How to Squat for Your Body Type
“Feet shoulder width apart. Toes pointed forward. Knees behind toes. Chest UP.”
This is the squat form most of us learned growing up, and if you haven’t already figured it out: that’s probably not going to work for you. I see a lot of people who have been committed to this squat stance since middle school gym class, and they’re in my office because:
A) squatting hurts their hip
B) they’ve never been able to hit depth, or
C) both
So if that stance doesn’t work, why is it recommended to all of us??
Well, you see, it’s not a bad place to start. It’s pretty neutral, but like a house with white walls, it takes a little customization to make it ~yours~.
Here are the factors that go into determining YOUR perfect squat stance:
Femur (thigh bone) Length
The longer your legs, the less “textbook form” is going to work for you. Anthropometrics (fancy word for body proportions) are a spectrum, one end of the spectrum is short femurs long torso and the other is long femurs short torso. If you take 2 people, one from each end of the spectrum, and watch them squat, then you’ll be looking at two VERY different squats.
Short Femurs, Long Torso:
The people on this end of the spectrum are naturally “good” squatters. They hit the textbook squat form with ease and probably are the people who can casually drop into a deep squat with their heels on the ground wherever they go.
If this is you, I just have one question: What’s it like to be God’s favorite?
Let me know in the comments.
Long Femurs, Short Torso:
For those of us less fortunate, we’ve been berated with cues our whole lives as gym teachers and trainers tried to shove our long legs into a squat not built for us.
“Stop rounding your back.” “Keep your heels down.” “Squat deeper.” “You obviously aren’t stretching enough.”
Because our torsos are short and our legs our long, when we squat our hips will be WAY behind our heels. To keep the balance, our teeny tiny little torsos have to lean as far forward as they can, and because they are both teeny and tiny, it’s usually not enough and we either cut depth or fall backwards.
BUT. I am not here to tell you this is impossible!!! I’m here to show you a life outside of textbook squat form!!!
Here’s what the rest of us need to do:
Wider Feet: widening your stance is going to play with the physics in an opportune way for us. Basically, the wider your feet, the closer your hips stay over your feet (important for your base of support and balance). This means you won’t have to lean over as far, and will have a much more stable squat.
Toes Out: your hips are ball and socket joints, meaning they move in an arc. If we are widening our stance, but keeping toes pointed forward, you’re going to put a lot of unnecessary strain through the knees. I’ve seen this strain build up to create knee pain later and STILL not be able to hit depth with that stance. For my wide stance squatters, I recommend turning the toes out 20-40 degrees.
Now, I don’t know anyone who brings a protractor to the gym and I don’t expect you to start now. So what I’d do is turn your toes out, see how is feels to squat. Turn them out a little more, squat again. Bring them in a har, squat again. Repeat until you find YOUR most comfortable position to where you can squat deepest without discomfort.
Elevated Heels: elevating your heels helps by artificially giving you “more” ankle flexibility. Your knees are able to push further past your toes, moving your hips closer to your feet (remember that balance and base of support from earlier??), and allowing you to squat deeper with less forward lean from your torso.
Now, does making all of these adjustments mean you’ll have a perfect upright torso for your squat?
No! I have a very short torso and some very long femurs and I’ve had to make my peace with more forward lean than most. It’s still okay. It’s still a very strong and very safe squat. I just make sure my back is strong enough to support it!
Hip Socket Position:
The normal angle of the hip socket (acetabulum) can range from 13-25 degrees. The normal angle of the femoral neck in adults is 8-15 degrees. Differences in hip socket angle (acetabular anteversion) and femoral neck angle (femoral anteversion) are responsible for being more prone to toeing in or toeing out depending on where you fall.
While these aren't often measured and don't change in adulthood anyway, it can help us understand why there’s no exact science to squat stance.
You might have short legs and a long torso, but still need to toe out a bit more than looks “normal” in your squat. You might need a wider stance in your squat, but because of your hip angles you’re actually more comfortable with your toes pointed straight ahead.
There’s no wrong answer, as long as it’s the most comfortable for YOU.
No two hips are exactly the same. From femur length and anthropometrics, to the angles or your hip sockets, there’s so many things that can determine what your perfect squat stance is.
So play around with your stance width and toe in or toe out angle. See what feels best for you! And if you remember nothing else, remember there is NO “normal” squat stance.
What to figure out if your squat stance is right for you?
Lucky you! This is what I do!!!
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