Everyone is built a little differently. That reality has wide ranging implications, perhaps non more pressing than it's impact on optimal squat stance. Am I right?

The width of my squat isn't going to be perfect for you, or for Sheila or for Ricky. I've seen all kinds of convoluted ways to try to determine the best stance width for an individual, but here's my take on it. In my experience this is the simplest and most effective method to make sure your squat feels like butter.

Try the drill in the video below.

Go through it with body weight first. Take that as a starting point, and then try it again under just a little bit of load with the squat variations you perform. You might like the same stance for all squat variations, or you might find that a slightly different position works best in the front squat compared to the back squat.

Lastly, if you compete seriously in a sport that requires squatting in competition (powerlifting, weightlifting and CrossFit), you may (or may not) need to do some extra tinkering with your stance to ensure it maximizes leverages for sport performance. For general fitness training, the drill in the video is all you need.