Heels elevated or flats?

Barefoot or heels elevated? Knees out or knees over toes? Straight down or hips back?

It’s all so confusing on what cues to use and listen to. But if you can put yourself into better technique using proper footwear the cues become less important. It’s the difference of working harder vs smarter. Force technique with a cue or have the appropriate equipment for you and the body cues itself.

In my case looking at the pictures below you can see how my technique has changed in shoes vs barefoot

1. Centre of mass

   1. Using the chain as the indicator, barefoot the weight is pushed more in front of me stressing my low back and a pissed off disc.

   2. The closer the weight stays to my centre of mass the mechanical leverage my joints and muscles have = more strength and power

2. Shin angle

   1. Shoes allow me to start with a negative shin angle so when I’m at the bottom of the squat I’m not forcing ankle range of motion I don’t have

      1. Note the overall ankle range of motion is the same

      2. Shoes keep a more upright shin angle which will load more of the posterior chain (hips & hamstrings)

Key take aways

• Proper foot wear is more important than forcing a cue

• Having a stable foot is vital

  • Subtle shifts in the feet mean big shifts in the knee, hips and back especially as the weight gets heavier

  • More shifting = weight pushed away from my centre of mass