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The Ankle and Your Squat ~ Luke Palmisano
The more people I see move, the more patterns I start to identify. I used to just see errors. Now, I'm starting to see the reasons behind errors. Now, this isn't to say that Verve doesn't have good movers. Because we do. In fact, the last class I taught had the best group of movers I've ever seen in all my years of coaching. Ever. So, to my last class, thank you for giving me the gift of your movement. My life is now richer as a result. That being said, I am starting to notice something more and more frequently: tight ankles. And I can see it when you squat. Here's three different tests you can try:
- Try to perform a one legged squat. If you can't do it with your heel glued to the ground, chances are you have tight ankles.
- Put the ball of one of your feet on a platform. Keeping your heel on the ground. Flex your ankle and drive your knee as far as forward as you can. If you can't drive your knee past your toes, your mobility could use some work.
- Set your feet up in a squat stance, feet straight ahead. Seriously. Feet straight ahead. Now pinch your big toe on the ground. Don't let your feet move. Now, slowly, squat down below parallel and hold. If your feet move, or if you fall backwards, chances are your tight ankles are a culprit.
Point is, our whole body moves in conjunction with itself. Different body parts become different moving "systems." These moving systems form what we call a circuit. If a part of that system is unable to move properly, the circuit is broken, and that expresses itself with bad positioning. So if your calf is tight, if the ligaments around your ankles are tight or damaged, or if your foot is tight, you may find some of the above tests difficult for you. In fact, without good ankle mobility, you will not be able to derive optimum torque through your lower body "system." Will your squats be horrible? Not necessarily. But you won't be in the strongest, safest positions. So… despite the fact that I recently taught the Greatest Class In My Coaching Career (see above reference), I see room for improvement. I see a lot of tight ankles. So, as a way of helping you out of the dungeon of ankle immobility, there an hour long ankle mobility class planned for tomorrow (Thursday) at 1:30 P.M. Come check it out, and let's see if we can work out some of the kinks in your lower body "system."
