The Power of Stance: How Position Shapes Performance
By The One on One Team
Last Updated: 9/17/2025
This week's Focus Point is one of the most important fundamentals in exercise: your stance.
At first, stance might feel like an afterthought compared to keeping your core tight or shoulders back. But if your joints are not stacked properly, your form is compromised before you even start. A correct stance allows your skeletal system to absorb load safely, muscles to engage effectively, and movements to be stronger and more stable. Stance also helps shift emphasis by challenging balance, creating stability for strength training, and reinforcing posture.
Let's break down the five most common stances and explore how each one sets the stage for strength and safe performance.
Final Takeaway
Stance may not be the most exciting part of training, but it is the foundation of safe and effective movement. Each stance, from the neutral base of Athletic Ready to the locked-out position of Tall Plank, puts the body in alignment to absorb force, activate the right muscles, and maintain control.
By paying attention to stance, you reduce unnecessary stress on the joints, protect the spine, and improve performance in every exercise. Whether you are squatting, pressing, hinging, or finishing a heavy lift, the position you start and end in matters just as much as the movement itself.
Master your stances and you master the building blocks of strength.
