Am I cheating myself doing a wide stance squat? I try to keep my legs close and do the full range, but all I experience is pain in my knees, back and most of my upper body.
A wide stance feels a lot more natural, but I don't think I'm using my legs nearly enough.
is it less distance? sure, but you need to be practical, if it is a struggle to do 3-4 narrow sets compared to breezing past 5-6 wide sets, then it's a no brainer. You lose maybe 5-10% range of motion for 30-40% more volume.
>>37489170
If you aren't using your legs enough, add more weight.
>>37489209
But why can't I go narrow? I'll admit that for me I have almost zero flexibility and even less in my hips.
Is it something I can make myself do by just doing it until it feels natural?
>>37489276
are there fixes? Maybe, you can go on youtube and listen to hundreds of yahoos tell you to do this and that, but we are all structured differently and there is an inherently misguided approach to trying to achieve the ideal form, yes, quarter reps are stupid and there has to be a boundary, but don't try and force yourself into some kind of mechanic that isn't right for your body. Do you want to be a transgender too?
Unless you're going absurdly wide, you ought to be able to get plenty of knee flexion (ie quad usage) from a wide stance.
>>37489319
>Do you want to be a transgender too?
Would it help my gains?
>>37489365
absolutely, test for men or massive amounts of attention on online image boards for women.
>>37489344
>>37489319
I've seen people using a bench as a base, where they squat down to it, sit, then push up. What is the benefit, if any, to this? Safety?
>>37489170
It's just your morphology. I'm the same way.
>>37489170
The closer your feet are together, the more you engage your outer quads. The wider your stance, the more you engage your inner quads.
>>37489410
box squats, probably some safety benefits, makes the reps consistent, but you miss out on valuable gains made from the bottom of the squat. Primarily they're good for confidence and consistency, I wouldn't do them long-term as they are impractical and redundant.
adjust to what feels right, is not one size fits all
>>37489170
femoral head shape, the "neck" of the bone head and insertion into the pelvis make for different stances as for leg rotation and stance width
just do what is natural and comfortable, tweak and adjust a lot, and if you think its easier doing the movement even while going below parallel and all that, then just load more weight
OP, can you touch your toes from a standing position without bending your knees? Your hamstring flexibility may be what's holding you back.
