Why and When You Should Try Squatting Barefoot

One of the more effective corrective variations I have found for the squat is going barefoot. The issue with shoes, especially as the heel gets higher and higher, is that it is hard to find the connection between your foot and the floor. When improper foot displacement occurs, the shoe masks the potential issue due to the larger surface area. So instead of receiving negative feedback from improper rooting and weight distribution of the foot, shoes many times hide the apparent issue. And the fact is, many issues with the squat lead directly back to the foot. Things such as knee valgus, chest fall patterns, anterior vs posterior weight distribution bias, improper knee vs hip flexion rates, and more. I am not saying these issues are always caused by the foot, but with the foot being the only part of your body actually being connected to the floor, it often times is the culprit. It is the first item in the chain of force production, making it many times the first item to address.

Adam is a great example of this (Click here to see videos). He has long suffered from fairly extreme leg shakes, and as can be seen in the 2nd video, he also suffers from a case of the twinkle toes. Adam had an issue with heavily biasing the weight towards his heels, not only on his squat but also his deadlift, which can be seen in the 3rd video. This forced a more posterior dominant squat and deadlift, but when the weight got heavy and his quads needed to be more involved, his legs started to shake back and forth to try to find that happy medium of quad vs. hamstring tension that he was missing. It was almost hard to tell at times though because the shoes masked the issue. When you rock back onto your heels with an elevated heel squat shoe, the surface area and stability of the shoes helps to prevent the negative feedback that this heel bias should produce. But once you take the shoes off, you’ll notice that it is immediately uncomfortable to displace all that weight on your heel. Even just standing without a barbell on your back, rock back barefoot onto your heel and notice how uncomfortable and unstable it is. So for Adam, taking the shoes off and requiring proper rooting and weight distribution of the foot almost immediately changed his squat. Without even adding in any extra cues, he started to more evenly distribute the weight of the barbell over his mid-foot, as naturally that was the most comfortable thing to do.

So should everyone squat barefoot? No, but I do think in certain situations it is one of the more effective variations you can do to improve your foot’s weight distribution. Below are some examples of times I’d recommend giving this variation a try:

1.) If you notice that you tend to either bias towards your heel or your toes, going barefoot to relearn proper rooting and mid-foot weight distribution can be highly beneficial. For those who bias towards their toes, other issues could be at play, specifically ankle mobility. But surprisingly at times, I have athletes who had heavy pronation of the foot and what I thought was apparent ankle mobility restrictions, then squat barefoot and be able to keep their foot perfectly planted. As for those who bias towards the heel, this is my go to exercise to get a lifter to redistribute that weight over their mid-foot. It works almost immediately and with little to no cueing, as biasing towards your heel barefoot is very uncomfortable and that immediate negative feedback corrects your positioning quickly.

2.) When looking at side and and rear views of the squat, one of the main things I look for is what the ankle is doing. If someone is consistently pronating at the ankle at the bottom of the squat, this could be a sign of either ankle mobility or foot rooting issues. Going barefoot can help decided which of these is the case, as if it is ankle mobility it usually will be come even more prominent once someone goes barefoot. If it stays the same or actually improves though, they very well likely have an issue with rooting and weight distribution of the foot, and squatting barefoot may be a great variation for them.

3.) In general when teaching someone how to properly root their foot, have a nice stable arch, and 3 points of contact, doing this barefoot will be a great teaching tool. Once they can master the positioning barefoot, then it’s time to add the shoe and use the same cues and connected feel to keep the foot stable and planted.

4.) Going back to point 1, some people do more of a rocking pattern, where they start by biasing towards the heel then shift towards the toes at the bottom, then back to the heels. This pattern would like up exactly with the notorious hip shoot and chest fall issue, so trying a barefoot squat variation will help to provide better feedback through this back and forth loop the lifter is going through.

5.) If you go back the blog “Why A Hip Circle Won’t Fix Your Knee Cave” I made a week or so back, I talked about the downfalls of excessively driving the knees out. If someone is in a bad habit of this, a barefoot squat can help to force them into a more natural position of the knees tracking between the external vs. internal rotators.

There are other scenarios as well, but these 5 sum of the majority of the circumstances of when I may program a barefoot squat variation. Trying a barefoot squat is very much like going back to the basics. It’s building a foundation of stability and support at the foot, which therefor creates improved stability and support up the chain of the prime movers within the squat. Its also hard to say exactly when a variation like this should be used, but in my experience there is very little drawback to implementing this, especially far out from a meet, as it will inevitably improve your foot support and weight distribution, or at a minimum reinforce the good patterns you already have achieved.

Why A Hip Circle Won’t Fix Your Knee Cave

Whether it be in the squat or deadlift, a very common issue is that of knee valgus. The degree to which the knees may cave can vary, whether it be very slight or extreme. But the one thing I can tell you is that the common fix of throwing on a hip circle and doing endless abduction work is rarely, if ever, the fix. Weak abductors more times than not are not the issue, and a better understanding of how the internal versus external rotators work will show this. Above is @_hmcg, and what we can see specifically in the video on the left is the internal rotation that occurs when she breaks the floor. The typical cues you will see for this is to push the knees out more and maybe add some of that magical hip circle work in as a warmup, but I can tell you it won’t fix the issue. The reason being is that you cannot stop the adductors from doing their job. When someone forces themselves into overly externally rotating, by either going into a stance that is too wide for them or ducking their toes out too far, they are ignoring the fact that the adductors are a primer mover of hip extension within the squat and deadlift. So what you are seeing with Haley in the video on the left is not weak abductors, it is an over reliance on the abductors, and as she pulls and the adductors engage, they pull her slightly into internal rotation causing her knees to slightly cave. The fix was fairly simple and maybe not even noticeable at first, but we brought her stance in maybe a 1/2-1 inch on each side. And as you can see on the right, there is no caving at all. We just needed to put her into a position that allowed her to optimally use her internal and external rotators cohesively, rather than forcing herself into abduction. So my recommendation for those who struggle with knee valgus is rethink what the issue might be. If your current fix is to jam your knees out as far as you can during the squat and deadlift and doing endless hip circle work to no avail, weak abductors are probably not the issue. The issue is not a simple as weak glutes, but rather a list of possible positioning errors that lead to this unwanted movement. I am being careful not to give some specific “fix” for this, as its an issue that is too individual to truly address in a broad spectrum. The aforementioned issue for Haley is just one of many reasons knee cave may be occurring. Stance width, foot position, foot rooting, ankle mobility (this and rooting probably is the #1 cause), knee extensor vs hip extensor tensioning, differences in low bar vs high bar, and lateral shifts are just some of the reasons knee valgus may occur, but weak abductors and glutes is rarely one of them.

Why I Don’t Like The Cue “Sit Back” And What To Use Instead

One of the most used cues in powerlifting through the years has been “sit back”. And while I am sure it has worked for many people, or else it probably wouldn’t still be used, it also tends to develop bad habits when that cue is taken out of context. Yes the hips do need to have some movement backwards, but there should never be movement backwards that doesn’t also coincide with movement down. Above are side by side videos of Abbee (Click this link to view video). On the left we have the typical negative outcome that I see from the cue sit back. The lifter pushes their hips back at the start and the knees breaks late, which then usually leads to some type of anterior pelvic tilt and eventually the lifter shifting forward at the bottom to compensate. The pattern created from “sit back” becomes “back then down”, which is incorrect. Any movement back should be accompanied by movement down, which in my opinion is better achieved through the cue “sit behind your heels”. Cues such as these work because it gives the lifter a frame of reference and target for how their body should move. The “sit behind your heels cue” takes the context of sitting back, but now adds the element of downward movement. This will naturally force a more even break at the hips and the knees, as it is impossible to “sit behind your heels” if the legs stay straight. The same cannot be said about “sit back”. On the right you can see what is achieved when using the “sit behind your heels” cue, as well as the directional movement that these differing cues promote. By now cueing with the proper directional movement in mind, the hopeful out come will be more efficient and consistent squat technique. As with all cues, everyone internalizes them differently and one size doesn’t fit all. But I do believe for those who struggle with the aforementioned issue from the “sit back” cue could very much benefit from implementing “sit behind your heels” instead.

Why/When You Should Be Doing Tempo Squats

In my opinion, probably the most versatile and the variation I utilize most in powerlifting is the tempo squat. Name just about any issue you could have with your squat, and the tempo squat could be used in some manner to help that issue. Above (CLICK HERE) we have both Shane and Nik performing tempo squats. Both have found great benefit from this movement, but for different reasons. I have beginner lifters utilizing this movement all the way to my most advanced, but each application has a slight individual twist on why it is beneficial. I am going to try to give as much detail as possible while still trying to keep this brief, but below are the main answers for why and when to use tempo squats:

1.) To precede all other reasons, the main and overriding benefit of tempo squats is that it slows the movement down. Every reason below links back to this. Slowing any movement down allows a lifter to have more time to process cues as well as feel different positions throughout the full range of motion.

2.) The next main benefit that overrides most of the reasons below is that it is self limiting. I typically program tempo squats in the range of 85-90% of what someone could competition squat, with the vast majority right at 87.5%. This means we can still achieve high relative intensities while lowering the absolute intensity. Lower weight typically means a better overall ability to maintain positions and execute cues.

3.) And the last main benefit that overrides the rest of the below reasons, is that tempo squats really do a great job of improving movement. Even though the tempo may only be done during the eccentric portion of the movement, the quality of the eccentric then directly affects the quality of the concentric.

4.) So in what ways can it improve movement? First off, it helps to a support proper knee to hip flexion during the eccentric, allowing us to feel even tension distribution as we load the squat during the descent.

5.) Second, to achieve this proper tension distribution, we must also have the proper distribution of foot pressure. The slowed down eccentric gives us that extra time to actually notice our foot pressure and make slight adjustments when we are shifting towards the toes or even the heel.

6.) Next, the tempo squat helps us to maintain proper bracing and pelvic position as we descend. When we speed up the eccentric, many times we lose the initial braced position we set at the top of the movement, but with the tempo it allows increased emphasis on maintaining that position through the full descent.

7.) Now that we have a better understanding of the core benefits of tempo squats, as well as how it helps movement, next up is the specific movement issues it addresses. First up is the chest fall pattern. The chest fall pattern is typically due to improper weight distribution  during the eccentric, usually from pushing forward at the bottom and having to shoot the hips up as we accelerate out of the hole. Tempo squats allow us to improve that eccentric loading so that as we reach to bottom we have a better distribution of tension and can resist shifting our weight forward towards the toes. Also, the increased time to process cues allows us to think about maintaining torso position as we transition into the concentric portion of the movement.

8.) The other big movement fault tempo squats help to address is some form of shift within the squat. Shifts can come to light a different ways, but the two main shifts you will see is either a shift as you come up out of the hole or a shift that occurs throughout the entire movement as you bias towards one side. Part of fixing a shift is being able to feel the asymmetries in tension side to side, and tempos squats allow us to feel the changes in loading side to side as we descend. And just like with the chest fall pattern, it also gives time for us to process cues as we transition into the concentric portion.

9.) As mentioned above, I use tempo squats with beginners all the way to my most advanced athletes, but for different reasons. For beginners, tempo squats are utilize to help teach movement. They help to improve the technical proficiency of the lifter and help them find the optimal squat form for their mechanics. For an advanced lifter though, I am usually programming tempo squats as a means to prevent form regression. If you think advanced lifters can’t regress on form, you are gravely mistaken. Just the slightest little change in an advanced lifter’s squat pattern can manifest itself over time into a major change, so tempo squats can be of great benefit to help maintain their movement proficiency.

There is even more I could go over, but the things I did’t cover are typically addressed by the above list. For example, if someone tends to have knee valgus, the improve tension distribution and bracing mechanics are the fix, so these more specific issues get addressed naturally with the above points. I wanted to write this article as I believe sometimes tempo squats get marked as something only a beginning lifter needs to do, but I believe that is far from the truth. The benefits are far reaching, even if it just means using this variation too help self limit the loading.

 

In-Depth Insight Into An Advanced Powerlifter’s Programming

Patrick (@patrick_gpathletics) is getting back into the heavy work in preparation for the Arnold Raw Challenge in March. Currently Patrick is sitting about 10 1/2 weeks out, and we are in the second week of what has historically been the training block where we see the most progress. Due to the success the first time around with this block back in July, we took it as a template to build off of leading into Nationals, and again now leading into the Arnold. This does not mean we are just running the same block over and over again, but we are taking the skeleton of what worked and adjusting based off the progression of the previous training block and needs of this current prep. So what specific additions and adjustments did we make to the “skeleton” of this block?

1.) The previous training block we used to really push accessory volume. Historically I have had Patrick do significantly less pressing and lower body accessory volume than many of my other athletes. This was in large part due to his strength and experience levels in the sport, and needing high a level of stimulus from the competition movements to drive strength. With that though, leading into Nationals we started finding that “line” of maximum recoverable volume, as Patrick was hitting fatigue markers that we had not yet touched prior. So with that, I wanted to make it a focus to drive volume in other ways, so we set up a plan to really push belt squats and weighted dips. The goal was to use this past training block to adapt to this new stimulus while doing more self limiting variations on the competition movements. And then as we transitioned into this block, keep that accessory volume high while reintroducing more competition specificity and higher intensities. The hope and theory was that Patrick’s overall tolerance to this workload would adapt and be able to sustain these higher volumes, and so far so good. Through the first two weeks of this training block his fatigue is matched, if not lower, to that of our Nationals prep.

2.) The second addition was that of higher intensity singles on bench press. Patrick continually projects out with rep work well higher than what his competition max is, and it has boiled down to form breakdown that generally occurred at 390lbs. and up. In the past, we may only hit 2-3 singles in the entire prep at that weight and that was during the peaking block in the last 2-3 weeks before the meet. This just wasn’t enough practice to break the bad habit he has with overtaking his left arm once weights reach the 95% and above mark. So this time around we started 12 weeks out, and will be hitting these heavy singles weekly. I would not do this with most people, as there is a higher risk factor involved with hitting 8.5-9 RPE singles weekly, but Patrick has shown very little fatigue and/or aches and pains in the past from heavy benching.

3.) The massive change to this block is how we are approaching deadlifts. When talking about the success of this block, it was mainly based around squat and bench press. For deadlift I learned from mistakes during the Nationals prep on what we need to change. The final week of this block during Nationals prep, Patrick’s deadlift strength was at an all time high. We took a very low volume approach, and it worked great, but it was just too soon. Instead what needed to be done is shift that training block of deadlifts to the peaking block, and during this block push volume more to where we may actually see fatigue masking his strength and performance actually suffering a tad. Deadlift, especially conventional, is a different animal than squat and bench press. What I have found is many times regression in strength is common and not the worst thing, just due to the high fatigue caused by deadlifts. I made the mistake last prep in thinking the low volume approach was working really well, but the truth was is the higher volume block that preceded it is what pushed strength, and the low volume block was dissipating the fatigue so that we could actually see the full potential. And in the end, I extended that low volume for too long and actually detrained Patrick’s deadlift a bit. So what I am doing this training block, along with some other small changes, is shifting everything so that we are matching the skeleton of the higher volume block that seemed to drive Patrick’s strength, and then during the peaking block switch to lower volume to dissipate the fatigue accumulated during this block to then peak at the appropriate time.