn in my right quad above my knee.
Also, my left leg is a little bit longer then other. So whenever I try to align my feet just right, I couldn’t even squat the bar without feeling akward. But when I Squat my way, i’m fine
I know this is a bit mixed up the way I’m writing, but I really have no one to explain it face to face besides personal trainers.
Stats-
Bench- 320
Dead- 380lbs
Squat- 335lbs at Best, 4x3-275lbs medium sstance
Lifting Years- 3 years in august of 05
Deadlifting and Squatting years- Over 2 years in August of 05
I’ll do
Sounds like you probably have a ton of strength and flexibility imbalances. My “Hardcore Stretching” piece will help with the flexibility, and “Single Leg Supplements” can help iron out side-to-side strength imbalances.
Once things start to even out a bit, I would work on re-grooving the proper motor pattern with your feet set correctly. This may include (GASP!) training in front of a mirror for a little while, at least so you can get feedback on your technique and set-up.
Stay strong
MR
I thought this excerpt from an article on this site by Dennis B. Weis may be of interest:
The Homostatic Stance
The second method for instant strength increases is the “Homostatic Stance.” This method was invented by a chiropractor named Dr. Sipple. Simply take your regular stance, be it in the squat or overhead press, but with one slight difference. Position one foot (usually your shortest leg) approximately 3 inches ahead of the other and medially rotate (turn in) both feet slightly.
It seems that by altering your stance in the manner described, the stress between the working muscles is set in harmony with one another. Best of all, there’s no knee pain. If you elect to give the “Homostatic Stance” a go, say in the squat, back off your normal exercise poundages and give yourself a month to get accustomed to this new position before once again using your previous exercise poundages.
Claims of a 50% increase in strength and about 100% in endurance have been made. I personally have not been witness to this nor is there any scientific data to back up these claims so I’ll let you make up your own mind about the “Homostatic Stance.”
Full article:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460281
Guys, i am so sorry…I didn’t know that it took so long for my thread to show up that i didn’t know it was alive. I’m sorry and appreciate the help.
If one of your legs really is longer than the other, then I would see a specialist about getting some insoles to compensate for this discrepancy. I’m sure you could be harming your spine by squating with such imbalances.
[quote]michael2507 wrote:
I thought this excerpt from an article on this site by Dennis B. Weis may be of interest:
The Homostatic Stance
The second method for instant strength increases is the “Homostatic Stance.” This method was invented by a chiropractor named Dr. Sipple. Simply take your regular stance, be it in the squat or overhead press, but with one slight difference. Position one foot (usually your shortest leg) approximately 3 inches ahead of the other and medially rotate (turn in) both feet slightly.
It seems that by altering your stance in the manner described, the stress between the working muscles is set in harmony with one another. Best of all, there’s no knee pain. If you elect to give the “Homostatic Stance” a go, say in the squat, back off your normal exercise poundages and give yourself a month to get accustomed to this new position before once again using your previous exercise poundages.
Claims of a 50% increase in strength and about 100% in endurance have been made. I personally have not been witness to this nor is there any scientific data to back up these claims so I’ll let you make up your own mind about the “Homostatic Stance.”
Full article:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460281[/quote]
More information is needed. I could give you the most ass backwards squat form imaginable, and if you were a beginner, and I gave you enough time to improve, you’d see a 50% strength increase too. As for a 100% increase in endurance, that’s too vague of a statement to evaluate. Without anything else, this is just rumor mill material.