no23, made me think, there are variations of the squat, like the Sumo squat, where more people find flat footed squating easier.
Also, i have heard one top powerlifter mention, squat barefoot, no shoes at all. Also to pull the toes up when doing such. it helps really drive the heels into the floor. He also mentions not to do such too often. Not that i have tried, and in the gym i go to, i would get kicked out anyway, but i might try some weightless ones tomorrow?
If anybody is able to squat barefoot in their gym, would you be able to try this?
I squat barefoot all the time. In fact, I prefer my athletes to squat barefoot rather than squat in running flats. Never tried the “pull your toes up thing”…I don’t know about that one.
if my shoes soles arent completly flat i would squat baefoot. arches in your shoes are a cruthc taking over the job that your muscles should be doing.
Check out this article for a discussion of why weight lifting shoes have a heel.
http://www.dynamic-eleiko.com/sportivny/library/farticles015.html
Basically it says olympic lifters need a large forward tilt of the shin, and the heels help stabilise this position.