The hidden cause of poor ankle mobility in a squat

One of my biggest ankle mobility “ah-has” came after rehabbing my own knee injury. I tweaked my knee doing repetitive “stick kicks” at a bonfire. (There might have been some adult bevy’s involved). And from that point on, I had difficulty squatting to depth without a pinch in the ankle. After it happened, I noticed my foot and leg would collapse in more than usual. I also had pain in the back corner of my knee with deep knee bending. So to address the issue, I focused on restoring ankle dorsiflexion mobility. I used ankle mobility drills, calf stretching, and narrow squats to “restore IR.” (I’ll explain the quotes in next week’s post). But none of it worked. Then I thought, “what if I do the opposite?” I focused on strengthening the calves in plantar flexion. I opened the hips and worked on dorsiflexion from that “open” position. (I also started sprinting). Within two weeks my knee pain and ankle mobility were drastically improved. Moral of the story: while you might think you’re hitting something with a “targeted approach” from a “reputable source,” often a “comprehensive approach” is better. This is why I built my Movement Foundations as a set of movement skills based on biomechanics. It’s a simple checklist of foundational skills. These skills restore access to the biomechanics required for you to move, feel, and perform your best. Grab it at the link in my bio. #anklemobility #squatmobility #squat