Is Squatting Like Sam Sulek Good?

[richardbarnard]

Finally someone that doesnt just judge people

[petritkrasniqi]

For anyone confused, a narrow stance is better suited for bodybuilding/hypertrophy if your intention is to grow your quads/place more emphasis on the quads. This is because a narrow stance limits the involvement of your glutes and adductors in performing the squat, biasing even greater the quads for this movement.

An elevated heel allows you to stay more up-right whilst driving the knees more forward, as well as going deeper during the squat, which again, biases the quads much more than when you involve your hips etc.

A note on the elevated heel bit - the need to incorporate an elevated heel will depend a lot on your anatomy. If you have short femurs you can actually stay upright and squat deeply without the need of an elevated heel (in most cases). If you have long femurs (I’m like 6ft4 with super, super long femurs), squatting deep like that with a narrow stance is impossible to do without your lower back rounding in to compensate for the greater range of motion (I.e., squatting deeper). In my case, I have to use squat shoes + an elevated heel (like a squat wedge) to get a full range of motion whilst staying up right to drive my knees forward without letting my lower back round in to compensate for the greater depth (this is called butt wink and NO it’s never acceptable please don’t do squats with a butt wink as overtime you’ll hurt yourself!)

Another important variable to consider is also your hip mobility - some may not be able to squat narrow and deep irrespective of their femur length - in this case, doing the above certainly helps, or if you want to do things more naturally without the assistance of a wedge or squat shoes, try opening the hips as you descend into the squat. Or do both! This can address this issue too and prevent your lower back rounding in (butt wink). I hope this helps!

[parasitesundinism]

The elevated squat in sandals looked so painful

[JarethGarza]

My gym bro, a year ago said, “I dont squat. They dont like me.”

Now that Sam is showing squats, my gym bro is now like, “You done squats lately?”

Thanks Sam

[silver_donkey]

I’m 6ft and always tried the wider stances and I’d always eventually get a “hotness” in my right knee. It wasn’t pain but it felt like the beginning of an injury if I kept it up like that. I then tried more narrower stances and they felt much better for me. I already have very good ankle mobility to the point I can get ass to grass without the plates or special shoes. Everyones anatomy is different and I shouldn’t have adopted a technique from others. Now I do my own and I have no issues.

[codeisme]

The narrow stance is also a biomechanical adaptation, that is to say, Sams best Biomechanically Hip Socket-Femur joint connection favours a narrow stance.
Some peoples hips and hip sockets actually flare more outward, where a wider stance doesnt cause an impingement in the socket.
Everyone has a differemt build, so try figuring out which stance width is best for you

[LakeManship]

love your message around doing what helps you keep squatting

[ethancorner]

I had a back injury and this helped so much to squat again

[onetruth]

It's actually really cool seeing this, because this is exactly how I squat. Salute to everyone working on their health!

[zangetsukurosaki]

Love the positive vibes, keep it up man, need more of yall out there in the world today

[jasont]

Hell of a quad burn. It also relieves my lower back from getting tight.

[neekoorso]

I was never able to squat without having to compensate my form as my ankle mobility is almost nonexistant. This emphasized my lower back engagement and transformed squats into a shitty version of rdls.
The day I tried out this narrow stance I started to finally enjoy squatting.
So for this I thank Sam for showing alternatives :)

[mecr]

I squat like that using a wedge because it emphasizes the quads more. If you look at tom Platz he squats the same too and even explains why the squat now a days has been bastardized.

[wdy]

That’s how I have always done it too. Feels so good. Do what works for you.

[haroldbyrd]

I do front squats and rear squats this way. Love it!

[FriendlyPsycho]

Whatever makes you hit harder and deeper but doesn’t hurt you go for it bud

[TheOutlierToday]

This man is getting more and more famous everyday

[RustleOW]

Just had a lecture on this, by starting at a plantarflexion position, your ankle has more room for dorsiflexion movement to complete a full-depth squat. I love when this man pops out after these clips.

[mrdune]

I do heal elevated squats with my legs close together to put as much tension on my knees and quads as possible.

My hope is this will strengthen my knees to prevent injury and to isolate my quads during my finally few sets

[wardofthemark]

The amount of faith the guy in flip flops on the big wedge is placing on the fabric between his toes is inspirational.