should my feet be flat or should I put some support under my heel?
I keep my feet flat. Putting something under the heals isolates the quads to much. My hamstrings don’t feel like they are getting any use out of the squat.
flat feet and bend at the hips first, not the knees, then on the ascent, your head comes up first
Originally posted by mj
I keep my feet flat. Putting something under the heals isolates the quads to much. My hamstrings don’t feel like they are getting any use out of the squat.
Why do you feel they aren’t getting worked? Because they don’t feel pumped/tired during or after the workout?
I’m sure they are getting worked. I just feel a better workout when I don’t elevate the heel. If I change my squat workout, my hamstrings will be sore from the weight. But when i’ve used a board, my quads will get sore and tired quicker.
I see sorry, I misunderstood.
I have to use a board or wheel under my heels due to very poor flexibility - which I’m working on constantly, and which is improving slowly, but I don’t really have any choice.
the problem with elevating the heels is that puts too much stress on the knees and you’re reinforcing faulty muscle recruitment when squatting. You might try keeping your heels flat and progressively box squatting to lower depths. Squat back to a depth that allows you to keep your arch and eventually your flexibility will improve so you’ll be able to squat lower. If your gym doesn’t have boxes you can pile those aerobic steps on top of each other. They’re very stable.
The need to elevate the heels is usually the result of poor flexibility in the calves. Therefore, your priority should be to improve calf flexibility, more because of it’s importance to sprinting than to squatting.
Not the calves, but specifically the SOLEUS and achilles tendon. I know the soleus is one of the calf muscles, but most people will interpret that to mean the gastroc
Correct. I should have been more clear.
ok we all know that flexibility is an issue but what can be done to work the squat and improve movement/flexibility at the same time??
can progressive squats be done increasing the range of movement every 2-3weeks until reaching a full squat without the aid of a board.
personally i hate to see people using heel boards while squatting.it does as sdblue says put stress on the knees but also people using boards will use the lower back more exessively trying to over-compensate for the board.
work on flexibilty and range of motion and with range it will improve
When elevating the heels, the centre of mass is moved forward compared to flat footed squat, which requires less forward lean of the spine to balance the movement, and at any given depth, the knees will assume increased angle. Therefore, when compared to flat foot squat, increased stress is placed on the knees, decreased stress on the spine and subsequently, decreased stress on the hip extensors.
Regarding the hams, recruitment is weaker in the squat than in exercises involving the hams contracting against both the knee and hip joints, eg. back hypers…so should we worry about the hams here? Shouldn’t the focus be on the quads and glutes as their action as the primary movers? Regarding recruitment and angle at the knee and hip joint during the acceleration phase, the flat footed squat would be closer than the heel elevated squat in mimmicking this.
My thoughts…any comments?
I squat in Heel raised oly shoes
no problems recruiting my posterior chain or in my knees.
just nice stability from rock solid shoes!
And I stay more upright, which allows one to sit back further if you so decide to.
I actually bend my knees more when squatting flat footed.
The raised heel allows one to push through the heels more easily when full squatting with a high bar positon.
Pushing through the heels is important for proper form and optimal recruitment of the posterior chain
Flash,
What is your protocols/recommendations for an athlete (yes me:() looking to improve is calf (soleus) flexibility? (soon as possible)
CoolCol, I know the shoes you mean, but I’m really reffering the guys I see using thicker boards or plates. I actually use a slight elevation due to inflexability of the calf and I feel less stress placed through the posterior chain than I would from being flat footed.
Originally posted by CoolColJ
I squat in Heel raised oly shoesno problems recruiting my posterior chain or in my knees.
just nice stability from rock solid shoes!
And I stay more upright, which allows one to sit back further if you so decide to.
I actually bend my knees more when squatting flat footed.The raised heel allows one to push through the heels more easily when full squatting with a high bar positon.
Pushing through the heels is important for proper form and optimal recruitment of the posterior chain
agreed.
Sure, it would be great to be able to squat without heel raises, but when you can’t - you can’t.
… and that’s WITH constant stretching and physio at least twice a week now.
It is improving, but like X-man points out I have to work on both simultenously (damn I need spell-check here)…
I don’t use box sqauts currently - but I will start and see how they improve.
I have never once run across an athlete who had too little calf, specifically soleus, flexibility to perform a squat properly. The most flexible of calves will permit only so much range of motion under the best of conditions anyway. The lack of hips projecting back and balance/coordination difficulty, from those I have seen, is virtually always the problem. They must use their hips(imo).
Totally agree with Pioneer.