Research Update- Squat Stance

Those of you who follow my training advice know that I'm a big believer in the benefits of the squat. It's called the "King of Exercises" for a reason, you know. Normally I recommend that you use a typical shoulder-width stance when you squat to maximize growth of all the leg muscles – quads, hamstrings and glutes.

Many bodybuilders believe that using a narrow stance (hip-width or closer) on squats places more focus on the vastus lateralis, or outer quad muscle, which develops the outer sweep of the thighs. The same bodybuilders also believe that a very wide stance (about twice that of a shoulder-width stance) better targets the vastus medialis, or teardrop muscle, which is the quad muscle just above the inside of the kneecap. They also believe that the wide stance hits more of the glutes.

So is this bro science or real science? Researchers from the University of Padova in Italy decided to find that out in recent years. They had trained lifters squat while either using a regular stance (shoulder-width), a narrow stance (hip-width), or a wide stance (twice shoulder-width) while they measured muscle activity of three of the four different quad muscles – vastus lateralis (outer quad muscle), vastus medialis (tear drop muscle located inside and above the knee cap) and rectus femoris (front quad muscle), as well as the glutes and hamstrings.

They reported in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research that the narrow stance increased muscle activity of the vastus medialis by about 10%. The wide stance, on the other hand, increased muscle activity of the glutes by 40% and slightly increased muscle activity of the vastus lateralis by 10% (see graph below) .

While this research supports what bodybuilders knew all along regarding the glutes and a wide stance, it debunks the common belief that a narrow stance increases focus on the outer quads (vastus lateralis) and a wide stance focuses more on the teardrop muscle. The study found the opposite to be true.

Jim's Take-Home Message:

For overall leg growth that focuses on all the quad, hamstring and glute muscles, stick with a shoulder-width stance when you squat. If you need to work on building more of the outer part of the quads, try using a wide stance. If you need to build more of the teardrop muscle, try using a narrow stance. And if you want to build up your butt, then definitely use a wide stance on squats.    

Reference:

Paoli, A., et al. The effect of stance width on the electromyographical activity of eight superficial thigh muscles during back squat with different bar loads.  biomechanical comparison of back and front squats in healthy trained individuals. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23(1):246-250, 2009.

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