Active feet in the squat?

[DCR]

Do you grab / claw the floor when squatting?

If yes, why?

If no, why not?

I’ve been on and off with this over the years, depending on how shitty my squat is at any given time and with what means I’m attempting to fix it. Lately I’ve had trouble keeping the bar over midfoot, either knees sliding forward followed by hips sliding back to counteract it, or hips just sliding back in the first place. Either way I end up doing a slight good morning squat with my weight back further than I want. I think gripping the floor is helping with keeping everything in place (largely assisting with squeezing the quads) and avoiding that, but there always are too many variables.

[MarkKO]

Yes, sort of.

I was taught to slam the big toe into the floor, which seems to have much the same effect as gripping the floor with all five toes. In my case it stops my ankles coming in.

[AlanMackey]

Maybe it's just me but... every fucking time I try to do a perfect squat I end up overcorrecting all over the place.

If I just put the bar across my back and simply squat between my legs as Dan John succintly put it, it all falls in place.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

I don't really grab the floor or think about my toes or anything.

Actually I have a similar experience as @AlanMackey I seem to do better if I do not think too much about technique during the rep, at least during sets when the weight is heavy enough (think sets of 1-5 reps). Like if I have to do a single everything is pretty much auto-pilot (not saying that its a good thing but I know if I start thinking too much during the rep I'll probably fail).

The only thing that I think about during squat is bracing throughout.

[5hout]

Maybe it's just me but... every fucking time I try to do a perfect squat I end up overcorrecting all over the place.

If I just put the bar across my back and simply squat between my legs as Dan John succintly put it, it all falls in place.

I like to imagine a huge fat man screaming "BACK BACK BACK" and otherwise simply sit down and stand back up.

[BostonRugger]

If I notice myself going too far forward or back, I self cue the "tripod foot" concept from Chris Duffin (big toe, pinky toe, heel). Usually this is during warmups or the first couple reps with working weight.

[mbasic]

Maybe it's just me but... every fucking time I try to do a perfect squat I end up overcorrecting all over the place.

If I just put the bar across my back and simply squat between my legs as Dan John succintly put it, it all falls in place.

same^.

Now I don't do anything but think about "pressure mid foot".

I organize my stance width, toe-out-angle, etc such that I can just sit down withOUT thinking about knee outs, or "screwing my feet into the ground", and/or too many other cues.

[AlanMackey]

Now I don't do anything but think about "pressure mid foot".

I organize my stance width, toe-out-angle, etc such that I can just sit down withOUT thinking about knee outs, or "screwing my feet into the ground", and/or too many other cues.

This!

Also, if Rip watched my "not-so-low bar squats" (barbell positioned between a textbook high bar squat and a Starting Strength low bar squat), he would probably end up having a severe stroke.

[Hardartery]

I don't think about my feet at all. I sometimes think about "Open the taint" ala Ed Coan, which is in the same vein as the Dan John thing. I prefer to push off the heels coming out of the hole because that means I'm not doing a Good Morning usually. It doesn't really matter what's on my feet either, I'm usually in some sort of barefoot/water shoe thing these days, but actually barefoot is fine as well, and I have a pair of Safe SST squat shoes in the US if I'm feeling like being elaborate.

[Skid]

It doesn't really matter what's on my feet either, I'm usually in some sort of barefoot/water shoe thing these days, but actually barefoot is fine as well, and I have a pair of Safe SST squat shoes in the US if I'm feeling like being elaborate.

I squat in heel-less shoes as well.

One cue I've used in the past is to push my feet outwards as I'm squatting. Supposed to activate the glutes better. Knees pushed outwards as well

Now I don't really think about anything but bracing which seems to make the biggest difference to me.

[DCR]

Thanks to everyone who responded. A few things:

@Hardartery and @Skid, I also squat in heel-less shoes - vans to be specific. I don't have any mobility issue - I can squat ATG on a dime and generally squat particularly low, which I've been thinking may not be for the best. I think that I'm losing my brace in the hole despite making a concerted effort not to do so.

@AlanMackey, I dig that advice, used to adhere to it, and wish that I still could. Unfortunately, with years' worth of old injuries, imbalances, and compensations, my "natural" squat, once a thing of beauty of which I was proud despite my relative lack of strength, now is a trainwreck. If you placed on object on the floor in front of me right now and asked me to squat down and pick it up, without thinking, I would not be able to do it. (Or, I would do it and it would look horrible.)

@BostonRugger, yes, that's exactly what I mean. Question, though, once you have your tripods set, are you keeping a relaxed foot, "letting" the weight down over the center of the tripods, or are you actively "gripping" the floor and more "pulling" the weight down?

@MarkKO, you're actually not the first person to make that point, that pushing the big toe down can lead to everything else taking care of itself, and I've had the experience as well. Lately, though, that emphasis seems to bring me forward of midfoot. I have no idea what I'm doing differently to cause that, versus the past.