Squat Depth Starts with Ankle Mobility

Mar 1

Do you feel like your squat doesn’t seem to be improving? Do your coaches keep telling you to get deeper in your squat or keep your chest up?

If that sounds familiar, this is for you. First off, the squat will look a little different for every individual based on their anatomy, limb length, and mobility limitations. Often the most common limitations in the squat come from limited hip and ankle mobility. Lack of mobility at these joints will sacrifice back positioning, which may increase stress or injury risk in the back.

Today, we are going to dive into how ankle mobility affects the squat. We will look at how to assess ankle mobility restrictions and go through drills to improve ankle mobility for your next squat workout. Let’s get started!

Impact Up the Chain

The foot and ankle are the anchor points with the ground in the squat. If you are even a little off balance, shifting forward or back on your foot, your squat will get a lot more difficult. As the first joint from the ground, the mobility of the ankle will impact every joint after it up the chain of the body (knee → hip → spine → shoulder).

Take a look at the video below from The Barbell Physio to see how limited ankle mobility (shown on the right) changes the position of each of the joints above.

What differences do you see?

Knees stop at the toes rather than advancing forward
Hips remained at parallel, not able to achieve full depth
Significant forward lean of torso
Shoulders pushed farther back to keep bar balanced overhead

Assessing Ankle Mobility

Next, let’s take a look at how to assess ankle mobility. Take a look at this video to learn how to assess your own ankle mobility for the squat.

Quick Tips

.Test with bare feet
Don’t let your heel lift off the floor at all as lean forward toward wall
Goal: Toes 4 inches away from the wall (about 1 hand-width)

What did you find after you assessed your ankle mobility?

Were both sides limited? … Keep reading
Was one side more restricted than the other? … Keep reading
Did you pass with flying colors? … Stay tuned for Hip Mobility for Squat Performance

Addressing Ankle Mobility

Now it’s time to talk about how to improve your ankle mobility for your squat. Here are 3 favorite exercises to improve ankle mobility for the squat. Each exercise uses slightly different equipment so you can pick and choose based on what you have available.