Hey guys, quick tip today. I think most people understand that having poor ankle dorsiflexion motion can hinder their ability to hit a deep squat, particularly an overhead squat. What I don’t think is talked about much is why this happens. One common thing I often find is that athletes may generally have more motion when they aim their knee toward the inside of the foot during ankle dorsiflexion assessment. What is ideal would be having adequate motion with the knee aimed over the toes.
As Shirley Sahrman says, the body will naturally take the path of least resistance and the knee will end up inside of the foot in a deep squat when your body requires extra ankle motion to get deeper into the squat. Check the video below for a better explanation.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHuQh_JBmDM/?taken-by=fitnesspainfree&hl=en
Having limited ankle flexibility is this manner could potentially lead to:
- Decreased depth
- Poor biomechanics for force production
- Compensation at the knee (Dynamic Valgus), hip (Internal Rotation), foot (toe out / foot flattening) and lower back (flexion or rounding)
- Poor patellar tracking, loading on a flexed lumbar spine, impingement at the hip
Obviously we’d like to correct atleast some of these things.
Want to learn more about how to assess the ankle and learn some great exercises to mobilize it? Check out my recent product with Dr. Dave Tilley:
Monkey Method – Movement Essentials
The Ultimate Guide to Understanding and Fixing Technical Flaws in the Handstand, Muscle-up and Olympic Lifts
I guess ankles are important,