My whole life I've always had "duck feet" which is something I never thought about -- or was even aware of -- till I started working out at the age of 40. Lifting weights or, to be more specific squatting, made my duck feet glaringly obvious: my feet flare out dramatically whenever I squat, even more so than when I'm just standing or moving about. In fact, I can still point both feet sideways, heel-to-heel in perfect alinement which is just awesome for ballet, yay, but not so awesome for squatting.
What's more, because my feet flare so dramatically when squatting I automatically collapse the arches of my feet inwards, causing my feet to "roll in". Basically this is my body's way to compensate for the fact that A) my foot flare puts me in a weak position and B) I have shit mobility. In an ideal world my feet would face more forward keeping my ankle joint stable, my knees aligned with my toes, my hips strong and so on up my spine. Yep, everything is one long kinetic chain.
You can picture the domino effect for people like me: feet flare when squatting down causing arches to collapse. Feet therefore roll inward, drawing the knees with them. Inward-bending knees weaken the legs and their ability to recruit total musculature (this can also lead to long-term injury). The upper legs, being drawn in, can then pull the pelvis down (pelvic tilt) to further compensate for this bizarre position and boom, fuckery is successfully achieved.
So.
...where do duck feet come from?
Yes, they come from ducks -- wise ass! -- but they could also be congenital. You got born with that shit and if you don't believe me, open this link and read it straight after you've finished here. Alternatively, something that started as a habit may have become permanent, or your body compensated and voila, you're now a duck-footed toss nut. However it came to be is not a question I know the answer to, I just know you are or you aren't (or you have one foot that is).
Initially I started in on a series of stretching drills and exercises to "correct" my problem in the early years, but after awhile y'know what? I thought fuck it, I'm not doing this. Strength-training is something I enjoy and do weekly but it's not my life. I'm not doing this because duck feet have never been a problem for me. That's saying something, isn't it? They neither affected nor reduced my sporting participation as a kid or affected my quality of life as an adult. I cannot identify with those people who say it does or will.
So why then am I trying to "undo" foot flare -- because Kelly Starrett said, because mobility is now the latest on-line thing, because I'm supposed to be copying Olympic athletes? Are you fucking insane? Suddenly, almost as if out of nowhere, stretching has become akin to godliness. People have become obsessed with straight feet, foam rolling their nut sac, exercising their rotator cuffs all because the United Fitness Gurus Online say so out the anus on their face.
Instead of beating myself up about it, cursing my own physicality and following the herd into stretch-yourself-to-taffy hell, I developed a squat work-around for my duck feet. It's simplicity personified. It's so glaringly obvious and something Olympic athletes themselves do that solves everything: elevated heels. That's it. That's all I did and before you recycle inane remarks such as "that's cheating" and the like, have you ever looked at an Olympic lifters shoes? They ALL have elevated heels.
...slur-prised?
Well are ya, punk?
These are the world's top lifters. That means a lot to me and should to you.
The moment I elevated my heels I achieved the depth I needed with ease. Squatting became comfortable, my movement-pattern became fluid, and almost over-night I was shifting quality weights. It gets better: I squat in flat shoes so used a 4" wedge board to reach depth. I now use a 2" board which shows me that over the years I've actually improved mobility through raised heels. Well whadaya know? So raise your heels anywhere from 1-4" using either plates, a wedge-board or simply a board placed against a 2-by-4, and start squatting.
You will automatically fix everything just by placing yourself in the most effective position for you. You'll not only squat deeper you'll also squat with a more vertical back (I do high-bar only) and feel much more comfortable in the hole. You'll be able to squat narrower too should you wish. Better yet, if you're hypertrophy focused, raised heels transfers more weight to your quads. Apparently. So there's that to beat-off over as well.
Lastly, don't forget foot arch: try "scrunching" your big toe up and you'll find this one, simple hack will both raise and tigthen your foot arch. This is another great tool for keeping the feet well-positioned and only something I picked up on much later in my squatting. If you stand bare-foot and practice this now, you'll see what I mean; your feet actually raise. Combine this with some outward pressure on the knees -- the old "knees out" fav -- and you'll be in a tight but neutral position to squat through.
So there you go and look, I'm not saying I'm right , I'm just saying this is what I've chosen to do and it's working wonders for me. You choose what you want to do but if this is more beneficial for you, if Olympic athletes themselves use raised heels, then why wouldn't you? There's even a word for this: smart. Think smart, squat smart. Don't beat yourself up because you have duck feet. Don't beat yourself up because you can't squat like the guys 'n gals online. We're all designed differently. Raise your heels, find your groove, work with it, move on. Kia ora whanau.
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