The effects of footwear on isometric squat force

When you google, squatting barefoot‚ you will find many websites claiming that squatting barefoot or in socks increases your mobility and squat max. The explanation for squatting barefoot is that famous bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno used to do it, so it must be better than squatting with shoes. Even some fitness influencers tell their followers to either squat with no shoes or certain shoes and claim all types of benefits without any scientific backing. As researchers, we wondered if there was a significant difference in force production while performing an isometric front squat in an athlete's self-selected shoes vs in their socks. This study will be conducted by participants recruited via convenient sampling. The participants will represent 12-16 healthy Douglas College students of any age or gender. These participants will be students in the BPEC program that have experience with squatting. Their training history does not have to be extensive, as long as they go to the gym and do not have any major health complications, they are eligible for this study. This study will be conducted in a quantitative, quasi-experimental design. Each participant will be asked to come to one of the labs in Douglas College and will be asked to bring with them the pair of shoes that they most commonly wear while working out at the gym. The majority of findings show that barefoot squatting has little benefit. However, most research is focused on the deadl lift instead of the front squat. Our hypothesis is that there will be slightly higher force production when barefoot compared to when wearing shoes. Poster submission was sponsored by Dr.Ken Anderson, (Sports Science Department) for course SPSC 4256 and was presented at the New Westminster campus on April 12, 2023, for Student Research Days 2023.