In the case of wide stance powerlifting as well, you have to remember their use of briefs and suits, along with the high rate of injuries in the hip labrum, before deciding it would be a good idea to try without the same goals and equipment.
Wide stance squatting is not a very natural movement for humans. Squatting down into a full squat is much more natural, just look at babies or cultures that have not been commercialized to such a great degree. Sitting in a close stance squat position is very common. That’s a big reason why I prefer it over other squatting variations. Doing exercises that closely resemble what the human body was meant to do generally = increased health and increased performance.
I tend to agree, but I can see where others come from. I feel better squatting slightly lighter weights to better depths and in a more normal stance. When I squatted wider and low bar, I seemed to have really tight hips all the time.
We spoke about this topic before, when i went to college i was a natural squatter who used a wider base. my SC at the time told me to change to a more shoulder width bc it was more athletic for my sport; somehow i always revert back to my natural squatting style. So my point is what if the athlete feel comfortable squatting wider do you change?
My feet are maybe 1-2" outside of shoulder width, which I think may be slightly wider than some. The westside stance though is extremely wide (pressing against the rack if possible), which I think is different than the normal range people have, where some may squat slightly wider or slightly narrower based on their body type and feel.
So if you were a SC would you require your athletes to squat full or half?
I would go as far as they could with correct form for the time being and work on mobility issues to reach a “full depth”, whether that meant going well below parallel or just hitting parallel. A couple inches below parallel would be something good to strive for.
I’m on the other side i think for athletes its only important for them to squat parallel anything after that i dont see much benefit besides some flex/mobility work which shouldnt be a factor esp if you are working it from other angles. I have seen many athletes with solid squatting tech have patellar problems bc of the repetitive ATG squatting combine with the track work.
Patella issues can be pretty common with teenage athletes with growing pains such as osgood schlatter’s so in that case I’d say going to full depth isn’t warranted. However, I think the ability to be able to go full depth is important. Most people who can sit in a full squat position aren’t going to have a whole lot of flexibility/mobility/stability issues. Everything, more than likely, is firing correctly and in good balance.
For athletes also, squatting deep goes a long way in promoting knee stability and growth of tendons/ligaments. How much more than parallel? I have no clue.
These guys were full grown pitbulls…
Then I highly doubt squatting below parallel was the cause of patella pain. I’d look more along the lines of jumper’s knee from excessive track work.