Long Femur Lifters Learn From Nino's Squat!

[@DredFulProductions]

Long femur gang checking in. Cheers lads.

[@luigidipaolo7148]

Let’s goooo

[@danielghesquiere2011]

We're all going to make it comrades

[@wonderfalls2]

🍻

[@isaacpiper510]

Hear hear!

[@zoranagavrilovic9403]

😭

[@RandomGuyyy]

The point about using a lower weight for working sets to ensure better form makes so much sense. Long femurs here and form suddenly goes off a cliff with anything over 90 percent of an honest to goodness 1rm.

[@sikastrength]

annnnd you get that over expsoure of that potentially longer back which might take more beating than a better built lifter

[@diemme568]

Advice for all longer femured - shorter torsoed weightlifters (like myself): in the high bar back squat or - _even more so_ - in the *front* squat: ( *A* ) yes, widen the stance and open up the feet, as it reduces the femurs' sagittal projection length (the femurs seem to become "shorter" from back to front) and sets the feet for more pronation, and ( *B* ) while pushing through the "hole" you _should cave in a bit_ with your knees. This allows for a slightly more accentuated _internal rotation_ of the femurs, *nutation* at the sacrum (S&I joint) that allows you a more inclined lower back, so you don't have to collapse at the thoraco-lumbar joint (you don't "sack in" at your mid back). Long story short: with longer femurs, you'll have to bend more somewhere; well: it's better to do it at the lower back through a more forward tilted sacrum ( _nutation_ ) than at a higher position, where the spine and the muscles are weaker (T-spine). Learned from experience, at 56 yo.

[@diemme568]

@@TheJackOfAllTrades777 your take is a bit too short, though: the point is : " cave a bit in " with your knees. why ? well... se the original comment, wwhhy!! 😀

[@KwisBwown]

@@diemme568 appreciate it king!

[@bobbyhillthuglife]

I agree, and you can actually see this in many of the examples in the vid

[@diemme568]

@@bobbyhillthuglife haha... also long femured? see my advice under this Kristin Pope's video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fICXp5aFhL6Va7s

[@sebastienabousahl7222]

Isn't the spine stronger where it's attached to the thoracic cage ? I heard from Delavier tension on the upper back is healthier as it's much less exposed to the risk of having the "pulp" in the vertebrae squeezed out than in the lower back where it's a frequent problem

[@loganjmcmahon]

This video is immensely helpful. I’m 6’2” with a short torso and very long limbs and generally struggle with the back squat compared to front squat. Thanks for the great information, lads!

[@gabriellopacinski902]

I'm 5'9", 130 lb. And a absurdely long femur, my dad and i, que haver the same height while standup, while sitting he is something like 1-2 inches higher than me.

[@GoalOrientedLifting]

i had the same issue. focus on back angle and let your knees travel forwards. i got bad hip mobility but amazing ankle mobility. but i will never be able to do ATG squats. took me years to figure out the proper technique

[@straight_man]

Front Squats and Zercher Squats are a game changer for me. At 6'3" I can't help but goodmorning the back squat.

[@GoalOrientedLifting]

@@straight_man i agree. im 6'1 but with long femurs and i do high bar as upright as possible and it kinda ends up as a low bar squat, back angle wise. with front squat was also the first time i managed to squat properly. then it took some time to adapt my high bar. it does help that i got a lot of ankle mobility though, so i can let the knees travel forward

[@James_vs_gravity]

switching from trying to squat like clarence to squatting like this took my squat from 130 to 210kg in a year. It was not a change I made overnight. I swapped to low bar and widened my stance slowly every few months

[@sikastrength]

Nice, great work!

[@ken-ip4ih]

LOL

[@James_vs_gravity]

@@22448824 squatting below parallel and getting white lights in comp is good enough for me. I'm not a weightlifter

[@James_vs_gravity]

@@MatteoFitness I just hit 220 in competition. Keep gatekeeping squats on KZbin comments though

[@barryallen767]

Man I am in the same boat as you and really wanna do lowbar squats but I just can't seem to be comfortable in the rack position.

[@sd707sd]

After watching a lot of your videos on squating for taller athletes, I ran a block of front squats focusing on keeping the knees forward and having the tension stay on the quads. I'm back to back squats, and the difference is night and day compared to how I felt before the front squat block. I finally don't feel my back and hips getting abused after each squat season and have added visible size to my legs! Just wanted to say thanks for the all the great content! Cheers lads!

[@sikastrength]

Thanks for watching and letting us know, always great to hear back if people use the information!

[@empireofhypertrophy]

I feel it more in my posterior chain as well(hams and glutes), any advice for me?

[@RadixTheTroll]

Great video, though honestly Nino doesn’t seem like a particularly long-levered lifter to me (maybe compared to other professional weightlifters, but not compared to the average person). Would love to see a video like this with Lesman Paredes, or Yenny Alvarez, or other Colombian or South American lifters

[@sikastrength]

There is hardly any footage of lesman squatting! But I'll try reach out

[@kas90500]

He also could have quite shallow hip sockets, which helps alot even with longer femurs.

[@yoshigg]

You're speaking right to me. Implemented exactly this to compensate for my build. Even over trained into some hip/adductor pain like you mentioned before backing off volume and intensity. Very solid advice from my experience. Appreciate you.

[@likemy]

great video, you put a lot of effort into finding footage to illustrate everything you talk about and it shows. Thanks for making this

[@ben94_]

your video on hand and arm positioning for squat really helped me. more tips for upper back positioning would be cool👍

[@sikastrength]

I love hearing about stuff working for people!

[@mahri9022]

Thank you so much. I’ve watched so many other videos with no help. This video helped immensely and I can finally high bar squat comfortably without any buttwink. Pointing my toes out like you said really made a huge difference and it blew my mind how much less tight my hips felt and more rom I had. Genuinely thank you.

[@Shvabicu]

It took me years and multiple attempts from the ground up to find a squat form that suits me. I used to avoid squats due to that for a long time. Now it's one of my favourite lifts. Stance is wide, but not super wide, lots of external rotation at hips and foot angle (about 45°) and mid bar position on the back. Narrow grip to have the back packed tight and breaking at the knees for an upright back angle on the descent. I have also moved to shoes with medium heel elevation (Adidas Powerlift). Now it just feels right and my back is not getting beaten up anymore.

[@florianwagner5535]

Similar story here bro. Respect!

[@banquo4205]

Great vid, glad to see the comparison of different types of really good squatters

[@sikastrength]

Thanks for commenting and watching!

[@ehmerz]

​@@sikastrengthdo you guys have anything similar on long arms for benching?

[@jfudman]

He’s right about the hip abductors in wider stances. I injured hip abductors because squatting wider with long femurs put too much weight on my heels and cause hip abductors to overcompensate. Afterwards I started squatting barefoot in order to get more weight distribution in my feet and no longer have hip pain

[@TDace25]

Ninnoooooo. Thanks lads. Long femur crew checking in

[@benzina7]

The mobility from the hips down is excellent.

[@blingeranvideos6568]

David Woolson’s squat. He is the longest femured lifter (proportionally) that I have ever seen. He also had the most hip dominant squat that reaches depth that I’ve ever seen.

[@Smithster80]

This! He is quite extroverted in his toe angle as well which is mega interesting. Dude has a super short torso.

[@nova68nova]

His squat is so wide though, probably not very useful for weightlifting.

[@stelliumeleven2889]

This solidifies my experience of being built like a spider. The part about loading makes a lot of sense as well. thanks for explanations!

[@pricerowland]

Interesting, I have always been a strong squatter despite my long femur lengths, and I realized I unknowingly made many of these same adjustments in my technique early on.

[@CJFranciss]

I’m by no means world class but at 6ft 1 with long femurs, I bury front squats, and high bar squats without issue. My best front squat is 180kg I’m currently training to hit a 45min 10km run for something work related and still have no issues sitting a 160kg front squat hamstrings to calves. Paused squats and mobility are the key. Can’t be lazy with mobility

[@koendg9722]

What do you do for mobility?

[@CJFranciss]

@@koendg9722 nothing fancy, my go to stretches are couch stretch, pigeon stretch and pancake. I try to move every day. I grew up as an endurance athlete and was super tight in my lower body for ages. But basic stretching and holding positions for 2-3 minutes at a time was what helped the most. Took awhile but now I’ve just got a good baseline mobility and only work on specific things as needed.

[@dongodlyduffy776]

it sounds like your femurs aren't that long then LOL. jokes aside, front squats are much better bio mechanically than highbar for long femurs. unless you have some crazy ankle dorsiflexion

[@Junker_1]

I had done tons of mobility. But if you have really long femurs it doesn't really matter. It is not a mobility issue. The center of gravity is simply wrong for squatting 90 degrees or over. That was the biggest trap I fell into thinking that it was a mobility issue. Taking a squat wedge or weightlifting shoes (if this gives you enough height) is the answer. I say this because I tried to find the answer for so long.

[@1vootman]

Nino and Carlos are long limbed...and so am I! Thanks for the great video guys

[@liftstretchrepeat]

Back squatting has never felt right for me. Going to try this, thanks!

[@ates423]

I’m 6’4 and I used to squat super narrow (feet between the shoulders) and high bar. Noticed some lower back stiffness after top sets. After meeting a professional Olympic lifter and squatting with him at a random gym. Despite me thinking my form was perfect narrow he told me it was shit because I’m just not anatomically built for that kind of squat. I now squat wide (feet just outside the hands) and I notice much less lower back stiffness and way less pinch in the hips when trying to hit depth. Just food for thought. This should help me break some plateus so I’m excited to squat with a wider stance

[@christopherroberts2500]

Giraffe checking in. Long femurs have never stopped me from squatting heavy, and comfortably. 232.5 backsquat, 185 frontsquat. Let's get it lads.

[@feelsman7837]

Fuck yeah, how long did it take you to develop that kinda strength? Also was that highbar and below parallel?

[@hrsmp]

True Giraffes usually have their front squat very close to their back squat, like 90 to 95%, your numbers makes you look like an impostor

[@christopherroberts2500]

@@feelsman7837 started lifting at 30, dedicated strength work for 18-20 months or so. Highbar to full depth/true front rack for the back/frontsquat. Hit both those numbers about 6 weeks ago, body weight around 108-9kg. Natural.

[@christopherroberts2500]

@@hrsmp disagree. It's usually the Asian lifters who are quite close in ratios, I'd say due to short femurs and longer spines. No matter how much emphasis I placed on my frontsquat/upper back, my ratio caps out at 81-2% at the very most. Upper back is always my limiting factor for heavy fronties. It is what it is.

[@johnkyle2205]

Nice work man. I'm 5'8 so I'm no giraffe, but I have absurdly long legs for my height and the upside is that squats let me build massive quads without much effort. I've got huge quads relative to a very measly squat

[@budgetlifter]

Nino is the reason i got the yellow rom 4s (also all the other colors were sold out when i bought them). Make of that information what you will.

[@sheldoncooper8199]

Iam in NO WAY an Expert but this Guy has one of the Best Sqats i ve ever seen. For a Guy that is actually not optimaly Build to be a Winner in this Sport.

[@ehmerz]

Long femur gang checking in. Found this video really useful!

[@j-rb7508]

I have the lower body of a 5‘11 Person and the upper Body of a 5‘5 person. I forced myself to do back squats while leaning forward quite a bit which resulted in less quad activation and knee pain. Right now I‘m doing Zercher Squats and Split Squats with dumbells which work much better for me.

[@HUNK301]

I used to think i had short femurs and a Long torso because my squat from the side looks pretty upright, however through trial and error i found out that its actually the opposite, i just overcame these aspects because of my insane degree of hip retroversion, which shoves my knees all the way to the Side and lets me sit inbetween them, however, as much as i tried to be a short femur squatter, my hips would always shoot back when ascending. The solution for my ATG squats was: •More dorsiflexion work •A more Medium stance •A higher raised heel WL shoe than the standard

[@KayButtonJay]

6’8” here. These points should be more common knowledge. I had to learn it the hard way via injuries. But now I’m good. I do a wide stance and I don’t get risky with reps in reserve

[@scott-hr3hd]

The wider the knees are the more the adductors are involved. This turns into long repair times from a groin pull. What works is front squats, trying to keep the feet as straight forward as mechanically possible and incline shoes. Edit: foot angle position is determined by faber test.

[@zerog4261]

Absolutely grt vid and bang on the money. I find if I fatigue, even slightly, it can knock my position out all together. With back squats I always reel it in a bit.. Never had a probs with front squats though, always find I can sit in the pocket and keep an upright torso relatively easily Hence why fronts can be done at a relatively high percentage of my back squats.

[@silkecarina991]

this helped me so much and gave me hope, i really enjoy weightlifting but i just felt like my proportions wouldn't fit in any strength sport. i have a quite wide stance already but will keep on testing

[@johnrobinson4445]

Basically the same structure as me with a million times more accomplishment at weight lifting. Kudos.

[@johncalla2151]

And if your primary goal is hypertrophy a wide stance is going to be horrible so just do leg extensions is what I've come to learn.

[@YoriYoiHitotachi]

Wider stance I feel more pressure maintaining upright back angle. When I went more narrow my lower back was not taxed as much even with my long femurs. Of course I'm only hitting 350 for sets of 5 which is much lighter than the Olympic lifters. I'm also 510 and 200 lbs.

[@fulvioalantonin3992]

Nino Pizzolato è un membro della Nazionale Italiana ed un atleta di livello Mondiale 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

[@ktdral22]

I hate to say that Nino looks proportionate (legs slightly longer than torso) My legs are so long that even with a very good dorsiflexion I still have quite a lot of torso inclination during a squat, it really sucks

[@silkecarina991]

was my first thought aswell but when he bends his knee you can see that he has quite long femurs

[@shaky_lifts]

Going wider can also introduce the butt wink, depending on your hip structure. Then it will be harder (impossible) to reach maximal depth while keeping the lower back neutral/slightly extended.

[@Stuke51]

I’m short, but have long arms, long femurs and a short torso relative to my height. My posterior chain is always the limiting factor in back squatting due to my mechanics but this moulded my posterior chain into solid steel over the years. My deadlift is 135lbs greater than my squat lol.

[@romanokely1059]

fantastic educational lifting advice.

[@jaronburns873]

Another great video lads. I'm wondering if there's any chance of getting a video on long femurs and low bar squat technique. I don't have anyone specific in mind but I would love to see it. Keep up the great work, cheers from Canada

[@turkishdelight6032]

Are there any lifters who specifically have short arms and really long femurs? Although I have a long torso, my femurs are still long enough that they require me to continue to find remedies for squats. Also, my short arms make pulling off the ground straight torture, but I would love to observe a world class athlete with these proportions

[@dustinirwin1]

Loving this series. I'm a taller v of Nino, so lots of useful info. How about Haack? If you move away from WL, he still had a WL-style squat, which is pretty cool for PL info.

[@Smithster80]

Be very interesting as he has a very knees forward and ultra upright torso angle basically a hack squat machine bar path and he still moves ridiculous weights.

[@Shvabicu]

​@@Smithster80 Haack says he's very quad dominant so that's why he squats that way

[@SLouiss]

Thanks for making a video on this topic

[@magoo9221]

You guys should totally do a break down of DAMIEN PEZZUTI’S squat

[@Senneeeuh]

Great analysis. Good job

[@Darrell1977]

trying this out tomorrow, thank you

[@MeTooMan]

Nice video and explanation.

[@veezyv100]

Would using wedges to elevate the heels help even more for people with long femurs? I have heard this and I have the same long femur affliction. Great video and great info I will incorporate.

[@chuksdaniel5851]

Yea it will. Infact, try the cyclist squat. That’s the best squat for people with long femur.

[@veezyv100]

@@chuksdaniel5851 thanks 🙏🏿 I will check it out

[@gmelliot19]

Cossack squats are REALLY good for squatters with poor anatomy (long femurs, short shins, deep and/or retroverted hips, stiff ankles, etc). Improve adductor flexibility, allowing you to use a wider stance on squats and deadlifts. Also recommend hip adduction machine, if you’re at a gym that has one with enough ROM to get an intense stretch.

[@peterlampropoulos3505]

Excellent video

[@absthecoach]

I’m built a way that’s opposite for weight lifting. Long femur, long arms, short torso but I have a long spine because my neck is long and also have a lordotic spine due genetics structures. This puts excess pressure on my lower back. I’m built well for athletic sports and adjust my weight training accordingly.

[@32srt32]

finaly someone talks about my body type t rex arms shorter torso than legs

[@sneil8056]

John Haack squat analysis - would love to see that from you lads

[@sneeuwballa]

Every commenter on the internet has long femurs though, they're always the first to tell you. I genuinely wonder when one would be classified as long femured, and when someones squat is just shitty and they use it as a crux. I understand that compared to Tian Tao we all feel long femured, but that doesn't mean that you are.

[@static49ers8]

i think its just people coping and makeing excuses on why their squat just sucks ass

[@HkFinn83]

100%

[@kibbecapsule7571]

Biomechanics are a thing. I don't lift, but I wakeboard, and I run into this exact problem when I take obstacles, I can't bend my knees as much as I would like to at the reception, because I would fall backwards. It IS worsened by the fact that my stance is fixed (boots are screwed on the board, you can adjust them a bit though, I'm currently tinkering). The cable operator keeps telling me to flex more at the knees and less at the hips... but I just can't, I litteraly PHYSICALLY can't. I'm working on my ankle dorsiflexion, but there is only so much it will do. And don't get me started on the added power needed to move a longer lever (basic physics). Si yeah, maybe some use it as a crutch, but it IS a real disadvantage. Or maybe short people unable to reach objects placed high are using their height as an excuse too, I don't know... 🤣

[@nbekzadeh]

Super helpful. Thank you!

[@ayda2876]

I had the same realisation on my own and I changed my stance over time going a little bit wider and my feet more on a side angle I feel like I can use my glutes and stay upright a lot more. I feel like my strength is not nerfed compared to before where I used to have my feet really close I would always fail at 90 degrees where the sticking point is the hardest, it felt like something was just not working. I've bought new shoes and change my stance and first session i got a 10kgs highbar pr which is kinda crazy. For the people who want to try this out id recommend getting squat shoes with z pretty good drop and id recommend taking some time to adapt as he said in the video it can be hard on your hips ect.

[@notkrillin]

To what extent would you consider one a "long femur" lifter? Is there a certain ratio or is it more so anyone that's not build like Tian?

[@headcoatee]

The longer your femurs are relative to your shin the harder it will be to squat due to the longer moment arm created as you descend.

[@jonnyshearer3456]

Femurs go from belfast to cork squatting with no knee pain now cheers ladssss

[@kevindoesgaming77]

I actually use the same type of squat stance if you have outward rotating hips rotating feet outward helps

[@blcrsn]

Unreal video thank you so much

[@omenvii242]

Super helpful video! I'm 6'4 with a short torso and some stupidly long femurs and legs in general lol.

[@Waruto]

Hey Sika Strength, is it worth cutting a bit of depth for a wider stance in term of training for leg muscle development? I noticed in 2:28 Nino's narrow stance squat is a bit more deeper than his newer wide stance squat. I think we can also reproduce this issue ourselves with an extreme case where we spread out stance really wide, we would not be able to hit ATG "ass to grass" squat compared to a more narrow stance. Some might have more hip flexibility to squat ATG at a wider stance but at what point should we no longer widen our stance in favor of a deeper squat?

[@BobCarrot-z1f]

Imagine all the pain discomfort & uncoordination we all had to endure in sports growing up simply because some jackass coach forced "shoulder width apart" down our throats

[@Nobbyman1]

This is a great video.!

[@strepie93]

It's still fairly narrow with relative straight feet compared to let's say beginner/intermediate long-limbed squatters, who think they need to stand as wide as possible and toes pointed way out.

[@Pletzmutz]

Some useful exercises to improve dorsiflection would be appreciated.

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

Damn, gnarly bail at 1:40!

[@playfair9920]

I have long femurs but solid dorsiflexion. My biggest problem when squatting is my duck stance. I have to point my toes very wide or my knees take a beating. Super wide stance toes to a side low bar and bending over almost to parallel. I did 170 kg squat this way before I decided it's not worth it. Bulgarian split squat for me.

[@braybraymitchface]

What tips would you give when switching to a wider stance? In particular not letting your knees fold in

[@0223eoin]

Thanks for this.

[@matjusm1]

Would love to hear your take on Mart Seim squatting.

[@aelc2829]

Great video

[@Bret_Frost]

break down lesmen's squat and ivan duric's squat please

[@futurewolftsw4462]

Karlos Nasars squat would be interesting to see your opinions on.

[@haris13594]

Do people with short torso long legs (longer tibia compared to femurs) get the worst end of the deal? Like you have the ability to track your knees way foward with your ass literally a few inches from touching the floor with good lower back posture but you basically have to travel to a different zip code every rep

[@griffingeode]

Why would "good lower back posture" be the worst end of the deal compared to bad lower back posture while traveling to the next zip code. Do you mean the worst situation is the one not quite bad enough to give up?

[@copeenthuisiast5453]

No long tibia is good

[@jameschantler4292]

No. Short torso, short tibia, long femur is worse than that. If you add in deep set hip sockets with poor external rotation it’s even worse.

[@Dakingsnake]

Im 5’10 but my wingspan is 6’5. Much longer than i am tall and i also have long femurs. This makes it harder for me to squat and bench

[@llTheJVlusicInMell]

Waiiitttt, this affects Bench too? That explains a lot.

[@silkecarina991]

@@llTheJVlusicInMellyup as a fellow long arm I can affirm that the ROM at benching is absurdly high with long arms, had to do a lot of triceps work

[@shaky_lifts]

Nino has insane dorsiflexion capacity - look at his 217 kg clean for the win.

[@Bjorn_R]

Hmm. I kinda get up on squats exactly because of my long femurs and discomfort around the shoulder while holding the bar. I litterally grab the bar where it rests on the rack. Recently I have just done hack squats and lunges and a bit of frontsquat. But I guess I could give it another shot.

[@urossavatovic3481]

Giulia chilling in the back

[@orhuna_4493]

Long limbed chads overcoming their disadvantages

[@brendansaltvick5824]

Finally a video for giraffes!

[@shaky_lifts]

Perhaps he is going intentionally wider to avoid reaching full/maximal depth and keep the squat heavy but still relying mostly on quads to stand up, unlike Toma for example who goes full depth but has to move knees back when standing up.

[@SLouiss]

Jesus Olivares has a new world record total

[@jonathanr.5968]

Hello long femur bredrin here. Great video and I have one question - I have been squatting with barefoot shoes due to squat university saying it is more beneficial. Would you recommend changing to weightlifting shoes as I have noticed all weightlifters use them when squating?

[@silkecarina991]

You could try elevating your heel with small plates and see how it feels

[@jonathanr.5968]

@@silkecarina991 I have weightlifting shoes which I use for all over lifts (front squat, cleans ect) but just wanted to check if squatting with no heal elevation is beneficial for some reason

[@matthewdice8567]

@@jonathanr.5968 i think is the point of squatting with no heal elevation is to work on ankle mobility a little bit more

[@thatboi1302]

bruh im 5’7 with a short torso and long ass legs relative to my torso, depth is not a issue, but dorso flextion is. maintaining balance out the hole is difficult.

[@jessebaker1883]

Is there a leg/back/arm measurement ratio to know where you fit in to this?

[@Petrovich2049]

Interested as well

[@Tumpz]

The longer from a 50/50 leg/torso build you are, the more you are either long torso or long legged. I'm for example almost 59% legs, so I got a short torso and long legs. If I remember correctly arms are in general around 40% of height so if yours are longer then you've got long arms l.

[@mototrack8779]

Grande Nino 🦾🦾👏👏

[@joenastasi4669]

I believe Nino is from my family’s hometown of Salaparuta, Sicily

[@MrIt83]

Thanks nino

[@zoranagavrilovic9403]

I think he has the most aesthetic squat ever

[@tauntdaisy]

do a video about John Hack

[@shaky_lifts]

How important is it to mimic the receiving position of the clean in the FS? On the heaviest clean attempts it will be impossible to stand up from an upright bottom position with dorsiflexion maximized, the back angle will have to change, the knees will travel back. Overall what has more value in BS and FS for weightlifting, being upright or getting to maximum usable depth?

[@dr.ohhimark174]

What should I do? I have long back semi long femurs and very short tibias with bad ankle mobility. I do high bar squat in flat shoes and that's when I'm strongest too...

[@larrykrakow8927]

Thank you

[@nickreay8927]

Very good!

[@westcoastkidd17]

As a long torso individual, I wish I had long femur problems

[@johncandler1630]

this video is made for me hahaha great stuff!

[@dalehall-bowden1083]

But what do I do if I have long femurs and weak muscles?