Thank you so much for this information! I've been really struggling with this lately. I've always squatted with wider feet because that's what I thought was the "correct" way to squat but as I started putting more weight on the bar I developed some weird hip pain. I took some time off to try to find out what was wrong and I decided to go a lot narrower with my squat stance. The pain is now gone and I feel a lot stronger.
María Celeste yeah that’s exactly why I preach this stuff! I’ve even heard people say “a powerlifting style squat” or a “bodybuilding style squat” lol everyone should primarily squat in the way they are built to, not by some arbitrary predetermined stance according to broken logic. Glad your hips better and you figured it out!
Watched your video on Omar's channel regards finding your optimal squat position with your own personal biomechanics/ anatomy. Genuinely cleared up a lot of things for me. My femurs are long and it has really allowed me to consider my knees/foot placement and hips in a more useful way. THANK YOU
Thanks Brendan for your videos on squatting they really help because I did struggle with it now I can enjoy high bar squatting. More power to your channel.
at first I thought just another buff fitness youtuber blah blah blah... but to be honest your content and info you give to everyone deserves more than a million subscribers.... before I hit the gym I always listen your videos. keep up the good work mate
Brendan - can you do a similar ideal positioning video for deadlift as well? I feel that the hip structure doesn't just define how your squat pattern will be, but also applicable towards the deads I assume (e.g. more externally rotated hip may be better off sumo?).
K C I can! However it’s very complicated and I’m a bit afraid it won’t help too much pragmatically because it’s more of a general guideline and less of a rule. The squat position one is near considered a rule but the deadlift doesnt require deep hip flexion along side deep knee flexion and therefore requires less anterior hip mobility from the rec fem. it’s a confusin concept but it’s because it’s a bi articulate muscle. The external rotation demand can be high when determining sumo to conventional however I can’t sumo at all and I have crazy external rotation. The reason is due to hip width and the shape of my hip capsule. And the shape of your hip capsule isn’t something you can really determine without trying sumo irl. Also what comes into play are strength dominances. The squat hip position test basically aligns you with your strongest most dominant movers however not any tests you could do for your deadlift. Also the deadlift brings the back into play which is a different joint with different requirements. Tbh my answer for sumo to conventional is always just try both and see for extended periods of time. However I can make one for sumo and conventional individually
Holy sh*t. I'm gonna try this out the next day I'm training legs. I've been squatting with wider and narrower stance and this video just makes so much sense!
Love the vid brother If I'm quad dominant and have too much forward knee travel, how do I get/teach myself to be more in my hips more in the squat. As well as these drills, what should I do, box squats etc? Thanks a bunch
Awesome as always! Could you go over the correct way to do box squats? I hear conflicting things as far as whether to just graze the edge of the box or sit half the butt down then get up ( almost from seated position)
vinoto they’re both correct! Touch and go is somewhat useless for anyone who isn’t a beginner imo though. Its basically a teaching tool for people who don’t know how to move their hips in a squat. They’re too similar to regular squats and actually risk poor technique at higher levels due to causing too much sit back and hip/back tensioning. I only program full sits as it engages the core and glutes to a vastly different degree than a regular back squat. Hope that helps!
Anyone know what gym this is? I know that Brendan moved out of California, but I'll be moving to the Bay Area soon and am looking for a good place to train
That wouldn't work for a really flexible powerlifter. Example: I am a male 163 powerlifter and I squat with my knees going forward because that helps me not go ass to grass. When I used to squat with my knees out like you, I couldn't stop myself from going atg and losing kgs of my squat. Now my hip stops me from going deeper and I am just at the right depth.
3terminatorgr I know this comment is old but this is usually a general starting point when you teach someone how to squat because sometimes some people don't even know how wide to place their feet. If I'm not mistaken I think he even says in the video that the stance will probably change very little over time or because of preference. So clearly you found what works for you after using your first squat stance for some time.
"You never see top tier squatters perform a squat like this" not like mike tuchscherer didn't squat 925x1 or anything, or 705x4 (no wraps and BELTESS in his garage I should add) 730lbs.... should i continue? ... Kirk Kaowski (836lb squat) just look at that hip drive, th-cam.com/video/_ANTzbEHWlE/w-d-xo.html "Misunderstanding how hip musculature works and biomechanics" no bud, that is all you. What they cue is toes pointed slightly out and this will help with keeping every single part of the media & lateral hip musculature in external rotation. And as you are about to squat, sit back a tad, bend and flex at the knee, and you balance the weight over mid foot because you keep your chest and shoulders upright. You make it a point to keep your knees tight. "What they cue when they say hip drive is to shift the hips back to displace the demand on the quads to the demand of the hips and low back. The problem with this is a postural change of bar position over the mid foot which leads to people missing because of dumping the weight forward" Yes, the back angle changes very slightly with the hips coming OUT of the hole. This is from knee extension. duh. Hips come up, knees move, quads are contracted, and that is important. Why wouldn’t you utilize hip drive? Lol. If you control your back angle, the bar isn’t going to get forward of mid foot. If someone doesn’t control it, and their back angle goes everywhere or they don’t know how to properly execute the squat or know what they are talking about, every single thing changes about this.
I feel a pinch in the crease of my hip just on my right side at the bottom of squat...the lower I go the worse it gets. I have started foam rolling and avoiding squatting for 4 weeks but the same Pain comes back. My hip flexors are often tight but I'm feeling a lot of lower hamstring tightness on my right side, I can't feel my glutes firing as much on that side either!. I don't want to quit squatting 😩
xoJennifer28 I would look into someone to help with this. Perhaps Jordan shallow from “prescript”. He’s really good. You’re dealing with hip impingement. It can come from many things. Often times it’s tight adductors, weak/tight external rotators, tight high ham/glute. But it’s hard to diagnose over the internet. Just fast track it and get a professional on it.
2:16 Legit the most important thing you will need to understand if you want to optimize the squat and stay injury free.
Zack Telander no 2:30 is the best ...
Alpha Saiyan this is the comment I was looking for
+Alpha Saiyan I was checking to see if anybody else was as immature as me. Good shit lol
This is such an underrated channel, awesome video dude.
I agree i just found out about this channel he makes me feel like a old elliot hulse, some quality contant
It's a shame so many trainers at the gym try to force you into their way of squatting...
Exactly! smh...
Thank you so much for this information! I've been really struggling with this lately. I've always squatted with wider feet because that's what I thought was the "correct" way to squat but as I started putting more weight on the bar I developed some weird hip pain. I took some time off to try to find out what was wrong and I decided to go a lot narrower with my squat stance. The pain is now gone and I feel a lot stronger.
María Celeste yeah that’s exactly why I preach this stuff! I’ve even heard people say “a powerlifting style squat” or a “bodybuilding style squat” lol everyone should primarily squat in the way they are built to, not by some arbitrary predetermined stance according to broken logic. Glad your hips better and you figured it out!
Watched your video on Omar's channel regards finding your optimal squat position with your own personal biomechanics/ anatomy. Genuinely cleared up a lot of things for me. My femurs are long and it has really allowed me to consider my knees/foot placement and hips in a more useful way. THANK YOU
man.. you deserved more view and subscribers! so informative!
PandaBerenang hahaha thank you I get that all the time! Appreciate the love!
Thanks Brendan for your videos on squatting they really help because I did struggle with it now I can enjoy high bar squatting. More power to your channel.
This is really helpful! My squats suck and I've been playing around with my stance and form to try and fix it. 3 months in so far. Thanks for this!
at first I thought just another buff fitness youtuber blah blah blah... but to be honest your content and info you give to everyone deserves more than a million subscribers.... before I hit the gym I always listen your videos. keep up the good work mate
Brendan - can you do a similar ideal positioning video for deadlift as well? I feel that the hip structure doesn't just define how your squat pattern will be, but also applicable towards the deads I assume (e.g. more externally rotated hip may be better off sumo?).
K C I can! However it’s very complicated and I’m a bit afraid it won’t help too much pragmatically because it’s more of a general guideline and less of a rule. The squat position one is near considered a rule but the deadlift doesnt require deep hip flexion along side deep knee flexion and therefore requires less anterior hip mobility from the rec fem. it’s a confusin concept but it’s because it’s a bi articulate muscle. The external rotation demand can be high when determining sumo to conventional however I can’t sumo at all and I have crazy external rotation. The reason is due to hip width and the shape of my hip capsule. And the shape of your hip capsule isn’t something you can really determine without trying sumo irl. Also what comes into play are strength dominances. The squat hip position test basically aligns you with your strongest most dominant movers however not any tests you could do for your deadlift. Also the deadlift brings the back into play which is a different joint with different requirements. Tbh my answer for sumo to conventional is always just try both and see for extended periods of time. However I can make one for sumo and conventional individually
Holy sh*t. I'm gonna try this out the next day I'm training legs. I've been squatting with wider and narrower stance and this video just makes so much sense!
I’m so glad I’ve found your channel
Everyone is different, you need to figure out what is the ideal for you.👍👍👍 Great video!
Always wish I would have worked with you longer! Learned so much in the short time I did though, you're a great coach Brendan 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
patrice chimento thank you and I always wished so too!! You have a lot of potential in there! Come back any time you’re ready.
Another fantastic video as per usual! Thank you Brendan, it's very much appreciated!
Wow. Respect. Haven't seen a video like this. This is awesome, man. Thanks!
Damn good content. One of my favorite recent finds.
Love the vid brother
If I'm quad dominant and have too much forward knee travel, how do I get/teach myself to be more in my hips more in the squat. As well as these drills, what should I do, box squats etc?
Thanks a bunch
Very informative, going to put this into practice, thank you 😄
Awesome as always! Could you go over the correct way to do box squats? I hear conflicting things as far as whether to just graze the edge of the box or sit half the butt down then get up ( almost from seated position)
vinoto they’re both correct! Touch and go is somewhat useless for anyone who isn’t a beginner imo though. Its basically a teaching tool for people who don’t know how to move their hips in a squat. They’re too similar to regular squats and actually risk poor technique at higher levels due to causing too much sit back and hip/back tensioning. I only program full sits as it engages the core and glutes to a vastly different degree than a regular back squat. Hope that helps!
Anyone know what gym this is? I know that Brendan moved out of California, but I'll be moving to the Bay Area soon and am looking for a good place to train
Killer content as always B
hey brendan .. i did that drill but when i practice that squat sequence standing it feels awkward like I'm gonna fall
That wouldn't work for a really flexible powerlifter. Example: I am a male 163 powerlifter and I squat with my knees going forward because that helps me not go ass to grass. When I used to squat with my knees out like you, I couldn't stop myself from going atg and losing kgs of my squat. Now my hip stops me from going deeper and I am just at the right depth.
3terminatorgr I know this comment is old but this is usually a general starting point when you teach someone how to squat because sometimes some people don't even know how wide to place their feet. If I'm not mistaken I think he even says in the video that the stance will probably change very little over time or because of preference. So clearly you found what works for you after using your first squat stance for some time.
Legit, thx
"You never see top tier squatters perform a squat like this" not like mike tuchscherer didn't squat 925x1 or anything, or 705x4 (no wraps and BELTESS in his garage I should add) 730lbs.... should i continue? ... Kirk Kaowski (836lb squat) just look at that hip drive,
th-cam.com/video/_ANTzbEHWlE/w-d-xo.html
"Misunderstanding how hip musculature works and biomechanics" no bud, that is all you. What they cue is toes pointed slightly out and this will help with keeping every single part of the media & lateral hip musculature in external rotation. And as you are about to squat, sit back a tad, bend and flex at the knee, and you balance the weight over mid foot because you keep your chest and shoulders upright. You make it a point to keep your knees tight.
"What they cue when they say hip drive is to shift the hips back to displace the demand on the quads to the demand of the hips and low back. The problem with this is a postural change of bar position over the mid foot which leads to people missing because of dumping the weight forward"
Yes, the back angle changes very slightly with the hips coming OUT of the hole. This is from knee extension. duh. Hips come up, knees move, quads are contracted, and that is important. Why wouldn’t you utilize hip drive? Lol. If you control your back angle, the bar isn’t going to get forward of mid foot. If someone doesn’t control it, and their back angle goes everywhere or they don’t know how to properly execute the squat or know what they are talking about, every single thing changes about this.
I feel a pinch in the crease of my hip just on my right side at the bottom of squat...the lower I go the worse it gets. I have started foam rolling and avoiding squatting for 4 weeks but the same Pain comes back. My hip flexors are often tight but I'm feeling a lot of lower hamstring tightness on my right side, I can't feel my glutes firing as much on that side either!. I don't want to quit squatting 😩
xoJennifer28 I would look into someone to help with this. Perhaps Jordan shallow from “prescript”. He’s really good. You’re dealing with hip impingement. It can come from many things. Often times it’s tight adductors, weak/tight external rotators, tight high ham/glute. But it’s hard to diagnose over the internet. Just fast track it and get a professional on it.
Brendan Tietz thank you for reply..I will have a look
Her Legs are very long Jesus Christ
Lol, she doesn't even squat: hips above parallel!