How To Fix Tight Ankles (IMPROVE SQUAT DEPTH)
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- čas přidán 23. 06. 2024
- Learn a simple 3 step process to improve your ankle mobility and consequently your squat depth today!
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Since addressing my tight ankles, using methods I found on this channel I no longer get lower back pain while doing barbell squats. Thank you.
Hey i had a doubt which I'd be grateful if you could address.. actually the issue with my squat is my lower back kind of gets stiff while squatting and the pain kicks in a bit later,say around 3-4 hr post my squating session.
So do you too used to experience the same thing and could i fix it with this mobility exercises
@@rohangupta1411 Try it! What have you got to lose? Also video your squat to assess your form.
@@rohangupta1411 we got the same issue. I s have lower back pain right now while typing these and my last squat was 4 days ago.
Hi! How long did it take to see result? I'm planning to start improving my ankles but I want to set realistic expectations
💪💪💪
I remember Squat youtube channel was just 91 follower. and I was the one of them but now 2.3 millions congratulations
Aaron you are incredible man! Since I started to follow your tips for ankle mobility my squat went to a another level! I mean, now the depth is actually depth. Every time someone asks me about it I always talk about you, your channel and your amazing work! Thanks!
Which videos do you recommend
This channel has addressed so many of the problems I have and didn’t know I have. Thank you so much.
Until I found Aaron’s channel, I completely underestimated the importance of mobility and stability. Game charger channel! Thanks for all this great info❤
This man is sucha encyclopedia about exercising and human anatomy. It helped me personally in numerous ways to tackle so many various problems I used to have properly executing wide variety of exercises in the gym. You're amazing human being sir! o/
These fix yourself tutorials are gold. Definitely helped me. Thank you.
Great video. Thank you Aaron! I have/ had thightness behind the fibula bone, especially when I went into dorsiflexion but it's getting better now
I love your videos @squatu. They are always so informative.
Great vid!!! My physiotherapist discovered a brutal range of motion discrepancy between my ankles that I was unaware for decades, with precisely that test and helped me improve the restricted one with those drills. Thanks a lot for sharing guys!!!
Did it ever limit you if you were unaware of it for decades? My physiotherapist tested my ranges and concluded that all joints reach necessary angles of movement for effective work ranges, I could squat and do other daily stuff. However my left ankle is like blocked and aches far before the right one reaches it limit pain free if I try to go to dorsiflexion enough. So technically I didn't need to do anything about it until I tried olympic weightlifting which demanded a lot of mobility.
@@Yupppi Replying a year later but I had the same thing, turns out I had a bone spur on my left ankle and that was limiting mobility for the squat. On day to day life I noticed I needed to go up stairs only using the front of my foot, I couldnt press my whole foot down to climb stairs, this I hadnt noticed until I started investigating the other stuff. Nowadays after a quick surgery I have a lot more mobility although I'm still trying to gain more in order to squat better.
I've been recently experiencing right-knee pain after 2 years of crossfit, and consulted a bunch of doctors / lifting coaches that were never able to point out the root cause of the problem (or didn't care enough to do so). The thing is I've always seen myself as someone with above average mobility on the legs (and as a matter of fact, I am) which gave me confidence to assume that mobility was definetly not the issue. As it turns out, by doing the 5 inch test I noticed a huge difference between the two sides (about an inch) which finally gave me some clarity: the right leg was compensating the lack of mobility on the left one, which led to a load imbalance, which, finally led to knee pain. I've been doing these mobility drills for a while now and noticing some major improvements in butt wink / squat depth. Thank you so much for your work, and everything you do for the lifting community!
Thanks for your exercises!
You are the best mate, so informative and no attention seeking methods to get views. You are raw, helpful and educational
Wow this is fantastic. I was getting lateral knee pain from running in a high drop shoe and the rig squat thing almost immediately relieved it. Thank you
I needed this, I broke my side ankle a year and a half ago, now I have limited mobility in the ankle that was broken. I'm squatting very deep, but due to side to side difference in ankle mobility I often twist my body during squats.
I have the exact same problem were you able to fix this issue?
@@chris95935 actually a week ago I twisted my other ankle 😂😂 But answering your question, yes I have been working hard on my mobility, not only with ankle but full body, especially with my hips and I managed to minimize this twisting effect. But it’s never ending work, i do 30 to 45 minutes of full body mobility before every weights session to get everything in place.
Here’s a exercise for ankle mobility: Do sets of seated calf raises using a band on front of ankle (to address joint restrictions) and interset stretches (to improve flexibility). It combines resistance training with a loaded stretch with a banded joint mobilization in a time efficient way.
On the machine I use I can attach the band to the the feet of the machine (behind the seat) so it pulls down and back on my ankle, helping shift talus bone posteriorly and eliminate impingement/restriction.
I do a set of 10-20 reps. Sometimes I’ll do dropsets to get a better pump. Then I finish with a 30-60 second weighted stretch in the bottom.
Rationale:
-Doing the sets/dropsets will give you a great pump. Filling the muscle with blood will enhance the effects of subsequent interset stretching (you will feel an incredible burn!).
-The loaded stretch is great for improving flexibility in calf muscles. Interset stretching saves time and has been shown to actually enhance hypertrophy.
-The band on the front of the ankle will help you address any joint restrictions pulling the talus bone back and down. This improves range of motion and will enhance both hypertrophy and stretching.
Great idea!
Excellent video 👌🏼
Never knew how stiff my right ankle was until I found Squat University, not even my right hip. Now I know I have to fix my daily habits, my mobility and my technice to get in a correct position and considering MCgill big 3 for my spine to a healthy back. :)
I’d love to see a video case study of someone who CAN’T keep their heels on the ground when doing a full primal squat THEN…after going though your program, being able to keep their heels on the ground after. I’d like to see ONE video anywhere where someone improves that dramatically. Honestly, until I can see a vid of someone completing the process, I’m a skeptic. I’m not picking on this channel in particular at all, I wish them the best, but I want to see proof. There are hundreds of vids addressing this problem. As of right now, aside from a small incremental improvement, I don’t think it’s possible.
I have the same feeling as you.
I've tried a lot of stretching for my ankle and so far I haven't been able to be in the squat position without falling backwards.
I ❤ You. Saving lives out here.
Hi Aaron, big fan of your channel and your approach to lifting!
What if, after doing all movements in this video (correctly), the re-test doesn't show any improvement in ankle mobility?
Please make a video for which kinds of shoes everyone should use for day to day to formals and also the main part of our life what should we wear in the gym.
Awesome video! Do you recommend doing the ankle mobilization exercises for both ankles or only for the ankle that is lacking mobility?
I also have this problem my one leg ankle mobility lower than other
AMAZING
Hi, for most of the weight trainings, the use of wrists is essential. Can you please make some videos for stronger wrists and how to avoid injuries? Right now I am recovering from de quervain's syndrome
This drill is worth gold
Watching this with my feet elevated after a DVT leg clot diagnosis some days ago, and realizing that I may never get to do squats or lunges ever again. 😭 Really hope I'm wrong, because I've always liked doing leg workouts. Hope I can eventually do some exercises that won't further injure my legs and feet, and might even help with recovery and circulation. Any tips are appreciated.
How's your legs now
I herniated a disc in low back during squat because of very limited ankle motion. So yes, it is very important
Im surprised that he did not address calf tightness in relation to ankle mobility. Nonetheless great video, keep up the great work
It’s cuz muscle tension is a side effect of many different things (like the shoes he mentioned), and solely addressing that will not increase any joint ROM in a meaningful way. There are many ways to address joint mobility and this is just a couple ways. Active ROM is generally what you want to do if you want to retain the benefits long term.
I definetly help doing this!!! Both my legs goes outward bowleg and it makes more pressure on the inner feet which wears the inner left and the outer on the right of my shoes. I am needing a lift in all my right foot shoes.
So what do you think about a warm up mobility exercise by weightlifting coach Zack Telander? You sit in deep squat for some minutes, then get a barbell and push it on your knees a bit, then do the same on each side, afterwards some calf raises on a small platform with barbell. Trying it, it felt good and very effective, any thoughts about that kind of method? It was sort of the first time the ankle didn't feel like completely blocked when trying to get more range and the first time trying to push further didn't hurt.
I will try this on my friend he is struggling with it very hard
4:33 actually demonstrates what looks like a proper fix on what the neutral position of the knee should be. I mean, it should not be pointing inwards, but rather in correct balance in correlation to the low side of the leg. This is caused by tight abductors -> weak glute medius -> not healthy anterior pelvic tilt. To start fixing it, do lunges with posterior pelvic tilt 45s hold(you should eventually aim knees over toes), should work just fine.
Try this and literally change your life for good
I tried similar mobility work a few years ago at the gym for better front squat mobility (couldn't ever do them at all really, resorted to goblets but now in hindsight I think I treated the lift more as a back squat and now will put heels under my plates and keep upright descending) and it always helped my mobility but only really by small amounts and each time my mobility just reset back to the start before working on it in the gym again 4 times a week. I realise now that it needs to be done as often as you can each day which makes sense.
I just wonder if this is something that you have to do for as long as you need good mobility and do you you get to a point where you're just able to squat with good mobility and that then eventually being enough to maintain that new level of mobility? That's always what I find with mobility instructions, there's never an answer as to how long you should expect to carry it out, if there's a limit for how mobile you can get genetically or whether you keep it up for life. I notice mobility can turn into an endless topic where you end up feeling like you've gotta try a million different things and before you know it, you're spending a silly amount of time at it.
I notice some people just naturally have good mobility and others like me have really poor mobility (I have long legs compared to my torso which I think doesn't help).
This makes sense why I've always had tight ankles... been wearing work boots and hiking shoes my while life or hiking sandals... all have a drop 🤦♂️
Unfortunately I don't have the option of wearing flats regularly. Is there an option for improvements on this without flats? Or just do mobility stretches and regularly use it to stay mobile?
What should I do if my ankle mobility is really bad? I am starting to do these exercises but my heel comes off the ground considerably when I squat down into position. I have tried putting my heels up on weights to help stabilize. Is this ok until I work to get more mobility?
Using plates, a wedge, or heeled lifting shoes is acceptable while working towards better mobility, just dont let it let you ignore the work you still need to do
I have an inversion table. Immediately when I get off my inversion table, I work on dorsiflexion. For those that don't know, an inversion table holds you by your feet/heels and inverts you to decompress your back, but it also decrompresses your ankles. No better time to work on dorsiflexion. I wish more gyms had inversion tables.
Could you explain what you mean by the tibia gliding laterally w/ tibial IR? I’m a 3rd year PT student and I was never taught about a lateral tibial glide. If anything I would have guessed that the tibia would glide anteriorly since it is anterior roll of a concave surface (tibia) on a convex surface (femur). But I am curious what you would say about this!
Hallelujah finally I can fix the “trapped” sensation in the front of my ankle
I have front lateral calf pain at the knee when I squat the whole way down. Any corrective for this? Thanks for the great videos.
My man evan is blessed with some good calfs
I have to put my heels on a 2.5 weight as a crutch when I do squats because lack of ankle mobility, I’m tired of the crutch 😭 lol I’m a use these techniques & hope they help out.
Hi
Captain, thank you for the wonderful video, but I have a question. I have such a problem. How long did it take to get the results? My age is 33 years old
I stopped wearing shoes in the house at least 15 years ago -- I just wear socks and padded footies over those. So because I've gotten used to walking flat footed at home, for me just the footies are more comfortable than heeled running shoes when I walk laps around the basement. Outside of the house I prefer heeled shoes to make me look taller, but it sounds like getting some flat heeled shoes would be smarter.
My left ankle is 10 times worse than my right, 2 fingers from the wall on left to 4 on my right, I feel so much tightness along shin and even on my heel on my left foot!
I try and do the ankle work as often as I can but I need to be more consistent!
massage gun will help also
I have flat feet and when I force an arch in my foot by pushing my big toe out, my ankle just locks and the mobility is trash. This means it’s really easy for me knee to cave in during a squat or pistol
I've asked this question before but haven't had it answered yet. In a situation like your cameraman where there is a drastic difference in the mobility of each ankle, would you recommend working only the ankle with the bigger limitation or both ankles?
I would say work both sides, but much more on the limited ankle. Neither of my ankles pass the 5 inch wall test, but one ankle is less mobile than the other, so I work both sides but more/longer on that ankle
Also neglecting calves. Before i do squats ill go to the calve raise and stretch the calves also warm knees up on bike.
I do exactly both of these things and since then squats have been buttery smooth!
Can we have a vid about ankle stability PLEASE 🥺
I once rolled my ankle 3 times in a min when I’m trying to run 😭
What if your hips are retrofitted? How would this stretch work?
Thanks!
I really like his guy, does anyone know someone like that near London UK?
There are a lot of considerations for shoes with a heel-to-toe drop. For instance, if you have had arch health problems etc. in the past. I know generally there's a push for "less is more, let your body do the work," but our bodies were also just not designed to be on pavement all day.
What is a good range of mobility? for example your friend achieved near symmetry with a distance of about 3 fingers on the 5 inch test. Must all be able to touch the knee to the wall to show best mobility? Or is that not possible for everyone?
I broke my right ankle (Weber C fracture) 1.5 years ago. Will I be able to recover my pre accident level of mobility? Right now it is pretty bad mobility compared to my left side 😢
I'm in a similar boat. I fell about 15 foot and shattered my right ankle/leg. I have hardly any mobility in my right ankle. I have to squat with heels and plates just to reach depth, hoping there's a cure!
Any tips if you wear work boots all day? I’m in construction and o can’t achieve the 5” wall test. Any feed back would be great.
My ankle mobility is very poor, due to it I am stuck at 170kgs and not able to perform a deep squat. I will try these stretches and post my result if I can break my barrier of 170kgs deep squats.
Hello, is it possible that lack of ankle mobility (dorsiflexion) is genetic? My PT seems to think mine is and it doesn't improve with exercises/stretches and it basically measures at 0 degrees (dorsiflexion).
I just learnt its not my ankles so im gonma try for my hips
How long do I have to practise this? Months each day? Weeks each day?
I get an extremely sharp pain at the top of my hips (around hip flexors) when I lock out a sumo deadlift with a wide stance. I can set my hips in position with the wide stance, but it’s an unbearable pain when I stand straight up. Can you make a video regarding this issue?
I believe he has videos on this. Look up how to release hip flexors on his channel! It’s likely an imbalance in glute functionality on the side with pain.
Does it matter that his leg was off the mat and on a different height from his ankle he is testing?
7:56 - Nice
I've got 4 fingers in length differance from my left ankle and a really stiff right ankle.. so i've been trying different exercises to fix my ankle mobility, but lately I've gotten a tendinitis (pain) for my big toe on my right foot. How should I proceed?
how many sets should i do a day and how many days a week? i think its working but i wanted to know
What type of band is it you need for the ankle stretch?
What if I can fit two fists between the wall and either one of my knees, also how do I stop the band from just cutting into my skin with the mobilization drills
Also when I attempt any form of calf stretch I just feel a sharp pinching on the front of my ankle instead of any kind of stretching sensation
My good sir I did the ankle mobility training exercises on my good ankle which never had any sort of serious ankle injury in the past and now after two days of doing the exercises my ankle has pain. And if I use it too much then I lose the mobility which I already had. Can I please get some help. I think by forcing myself into a seep squat position I may have injured it instead. The pain is in the same area where if I try to take my knee forward by keeping my heel on the floor, meaning the front part of the ankle.
Don't think anyones gonna let me stack a bunch of plates in the deadlift rack just to stretch with a resistance band unfortunately
😂😂
And how do you fix ankle flexibility when the feet have high arches?
Can i do the banded excercise withoud a band? I don't have any place where I can attach a band with that angle. I will make sure to do the Rig squat tho.
You can make it work at a slightly higher angle. Either elevate your foot higher (box or something) or even better, put a 25+ lb plate on the band close to the knot.
I'm facing issue with my left ankle it stiffs up 2/3 times a day. So, I so ankle cracking after that my ankle returns to its normal but I don't that it's the correct solution for this. Please HELP.
Love from India.
I wore Nike shox for about 10 years consistently through my 20's. Eventually fractured my talus by playing rec lacrosse. Perhaps the shox contributed to this..
I am sure that I have a joint restriction, thats why I have done the banded joint mobilisation ( The band is not to high and I am sure i do it correctly ) for over a month but it doesn't get better. What can I do? I am desperate.
The banded ankle drill has never worked for me. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but other methods like doing steps over a slant board have worked better for me. Add weights to progress.
Maybe your bone is already sliding enough
After having an accident 24 years ago which left me temporarily paralyzed on my left side, I have very limited ankle mobility on my left ankle and cannot even drop slightly into a squat without my heel lifting.
If you read this please help.
But most of the times in squats, snatches and cleans the knee travels over the first metatarsal, so why shouldn`t we stretch in that position?
Dude, Where’s My Ankle Mobility?
hey. i dont know what it is but right where the Talus Bone is there is also a muscle. i am no doc bu i suppose its the one who lifts the front of my foot of the ground when u pull up. anyhow. even though im doing a pushing motion (at the test how far i can go) it still triggers and flexes so hard like it is a bone, which is the reason i cant get my knee more far over my toes. i can not squat by a big margin and this isnt going away. i dont know why this is. i can stretch my achilles tendon but this muscle is like pinched in when im trying to do dorsiflexion. i need to see a doctor cause i find no solution
So I can hit full depth quite easily but I can’t hit the wall with my knee when I do the test on either foot. Is this a Problem?
What if during the deep squat stretch I can’t stretch them without lifting my heel up
I have terrible ankle mobility, especially on my left foot. I can barely get my knee in front of my toes, even though I wear zero-drop shoes, and am barefoot for half or more of waking hours.
What if this reduces my ankle mobility?
I love your content but I absolutely hate this test because it’s inherently flawed due to variations in individuals foot length/size in relation to their height (more specifically tib/fib length). For example, I’m 5’8 and wear a size 12.5 shoe. The ankle range of motion required for me to pass this test is significantly greater than for someone with the exact same build as me with smaller feet. Maybe replacing “ 5 inches in front of your toes” with “X inches in front of your heel or medial malleolus” would be a more appropriate value at more accurately represented true ankle mobility?
You may be over thinking it. 5 inches has been used in a lot of doctrine. Another consideration is that because you have a longer foot length relative to tib/fib length - you have a stronger anchor grounding point at the talus making it easier to have better mobility at the ankle. The argument is similar to longer limbed, taller people also have a higher ceiling, muscular contraction output while shorter limbed, shorter people have greater contractile efficiency because less energy is required both from the muscle and the CNS. At 5'8 it is technically easier for a 6'4 guy to reach the 1500 lb club. But you have trained to that contractile strength with a greater potential efficiency in the muscle and are more likely to do more reps than him if you moved into greater volume. But nobody really cares, 1500 lbs is 1500 lbs. Just as 5 inches is 5 inches.
@@Flowmada I understand this is a common test. That doesn't change my problem with it. It really is basic geometry. A longer foot to tip/fib ratio requires greater mobility at the ankle to reach the 5 inches beyond the toes in this test. What this test is supposed to represent is the ability of the ankle to reach a certain angle without the use of a goniometer because most people don't have access to one. The issue is that if you measure the angle at my ankle with my knee 5 inches past my toes it will be different than someone with a smaller foot to tie/rib ratio. And to your argument about having a stronger anchor at the talus resulting in better mobility - I can tell you, at least in my case, that is very much not true. I've struggled with ankle mobility as long as I can remember.
What is the rap song at the very end of the video?
My internal side of ankle is so tight after I rolled my ankle and it hurts please help
What is the band attached to? Can anyone see?
To the stand of the weights
@@xaverdamien3986 thank you!
It's crazy that EVERY shoe in our local shops has a heel and a narrow toe box. And not a single person i ever saw where i live had good shoes.
Are there people with ankle structure for whom the banded joint mobilization has no effect? It’s produced no measurable difference for me, and research papers on the topic consistently say it’s unclear that any dorsiflexion increase with the banded stretching has clinical significance.
I literally cannot keep my heels on the ground by any means. Like not even close. Don't know if I'm just that tight or its my anatomical structure @squatuniversity
Great, I need one on tight wrist. My wrist limits my squat
i have many ankle problems
my hip flexors hurt during all of this positions. 😭😭
I don't know what's the energy behind it but i think there some something freaky... When i suffered from back pain... You made a video on back pain next day.... When i suffered shoulder pain.. You made video on the same day.... Now yesterday i found one of my ankles tight.... And see... Today you posted this.... 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
4:01
Is there anything I can do for extremely tight calf muscles?
Stretch and roll them out
@@MrSham3less already do that. Looking for something beyond that.. and just connected the dots on what options to explore next outside the cost of regular massage therapy. Thank you. 🤙💪
@@mcmjr405 I still have tight calves but the thing that helped me get deeper in the squat was holding to the leg of a table and sit in a deep squat position for couple of minutes few times a day
@@MrSham3less I’ll definitely start doing that as well. It’s something I have to admit I haven’t done much of that as consistently as I should have been doing, especially knowing what the benefits are after being involved in training and massage therapy for as long as I have. Thank you for sharing your time and input.
@@mcmjr405 I'm guilty of skipping doing the things that need to be done as well. No worries champ, take care
My left travels way further then my right over my toe
My ankle mobility is so bad. My knees don’t go go past my toes.
Your kidney meridians all messed up
STUDY NATURAL LAW WITH MARK PASSIO...
i like the exercises but the fact that his ankle mobility increased in 10 minutes is either a lie or a bullshit. Ive been doing these exercises for weeks and i hadent the same mobility improvements as your cameraman had in 10 fucking minutes