Widen Your Squat Stance
Today I want to give some coaching cues to a gem-type squat variation. Especially for taller athletes and those athletes with a lot of muscle mass. Before we dive into that wide stance also known as the sumo squat technique cues and benefits. For clarity, let us discuss the standard squat position, which has been highly debated for many decades now. The depth of the squat, whether your knees should or should not go past your toes. The one thing that has remained constant is; no sinking knees meaning when you’re at the bottom of your squat, the knees start to go in toward one another. However, we can agree that the standard squat setup is feet shoulder wide apart, and the weight remains constant through the midfoot.
Now on to the sumo squat and why it’s a great variation from the standard squat. For starters, it allows for more range of motion with greater comfort. This stance hit all the same target muscle groups as the standard squat. Plus, more emphasis on the hips and adductor muscles of the inner thigh. Start by widening your stance by two to three steps wider than shoulder-width, then slightly point your toes outwardly at a forty-five-degree angle. Then, I’ll turn to Maggie Fazeli Fard because she gives great coaching cues on this exercise:
Stand with your feet wide and turn your toes out 45 degrees.
Brace your core and, with control, bend your knees and hips to squat down until your thighs are about parallel to the ground. Don’t let your knees cave inward.
Press through your feet to stand up. Think about spreading the floor with your feet and externally rotating at the hips as you rise.
And I’ll add keeping pressing the knees outward as you press to stand up because, with this squat variation, the knees tend to want to sink in. It is very important to remain mindful of that, to avoid unnecessary injuries. Also, don’t get super wide with your stance that it becomes impossible to keep your knees over your ankles.
Start slow with this exercise, only when you can handle the technique cue should you start adding load.
Live life free and stay Fit!
J’Nathan Bullock CSCS