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View Full Version : Squat stance: wide vs close



rbowman91
10-15-12, 3:33 pm
Sup bros,

Im more into bodybuilding than powerlifting, and ive always squatted with a shoulder-width tight stance, and go deep ass-to-grass.
I typically go as heavy as i can with good form for 6-10 reps. Sometimes 15 reps on really high volume days.

However, today i got into a debate about it with another fellow trainer at the gym, who said that going wide stance and heavy is better for adding overall mass to the quads, since you can typically go heavier.

What do you bros think about this? Im more concerned with developing my quads than moving the biggest weight possible. Anyone know for certain which stance would be better for my goals? Or maybe mix of both kinds?

braves561
10-15-12, 4:20 pm
i go shoulder width with toes pointed out and do 10-12 reps or so without locking out at the top of the motion

also, if you are looking to develop your quads more, look into leg flared leg presses and db walking lunges. they are tremendous for nailing the quads like the perverts they are.

Big Wides
10-16-12, 8:28 am
There is no right way or wrong way to squat when it comes to a stance. You can get quad development out of a close stance and a wide stance the same, what is going to matter is how much weight you are doing, the form being used, and the food you are eating. I'll also go on record saying that there is no correct range of reps that will give you muscle growth, it's my opinion (and I'm probably the only one) that believes a rep range from 0-100 will build muscle.

If you start to squat with a wider stance, you get more hips and ass into the lift than a narrow stance. What I would do, is experiment with the stances to see which one works. Try going wide for 6 weeks and see what happens. If you don't like the results than you can go back to the narrow stance squats. I also do not reccomend pointing toes in any direction, it's not good

rbowman91
10-16-12, 12:06 pm
There is no right way or wrong way to squat when it comes to a stance. You can get quad development out of a close stance and a wide stance the same, what is going to matter is how much weight you are doing, the form being used, and the food you are eating. I'll also go on record saying that there is no correct range of reps that will give you muscle growth, it's my opinion (and I'm probably the only one) that believes a rep range from 0-100 will build muscle.

If you start to squat with a wider stance, you get more hips and ass into the lift than a narrow stance. What I would do, is experiment with the stances to see which one works. Try going wide for 6 weeks and see what happens. If you don't like the results than you can go back to the narrow stance squats. I also do not reccomend pointing toes in any direction, it's not good

solid, thanks bro.

honestly I want to mess with both stances. I was even thinking of turning my quads workout into an almost entirely squat workout. Maybe 4-5 sets of wides then 4-5 sets of close stance. i get a better quad workout from squats compared to anything else.

my only concern is the lower back. i go pretty hard and heavy on my deadlifts, so I'm wondering if doing that many squats, and then hardcore deadlifts a few days later, would be too taxing on my lower back. I know that powerlifters have systems with waves and periodization (5,3,1, westside, etc), but since i'm only familiar with bodybuilding, those kinds of systems are foreign to me. but I would like to work on my squat as much as possible, while going hard on deads during back day, and remain injury free.

think squatting that many sets on leg day would be risky? my legs seem to respond betetr to heavy training, though occasionally i'll do insanely high reps and high volume workouts to change it up. mostly my squats are between 6-10 and as heavy as possible though.

TotalxWar
10-16-12, 1:03 pm
I squat wide. It helps you get more weight. It activates the quads just about as much as a close squat.
And it works some other muscle groups that close squats don't hit.

eccy
10-16-12, 1:51 pm
I think this would be an article for you to take a look at. This guy used an EMG machine to measure the muscle activity in a wide variety of different lifts and styles of lifts to find out which one was really working the muscle the most. Keep in mind these were just his results and more then likely these would vary a bit person to person but its still very interesting.

http://www.t-nation.com/testosterone-magazine-623#inside-the-muscles