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April 18, 2005
Why You can Squat More By Going Barefoot
There is a Russian joke about a guy who wore shoes two sizes too small for him. When asked about his bizarre behavior, he complained about his miserable life and concluded that his only happiness in life was to come home and take off his shoes! You will be even happier than this dude if you lose yours – at least for a part of your squat workout.
The forcefulness of a muscular contraction is determined by the sum of the mental effort and various reflexes. When Dr. Fred Hatfield bounced out of the bottom of his 1,000-pound squat, he took advantage of the stretch reflex. Another power boosting reflex is called the extensor reflex. This reflex causes the leg musculature to contract in response to the pressure on the sole of your foot. It is a protective measure against loading.
Research suggests that always wearing shoes diminishes the sensitivity of the foot, which may turn off the squat friendly reflex. Too bad, because when the barbell is intent on squashing you like a bug on the windshield, you could use any help you can get! The rare squatter who has recognized this problem is Dr. Fred Clary, a human crane who has elevated 900 pounds! Fred regularly performs heavy, 1,000 pounds plus, walkouts barefoot ‘just to fire off those receptors’.
Clary believes that such training sensitizes the extensor reflex receptors and enables him to squat heavier. And not him alone. Long before he became a Senior RKC instructor, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Senior World Champion Steve Maxwell, M.S., read about barefoot lifting in my book Power to the People! He ordered all the people he coached to lose their shoes – and every one of them succeeded in knocking off a couple of extra reps on their leg exercises!
The proof is in the pudding, it pays to add barefoot walkouts or squats to your routine. But since the gym owner might object if you go native with your dirty toe nails scraping his floor, get yourself a pair of deadlift slippers. They look almost like ballet slippers and are probably available in pink. Have fun.
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Posted by james at April 18, 2005 5:00 AM