One of the most common cues that you hear in a CrossFit gym, and that I have heard for a long time is “stay on your heels.” Today we are going to get a little technical and talk about where this cue comes from and how to better understand what it is trying to correct. The cue in itself isn’t necessarily that bad but in lots of people it can be taken a little to extreme and if that happens it creates a whole other can of worms to deal with.

You may ask yourself “where does the phrase stay or get on your heels come from?” Well, in CrossFit we do lots of squatting and leg driven movements (i.e… push press and jerks). These movements require the feet to drive into the ground to create force and momentum. Also, in CrossFit the participants are everyday people with issues when it comes to ankle mobility. Whether it be ankles that flex or don’t bend enough and when the knee tracks forward it pulls the ankle along with it and the heel leaving the ground is a by-product. Another reason may be that the ankle has the range of motion but the calves are over active from wearing elevated shoes and when the legs push force the balance is shifted into the toes to much and… again the heels leave the floor. So the cue that a lot of coaches use to get people to keep their heels in contact with the floor and to correct a large group of people all at once is to say “keep your heels on the floor or to get on your heels.”

It is a very simple cue to help people to reconnect the back of the foot to the floor. Unfortunately though if sitting back in your heels is the focus of your setup, this may end up creating a whole other set of issues. So let’s talk about what those may be.

When it comes to pulling bars off of the floor, lots of powerlifters teach driving straight down through the heels. For our purpose of pulling for deadlifts, cleans and snatches centering your balance more in the mid-foot (or behind the balls of your feet) is preferred. When you set up with the weight behind the balls of your feet it allows for both the quads to become engaged as well as the glutes and hamstrings. When someone has their weight way too forward and the heels are un-weighted the majority of the tension and workload is going to be carried by the quads. As well, when someone has their weight entirely in their heels it loads the glutes and hamstrings. A common error that happens with lifters that are set up and driving through the heels to much is that they have a prominent jump forward on their lifts. When the dominating power source is the glutes and hamstrings, the hips snap open but there isn’t enough power from the quads happening to even out the pull so the opening of the hips pushes the bar away from the body and pulls the lifter forward. A toe driven lifter will display a similar fault. But it comes from the quads pushing hard in the upward direction and the glutes not firing and the torso not being extended enough to get out of the way, so the bar again is sent forward and the lifter must chase the barbell in order to make the lift. So finding the center of the foot allows for the muscles to work together in a more synchronized fashion which leads to better performance.

Let’s look at a fault that occurs when someone is setting up for a push press or jerk when that person sets up as a heels on the floor lifter. When someone has the bar on the shoulders and is setting up with their weight on their heels, it is very typical for the bar to get sent out in front of the optimal overhead position. This occurs because your body naturally wants to include the forefoot into any hip/leg driven movement. When someone is too far back on the heels and they go to dip they slide from the heels towards the balls of the feet. That sliding forward of your body creates a forward momentum that can be hard to correct. So lots of times max lifts are not hit because of the slide forward that people create because of initially setting up to far back on the heels.

Let’s discuss what the takeaway is. When it comes to creating power with the legs and the feet, we need as much muscle working together as possible. The way we do that is by finding the center of the foot and placing our weight squarely in the middle. When we are doing warm ups and working with lightweight, pay attention to your toes… are they connected and flat on the floor? What about your heels? Never do we want either the front or the back peeling up and leaving the floor. So drop your balls and find your center… your lifts and your numbers will thank you!

Coach P