Want to break your brain? The best position to put your feet for the conventional deadlift is directly under your hips. Why? Best anatomically this is the most optimal stance for applying force into the ground.
But, that’s not where we put our feet to squat heavy.
Most of us squat with a wider-the-deadlift stance, somewhere around shoulder width. As someone who wants to be in the best position to squat heavy, surely you don’t want to put your feet in the second best stance to be strong, right? So, how do we reconcile a suboptimal stance?
The key is to remember that these “rules” about form don’t come from a rulebook. No one invented the squat or the deadlift, for example. Instead, these key points of performance regarding form are best practices that evolve with real life experiences.
What if I told you putting your feet in a shoulder width stance actually isn’t the best stance to apply force into the ground, but it is the best one that allows the hips freedom to pass below parallel. In fact, if you could achieve the desired squatting depth with your heels down, you probably should squat with your feet directly under your hips. Most can’t, however.
The grips, stances, and postures in the gym aren’t gospel.
They are just a game of tradeoffs that, in most cases, have yielding more helpful reasons to use them than non-helpful reasons.
11/12/24 WOD
DEUCE Athletics GPP
Complete 4 rounds of the following:
10 Yates Row
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
12 Arnolds Press
10 Weighted Barbell Evil Wheels
40-Yard Fat Grip Carry
Complete 5 rounds time:
7th Street Corner Sprint
— Rest as needed —
DEUCE Garage GPP
10-7-5-2
Bench Press
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
10 Seated Behind the Neck Presses
10 Close Grip DB Floor Presses
10 DB Tricep Rollback Extensions
Then, Every 3:00 for 12:00, complete the following:
12 KB Swings AHAP
200m Run