Why Squatting Hurts, And What To Do About It

Do your toes uncontrollably turn out as you squat?

So when you squat, your feet move.

It isn’t intentional, and you probably don’t even notice. But it’s a problem.

Rooted, firm, powerful; that’s the goal. But it’s more flimsily and weak, a shack built upon sand. And try as we might, we can’t finish a single squat with our feet angled in the same direction as when we started.

Technique could be the cause.

We may need more practice. A simple stance adjustment may do. But what happens when that doesn’t work? What happens when the stance that feels good before we squat isn’t the stance our body forces us into as we descend?

For a while, nothing. Then we load it, ignore it, and squat anyway. Wrong reps become dysfunctional, and dysfunctional squats eventually terrorize the knees, hips, and back.

The solution is to stop squatting.