Squuaaaats!

Why are proper squats so difficult (or shall I say: impossible) for a newbie like me to do? I mean, my 17 month old daughter can do them better than me...with weight! I know I must be doing them improperly because my heels come off the ground, but in order for them not to I either fall over or my stance has to be really wide with my toes pointed slightly outward.

Any tips, O you experienced ones?

Actually your daughter has an easier time cause she hasn't been "standing" that long and squating is actually a more natural stance .  Think of eastern civilazations they squat more than "sit".  Start slow just "squat" down when playing with your daughter instead of sitting on a chair or the floor so that the position feels more natural.  Pretend you are sitting in a chair and getting up and sitting down - don't use weights.  Concentrate on pushing up thru the heels.  If you have to "sumo wrestler" squat then that's ok too.  It justs works different sets of leg muscles

Thanks for the info, makes sense!

Anyone else? Hehe. 

Sumo wrestler! That's perfect. Stick your butt out there for balance (plus, it works those muscles) and look straight ahead. Keep your knees bent, but make sure (in a mirror or something reflective) that you look like you are sitting in an invisible chair. I do one with an exercise ball between me and the wall: I keep the ball on my butt and as I bend my legs, the ball moves up to the small of my back and acts as support. I hope that helps!

It's OK if your heels come off of the floor a little. Place a weight plate (like a 25lb. olympic plate) or a section of 2x4 under your heels to make you feel more stable. As others said, if you new to squating, don't use weights until you have good form.

Csthomas is right - the wide-legged Sumo stance is just perfect, really. Though there's something to be said for working on transitioning to a narrower athletic squat stance there's no problem with just sticing to the Sumo style for the most part.

 Getting good coaching helps when it comes to squatting - that, and working on technique on your own. I like The Third-World Squat by Craig Weller as an example of how to work on your range of motion and technique - and Krista of Stumptuous.com has some notes on form modifications for the basic exercises tht you may find useful.

 There's some controversy over whether using plates under the heels is a good idea or not; personally I think it's better to only use plates as "training wheels" while you work on your ankle mobility and hamstring flexibilty to improve your range of motion.

Try looking at this website http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.htm l

It shows the proper way to do a squat in a video with some really helpful pointers! (Click on the "air squat" demo!)
=)

Thank you everyone for the advice! The "sumo wrestler" squat is perfect for me. My heels stay on the ground and most importantly it feels right. Thanks for the advice to "stick my butt out there for balance."  The problem yesterday was that I wasn't pretending to sit in a chair. My shins weren't perpendicular to the ground.

I also tried doing a narrower stance but I think it will take a couple of days before I can do them without losing my balance.

Thanks again! 

Hi!  I'm in the same boat -- the sumo stance works best for me.  I also have dodgy knees from time to time, and they don't give me trouble in that wide stance. 

When I did squats regularly for a year or so, I found I could experiment with more alternatives (hack squats, overhead squats, close-stance, etc.) and that was fun and hit more muscle groups.

Good for you for hitting the metal, girl!!

 :oD

Tara