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Looks easy and obvious, but getting the ankle and hip mobility required to squat properly this is quite difficult for us who spend most of their in front of com

Looks easy and obvious, but getting the ankle and hip mobility required to squat properly this is quite difficult for us who spend most of their in front of computers. When I started lifting, my squats sucked, and I didn't even realize before I hired a trainer who told me. I had to significantly reduce my squat weight and start from scratch paying attention to doing deep squats with good form. It took me about a year of consistent mobility training to get the ankle mobility and hip internal rotation required to squat right. Though if you wear lifting shoes that's a nice shortcut. It can reduce the mobility requirements significantly. I prefer to squat without lifting shoes just because I want to be able to do it naturally, and I don't compete or anything like that.

djmips 4y ago
How to improve ankle mobility?
- imperistan 4y ago
  Check out ATG split squats
- digdugdirk 4y ago
  Check out the Squat University youtube channel for instructional videos on "Banded Ankle Mobilizations". Completely changed the game for my squats, with instant results. I incorporate them (along with a similar hip mobilization drill) before all of my squat workouts. Highly recommended.
- mudrockbestgirl 4y ago
  You can find lots of good exercises and drills on YouTube, but are you sure you are asking the right question? Are you 100% sure that ankle mobility is your problem? In my case, I thought that ankle mobility is my problem but after working on my ankles for several months I didn't see the huge improvement I expected, and only then I realized that I have other mobility deficiencies such as hip flexion and rotation and my spine. If you are not sure what your problem is, you should hire and expert for an assessment. A lot of the stuff you find online is great, but only if you exactly know what you're looking for.
ehnto 4y ago
It's really important to get good advice too, sometimes your gym-buds can see you're not doing it right, but they don't know it's because of mobility issues so they just think you're not listening. I was lucky to keep my mobility from rollerblading and riding as a kid, so when I moved into powerlifting after 5 years of mostly sedentary computer work, I was still pretty loose.
Brystephor 4y ago
I had a similar experience with a trainer. Did squats, said my form was mostly good but wanted to test some things out. Did a quick ankle mobility check, saw that it was a problem. Slipped some 5lb weights under my heels, told me to squat again and it was an incredible difference. The balancing was so much easier and it felt much better when going lower. Really showed the value a trainer could bring. That was day 1.
- Invictus0 4y ago
  How did you find a good trainer? Any certs/qualifications you should look for?
  - bgilly 4y ago
    The Starting Strength Coach certification is a good one to look for.
  - Brystephor 4y ago
    I got lucky. I did no research before hand. There was a gym near me offering a deal for personal training and I signed up with an instructor who had a similar body style to what I wanted to achieve tbh.
2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
Shoes, wraps, belts, heel chicks etc are not a short cut. They are a training aid. Without them your mobility may be bad. You may not have the right tension in places. These tools help get the right feel and you can train under load. Increasing your max load which translates to an increase in your unaided load.
- zachrip 4y ago
  I'm having trouble googling for heel chick, could you share a link to what it is?
  - andreareina 4y ago
    Blocks maybe
  - 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
    Sorry. Auto correct: heel chocks. Exactly what it sounds like. If you don’t have lifting shoes, and don’t like using coin plates, you can stand on other things that raise your heel. Edit: Internet tells me they might be called squat wedges.
- sh4rks 4y ago
  I think it's more that you now rely on a piece of equipment to do your workout. Say you're on holiday, you can't just hop into a random gym and get your leg workout done. You'd have to bring your squat shoes with you.
  - andreareina 4y ago
    No, I'll just do the workout without those shoes. Which will be less effective because less stimulus is being presented, but still worth doing.
    - Tao3300 4y ago
      I'll just be on holiday.
whalesalad 4y ago
I’ve been on a reboot too. I squatted through bad mobility for years and got quite strong, but reinforced all of the bad movement patterns. It’s been hard to unlearn that muscle memory. Opening up and releasing my chest, t-spine and pelvic floor has been a long and slow process (8 months so far) but I’m finally relearning proper movement.
- bacr 4y ago
  What sort of programming did you use to work ok your mobility? I’ve been looking to do the same.
  - kwooding 4y ago
    I highly recommend Dr. Kelly Starrett for all things mobility. Thereadystate.com (his website) is my daily source of mobility instruction, both for daily mobility work, and for getting me through many an injury. Reading the Supple Leopard (his book) is useful, but it’s hard to beat the follow-along videos for usefulness. Plus, he’s a huge Dune nerd, which comes through in occasionally hilarious ways.
drakonka 4y ago
I am horribly inflexible _except_ for this one thing. As a kid we used to always play and rest in a deep squat position, and it just stayed that way growing up. It's still my default resting position on hikes or at the gym. As a result I can squat really deep, but ask me to touch my toes and I'll get shin-depth at best. Sometimes I have wondered if having no resistance at the bottom when I squat is actually hindering me. I've seen people kind of "bounce" out of their squat, as if the resistance they hit at the bottom acts like a sort of spring past their tension point. Whereas in my case, there is no "bounce" and no resistance. If I kept going as low as I can, I'd just end up with my butt on the floor in the squat with nothing springing me back. In the end, I don't go too far below parallel with a loaded barbell because I feel the rest of my squat technique and power output gets compromised at that depth.
neuralRiot 4y ago
The longer your femur (taller body) the harder to deep squat since you need more forward flexion on the ankles. Lifting shoes are not a shortcut but a solution.

djmips 4y ago

How to improve ankle mobility?

imperistan 4y ago
Check out ATG split squats
digdugdirk 4y ago
Check out the Squat University youtube channel for instructional videos on "Banded Ankle Mobilizations". Completely changed the game for my squats, with instant results. I incorporate them (along with a similar hip mobilization drill) before all of my squat workouts. Highly recommended.
mudrockbestgirl 4y ago
You can find lots of good exercises and drills on YouTube, but are you sure you are asking the right question? Are you 100% sure that ankle mobility is your problem? In my case, I thought that ankle mobility is my problem but after working on my ankles for several months I didn't see the huge improvement I expected, and only then I realized that I have other mobility deficiencies such as hip flexion and rotation and my spine. If you are not sure what your problem is, you should hire and expert for an assessment. A lot of the stuff you find online is great, but only if you exactly know what you're looking for.

ehnto 4y ago

It's really important to get good advice too, sometimes your gym-buds can see you're not doing it right, but they don't know it's because of mobility issues so they just think you're not listening. I was lucky to keep my mobility from rollerblading and riding as a kid, so when I moved into powerlifting after 5 years of mostly sedentary computer work, I was still pretty loose.

Brystephor 4y ago

I had a similar experience with a trainer. Did squats, said my form was mostly good but wanted to test some things out. Did a quick ankle mobility check, saw that it was a problem. Slipped some 5lb weights under my heels, told me to squat again and it was an incredible difference. The balancing was so much easier and it felt much better when going lower. Really showed the value a trainer could bring. That was day 1.

Invictus0 4y ago
How did you find a good trainer? Any certs/qualifications you should look for?
- bgilly 4y ago
  The Starting Strength Coach certification is a good one to look for.
- Brystephor 4y ago
  I got lucky. I did no research before hand. There was a gym near me offering a deal for personal training and I signed up with an instructor who had a similar body style to what I wanted to achieve tbh.

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago

Shoes, wraps, belts, heel chicks etc are not a short cut. They are a training aid. Without them your mobility may be bad. You may not have the right tension in places. These tools help get the right feel and you can train under load. Increasing your max load which translates to an increase in your unaided load.

zachrip 4y ago
I'm having trouble googling for heel chick, could you share a link to what it is?
- andreareina 4y ago
  Blocks maybe
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  Sorry. Auto correct: heel chocks. Exactly what it sounds like. If you don’t have lifting shoes, and don’t like using coin plates, you can stand on other things that raise your heel. Edit: Internet tells me they might be called squat wedges.
sh4rks 4y ago
I think it's more that you now rely on a piece of equipment to do your workout. Say you're on holiday, you can't just hop into a random gym and get your leg workout done. You'd have to bring your squat shoes with you.
- andreareina 4y ago
  No, I'll just do the workout without those shoes. Which will be less effective because less stimulus is being presented, but still worth doing.
  - Tao3300 4y ago
    I'll just be on holiday.

whalesalad 4y ago

I’ve been on a reboot too. I squatted through bad mobility for years and got quite strong, but reinforced all of the bad movement patterns. It’s been hard to unlearn that muscle memory. Opening up and releasing my chest, t-spine and pelvic floor has been a long and slow process (8 months so far) but I’m finally relearning proper movement.

bacr 4y ago
What sort of programming did you use to work ok your mobility? I’ve been looking to do the same.
- kwooding 4y ago
  I highly recommend Dr. Kelly Starrett for all things mobility. Thereadystate.com (his website) is my daily source of mobility instruction, both for daily mobility work, and for getting me through many an injury. Reading the Supple Leopard (his book) is useful, but it’s hard to beat the follow-along videos for usefulness. Plus, he’s a huge Dune nerd, which comes through in occasionally hilarious ways.

drakonka 4y ago

I am horribly inflexible _except_ for this one thing. As a kid we used to always play and rest in a deep squat position, and it just stayed that way growing up. It's still my default resting position on hikes or at the gym. As a result I can squat really deep, but ask me to touch my toes and I'll get shin-depth at best. Sometimes I have wondered if having no resistance at the bottom when I squat is actually hindering me. I've seen people kind of "bounce" out of their squat, as if the resistance they hit at the bottom acts like a sort of spring past their tension point. Whereas in my case, there is no "bounce" and no resistance. If I kept going as low as I can, I'd just end up with my butt on the floor in the squat with nothing springing me back. In the end, I don't go too far below parallel with a loaded barbell because I feel the rest of my squat technique and power output gets compromised at that depth.

neuralRiot 4y ago

The longer your femur (taller body) the harder to deep squat since you need more forward flexion on the ankles. Lifting shoes are not a shortcut but a solution.