<span style="font-weight: 400;">Having posted the image below on Facebook some time ago, it caused quite the debate. This encouraged me to research and learn more. So this article will dive into the information I found and continue the conversation with you. The post discussion was about foot position during the squat, and I was asking if and why people felt it mattered...</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-35976 aligncenter" src="https://biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screenshot-2023-05-03-at-09.06.28-1-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">My post was discussing…</span>
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What different foot widths alter when squatting?</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What difference does it make, if any?</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also to invite comments on how and why we might choose different foot widths?</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The post received a lot of responses, here are a few more interesting ones….</span>
<ul>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ll exercise different muscle groups</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wide will pull in Glutes if you go deep.  </span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Narrow will be more quads and you'll not be able to go in as deep.</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wide stance works inner and narrow stance works outer quads.</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Depending if wanting to hit different areas I think.</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> I'd guess the wider the stance the more dominant the rec fem is</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">4 muscles well 5 but each position will force one to dominate more. I'd imagine close stance may as I can see the hip flexors/extensors would be less engaged.</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both stances work the quads and glutes but the emphasis changes.</span></i></li>
 	<li><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The key is knowing the function of the abductor and adductor muscles. </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">When stance is wide the adductor muscles (Inner quads) contract to pull the legs together against the resistance as one straightens the legs. </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">When stance is narrow the abductors (outer quads) are engaged as the legs straighten. </span></i></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">There was very little clarity or justification for the answers and some</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> were technically just not possible from my understanding of anatomy anyway! Yet n</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">o matter how a conversation goes on social media its good if it helps us learn from it. T</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">hese posts inspired me to read more and really got me thinking about something…...</span>

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<h2><b>Can You Really Isolate &amp; Grow An Individual Quad Muscle More Than Another By Altering Foot Position During Squats?</b></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">T</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">he most common response to my question as to whether the foot width matters during the squat was to ‘hit’ certain muscles more than others, in particular the quads.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">My question re-foot width would imply a frontal plane alteration since the image I posted was demonstrating 3 stances with narrow to wider foot positions yet the depth of the squat was the same. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The reference to inner quads as adductors and outer quads as abductors was interesting since they are different muscle groups. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">All 4 quads extend the knee but 1 quad, rectus femoris, will also contribute to hip flexion. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the 3 x vastus quads do not cross the hip they are not influenced in anyway by foot width which is altered at the hip. Also the one quad that does cross the hip (rectus femoris) to attach to the AIIS, through these ranges, wont have changed length by any statistically interesting degree to ‘hit’ the muscles for growth (as per the 3 images above) and certainly not the 'inner nor outer quads'.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The comment about how the squats feels different when they altered their foot width doesn't really tell us anything about what is happening on the inside anatomically with any accuracy since the body is an integrated system. However altering anything about your position during a squat will inevitably make them feel different. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Another point made was this idea of ‘hitting’ an individual muscle (like vastus lateralis) more however this relies upon a definition of what 'hitting' means exactly. Does h</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">itting a muscle more correlate with it growing or developing more than other muscles for example? This idea is actually quite a common discussion in the bodybuilding world but I have yet to read anything that can technically describe how its even possible </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">when looking at the attachment sites in relation to foot width the quad muscles are all part of one group? We may read studies about EMG activity but this also isn't necessarily indicative of actually growing an individual muscle more than the one next to it.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you have a narrow or wide stance the actions during a regular squat are;</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Hip/knee/ankle flexion &amp; extension </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By altering the foot width (as shown above) there is minimal alteration if any to the quadriceps muscle length if any. Rectus femoris maybe slightly but the vastus group wont alter in length.  </span>

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<h2><b>What The Research Says…</b></h2>
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<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, three studies (</span></i><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19130646"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">one</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span></i><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11528346"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">two</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span></i><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10188748"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">three</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">) have compared muscle activation (</span></i><a href="https://www.strongerbyscience.com/emg-amplitude-tell-us-muscle-hypertrophy/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">using EMG</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">) in squats of varying stance widths.  None of them found any differences in any of the quad muscles…...Greg Nuckols</span></i>

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<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Analysis of variance and Scheffè post hoc tests indicated a significant difference in EMG activity only for the gluteus maximus; in particular, there was a higher electrical activity of this muscle when back squats were performed at the maximum stance widths at 0 and 70% 1RM. There were no significant differences concerning the EMG activity of the other analyzed muscles. These findings suggest that a large width is necessary for a greater activation of the gluteus maximus during back squats. (Paoli.A et al)</span></i>

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<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The results suggest that stance width does not cause isolation within the quadriceps but does influence muscle activity on the medial thigh and buttocks. (McCaw ST)</span></i>

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<i>Dan Ogborn’s article from 2016 challenges the information we gain from EMG in terms of muscle hypertrophy - have a read! Fascinating!!</i>

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<h2><b>Other Muscles Involved In The Squat </b></h2>
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<img class="size-medium wp-image-7592 aligncenter" src="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Project-Squat-Part-2-How-To-Test-For-And-Improve-Pelvic-Function-300x150.png" alt="" width="300" height="150" />

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Lets consider other muscles in reference to ‘hitting’ individuals muscles differently…..</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The relationship of the 3 hamstrings is still not likely to alter by any statistically interesting amount when the attachments sites are the ischial tuberosity to tibia or fibula, similarly to the rectus femoris. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The 3 glutes each have differing roles ...glute max is the primary hip extensor, while glutes minimus &amp; medius abduct &amp; rotate</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Their attachments cross the hip in a way that they are likely to be shorter or longer in the different stances.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">However when you squat it’s still just hip, knee, ankle flexion / extension but you’re just doing it with these muscles </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">slightly </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">longer or shorter (as per the original image)</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With that said there is still a more valid argument for a different stance to affect them differently</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">All this said and coming back to the original post, knowing that we move in a multitude of ranges /angles /degree of flexion /extension through life it would make absolute sense to use a variety of angles and foot positions etc</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This gives our body a prepared strength for risk reduction in all positions &amp; to optimise performance.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Oh and I have to mention the abductors and adductors….</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By the way adductor magnus, also known as the 4th hamstring, is my favourite muscle EVER, go on check it out!!</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Adductors, like abductors will start longer or shorter with an altered foot position</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But being synergistic, not agonists nor antagonists, how much does this affect the muscle itself in terms of hypertrophy? (as per the images)</span>

Could what is 'felt' be a difference in the lateral muscles of the thigh instead?

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">References:</span>

<a href="https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s13102-018-0103-7"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s13102-018-0103-7</span></a>

<a href="https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squat-stance-width/amp/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squat-stance-width/amp/</span></a>

<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11404665"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11404665</span></a>

<a href="https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squats-adductors/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squats-adductors/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>

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So bringing my thoughts to a temporary close I am happy to continue this conversation in my classroom anytime so please do check out our courses where we have these types of discussions. We learn from you too!

rachel@biomechanicseducation.com

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