I was messig around trying to help a friend of mine get the hang of keeping off his toes when he squats. He can hit a proper squat here and there, just not consistently. So he has the flexibility, just hasn't got the hang of it.
There is a lot of talk about propping the heels with a board. Personally I feel it's okay to wear a shoe with a bit of a heel but propping the heel with a board is not a great tool.
Dan John has experimented with using a thin board under the toes to force the athlete back on the heels but it seems like as soon as the board is removed form degenerates.
What I found useful is squatting standing on the edge of a piece of plywood. You need a piece of plywood about 1 foot wide by four feet long. Take a normal squatting stance (heels shoulder width or slightly wider) with your toes dangling way off the plywood. That is, your heels and arch are on the plywood, the balls of your feet are right at the edge of the plywood, but your toes are unsupported. You could substitute anything for the plywood, the idea is just to squat on a level surface with your toes dangling - but not too high for safety just in case.
I think you can feel very quickly that you have to keep your weight off your toes if you don't want to pitch forward. If they have the flexibility to hold form, they seem to get it very quickly.
I have tried this with a handful of people but thought I'd throw it out there. It seems to go very well with goblet squats. It might go well for someone trying to learn to overhead squat but please be careful and know how to miss before trying this :) If you try it post here and let us know how it works for you.
The most important test a lifter has to pass
is the test of time.
-Jon Cole
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