How to Find the Right Squat Stance

From the Clinic

I had a client come in recently with knee and hip pain during squats. He was doing everything “right”: toes forward, knees tracking, chest tall — textbook form.

But it still hurt.

So we played with his stance. He went a little wider, toed out slightly.

No pain.

His hips and knees didn't need fixing. He just needed a stance that matched his anatomy.

I used to over-coach this exact scenario. Because I was chasing ideal form instead of ideal function.

What We’re Seeing

There’s a lot of debate around squat stance:

• Should it be neutral?

• Toes forward or out?

• What if one foot turns in more than the other?

The truth is: Everyone’s anatomy is different.

So everyone’s squat stance should be different.

Trying to force someone into a standard position can actually create more problems — especially if their hips simply don’t want to move that way.

How We Coach It

One of my favorite assessments is the Duck Walk Test:

1. Have your client squat as deep as they can

2. In that position, have them duck walk in place and shift their stance: wide, narrow, toes in, toes out

3. Ask them which position feels easiest, deepest, or least restricted

4. Have them stand up without moving their feet

5. ✅ That’s their squat stance. - Usually that's a little wider and a little more toed out than they thought. But they notice it feels much better.

Bonus Round: A Quick Anatomy Deep Dive

Everyone’s bony hip structure affects how they squat — but most of our clients don't even know this a thing. Here’s the short version:

• Femoral version:

  • Retroversion = more external rotation, less internal

  • Anteversion = opposite

  • → If someone has a ton of external rotation but poor internal, don’t force it — that’s probably just their bone shape

• Hip socket depth:

  • Deep sockets = less total mobility

  • Shallow sockets = more mobility

  • → If someone’s mobility isn’t improving with stretching and they feel pressure in the front of the hip, they may have a deep socket — and they’ll always have a lower ceiling on ROM. If we keep pushing their mobility, we might just be causing impingement.

Here’s a deeper dive if you want to nerd out: 🔗 Hip Anatomy and the Squat – Medium

What’s Your Take?

How do you help clients find their squat stance? Got a test or cue you swear by?

Hit reply and let me know. I’ll share a few community tips in an upcoming issue.