[DEADn]

I noticed that when I do squats the heavier I go the wider my stance gets. I wondered if this is natural or is it a sign of a weakness in the legs. My stance goes out to slightly wider then shoulder width. I also wondered if it is because I am tall. I am 6'1" tall.

I have done as much as 340 lbs then I had to stop for 2 months. Now that I am back in it I am going at it slowly and concentrating on form. I want to have good form in squats. I use an ironmaster half rack. Similiar to a smith machine only it is straight up and down. I train at home alone.

John

[xtweak05]

a little wider than shoulder width isnt that wide I think. Thats my regular stance, any closer and it bugs my knees. Of course I see guys going about 5 feet wide squatting, talk about a wide stance.

If your worried about weakness you could always train your adductors and abductors directly, hip flexors as well.

[tim290280]

noticed that when I do squats the heavier I go the wider my stance gets. I wondered if this is natural or is it a sign of a weakness in the legs. My stance goes out to slightly wider then shoulder width. I also wondered if it is because I am tall. I am 6'1" tall.

Yes and no. Yes it is a sign of weakness as you are widening the stance to recruit more muscle groups to lift the weight (hips). Also you are changing the stance between sets/weights, which indicates you are requiring a different stance to lift more. BUt no because you aren't squatting that wide.

Either pick a stance width and try to stay with it for all weights (don't go heavier than that stance allows), or pick the strongest stance and use it.

[DEADn]

I did some squats today. Front squats as well. For front squats my legs stay in the same area. Matter of fact my squats, legs stay more narrower when I go up in weight.

I noticed today when I did my regular squats they were about shoulder width apart. when I got heavier I went out maybe a few inches but I know when I got over 300lbs I would go wider but not as wide as a powerlifter but far from it either.

It is probably a good stage for me to work on the stance and strength within it. I have some posters on my wall showing guys doing squats in a more narrow stance and I wonder how they do it it feels like my stance is a bit wider.

John

[DEADn]

Tuesday I worked on my legs. When I got to squats I my stance was slightly narrower than shoulder width or at least it seemed like it. I attempted to lift like that and what would happen. I also sucked in my stomach on the way up and that help me out ALOT. Actually I was able to go up to 290lbs for about 6 reps in this stance and it thrilled me because usually at that poundage my feet are a little wider than shoulder length and I feel like I am in a powerlifter position. I think I have learned something here and that is to tense up the stomach on the way up.

John

[chrisSwoll]

i would say just go with whatever stance you're comfortable with. although, it wouldn't be a bad idea to vary it up every now and then. from my readings and own experience, i've found that a narrow stance tends to stress your outer thigh more and a wide stance tends to stress your inner thigh more.

[Barbarian]

Originally Posted by DEADn

I noticed that when I do squats the heavier I go the wider my stance gets. I wondered if this is natural or is it a sign of a weakness in the legs. My stance goes out to slightly wider then shoulder width. I also wondered if it is because I am tall. I am 6'1" tall.

I have done as much as 340 lbs then I had to stop for 2 months. Now that I am back in it I am going at it slowly and concentrating on form. I want to have good form in squats. I use an ironmaster half rack. Similiar to a smith machine only it is straight up and down. I train at home alone.

John

Good to see form all the way bro! A lot of people sacrifice form for weight but at the end of the day as Tim has pointed out u end up involving other muscle groups to lift the weight. So what ur doing is spot (squat) on

[DEADn]

This past wednesday I worked my legs out once again. My squat stance was the same as last time as well which to me is progress. My feet were slightly narrower then shoulder length. I started off with 150lbs for 12 warm. Then I went 200, 240, 270, 290 for 10,8,6,4. Last time I got 280, I think it was for 4 reps so this is progress. I also got a delayed reaction in soreness. 2 days later do I feel the soreness in my legs, butt ( lunges with 76 & 86lbs) and some calf raises.

I have been pulling my stomach area in when I do these squats whereas before I never paid attention to it that much and as a result my stance would get wider as I got heavier. It is my thinking that if I can keep my stance closer together my thighs will be bigger. If they go far apart they wont and that is evidenced, to me at least, by looking at powerlifters. They can lift ALOT but their size isnt there. I weightlift for size because I was too skinny at one time.

Measured my arms today and they are 16" ( left one) which is good. Before my arm workout yesterday they were about 15 7/8 to15/16"

John

[Viperspit]

Good work DeadN. I wouldn't worry too much about your stance in terms of width, shoulder width to slightly wider is probably more natural for us taller guys anyway (6'4" here). As long as you keep pushing the heavy ass weights your quads aren't going to notice one or two inch differences in stance. Keep up the good work.

[trapmanjoe]

wide stance will make your arse big like mine lol! i dont think you want that if you want bigger quads stay close stance, you might not be able to lift as much but you will hit quads more. if you have small inner quads wide stance is great though, it hits the inner thigh hard, also you use much more hips,hamstrings, and glutes. i beleive in a mix switch between them every couple of months to ensure you hit all areas(weak points) if you have any.

[DEADn]

Thursday I worked my legs again.I try to change 1 or 2 exercises each week. This week I did front squats instead of leg press.
In my regular squat in my quest to keep my legs closer together I was able to go up to 310lbs for about 4 reps. I didnt make it quite to parrallel tho. Almost got there though. Next time I will hit it again at that weight and keep going til I hit parrallel. I also did standing calves 4x20 @ 160lbs. I did not feel sore until the next late afternoon. Both my calves and thighs hurt all the way around. First it was a burn sore and it has developed to a regular sore sore. Feels good!!

btw, I used a back belt with this as well because last saturday while doing deadlifts my lower back popped and I immediately stopped. My lower back hurt for about 4 days but it has since disappeared so I used it to help my lower back. It helped but I wonder if my lower back is still injured and just not feeling pain?

Anyway, I am happy to be able to use a narrower stance for my squats to work on building my thighs up. I can tell it in my work pants. If I keep going Ill have to get a bigger size lol

John