Footwork can tell a story about a lift. A lot of times, it’s a clear indicator of whether or not the athlete is maintaining their vertical leg drive or shifting the body weight forward with horizontal hip displacement.
Even though these are warm up sets with the barbell in this instance, this is one of the best times to practice and reinforce proper movements and transitions! When practicing footwork, we look for a few things to happen:
✅Drive straight up through the top of the lift
✅Shift feet from starting to landing/squatting position
✅Land aggressively with feet flat
When practicing footwork, make sure to be mindful of:
❌Being “stuck” to the floor
❌No transition of feet from starting to landing position
❌Rocking the heels up and down (versus planting flat)
CORRECTIVE DRILL:
We call this drill a “Drop Squat” — The lifter starts up on the balls of the feet and then “drops” into a squat position. The feet should transition aggressively into the squat stance and then the lifter can continue the squat once stable. The goal is to link the bottom position and the foot transition to occur almost simultaneously!