What is correct form concerning feet when doing squats?

[Smurf the little pea.]

I have a very hard time keeping my feet fully planted. It always seems that my heels come off the ground and I end up pushing with my toes and front of the foot. Is this ok, or no?

 

[mikelong23]

absolutely not, always push through the heels, when doing any type of leg exercise where you are pushing, always push through the heels.

 

[Freak Show]

You need to concentrate more on "sitting" into the squat. I break the movement up into two parts. 1) you move your butt backwards as if reaching for a chair to sit on. Once you feel your weight in your heels, 2)now you drop your hips into the "squat" position. This is a gross oversimplification, but it should help.

 

[needsize]

It also seems like a lot of guys have that difficulty due to a short range of motion in the calves, they don't want to stretch that far, so when you drop down, to compensate your heels come off the ground. It couldn't hurt to really work on strectching your calves to lengthen the range of motion, incidently I would stay away from squating with small plates under your heals, will compound the problem

 

[BigDdaGanjalist]

I use to have the problem of my right foot (starting pointing forward) to twisting/pointing 20 degrees off; so not good.

But with a lot of practice with a lighter weight I got the problem fixed

good tips from the above posts and I would like to also add:

Try not to push your knees forward when squatting. . . this'll result in pushing with your toes. . . when squatting you should still be able to see your toes in the squatted position.

strong

 

[spentagn]

put 10lb plates under your heels. or a board.

 

[cobratri]

NO. ITS NOT OK. try to push your heels through the floor instead of trying to push the bar up. That helped me stop getting on my toes and keep my feet flat. hope it helps.

 

[Smurf the little pea.]

It just seems to me that I cannot bend to that sitting position. It also feels like my back and chest is going to far forward then feels safe.

On another note, what is wrong with having your heels come off the ground? Is it bad for the knees?

 

[mikelong23]

its just shitty technique that will result in some form of an injury, usually the knee though. I have heard that squatting on boards or plates are bad for you b/c of the posture, i have never used them and see no reason for that. i think the article was in Muscle and Fitness a few issues ago if anyone wanted to check it out.

 

[endpoint]

Do you stretch?

do both hamstrings and calf muscles.

tightness in these muscles is often the reason for your heels comming of the floor. (id say 90% of the time its the reason)

nothing to do with form or concentration or the amount of weight.

squating on boards or plates should only be used later( you being a beginner and all) to place stress on the VMO muscle.....but for now just stretch and stick to standard squats.