Do you need to increase the depth of your squat?
Well I'm going to show you today that what you might be doing to do that is completely
opposite of what you should be doing.
What's up guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.COM.
Today I want to talk to you about the depth of the squat.
Right?
We know that in order to be functionally strong, we have to have some squatting movements in
what we do.
Now, whether you do a Back Bar Squat, whether you're doing Dumbbell Squats, or whether you're
doing Single Leg Squats, the depth is important.
Because if you cut short the depth, a lot of times we tend to put a lot of pressure
forward into our knees.
And you could also have other problems linked to that too, where our low back tries to take
over and do too much work as well.
So, we want the proper depth.
We want to be able to get down to around parallel to the ground, and this is sort of what it
looks like for a lot of people.
If we get in here and we try to go down, what you'll see is they can't get quite down far
enough until their heels start popping up off the ground.
Now, why is that?
Mostly it's because of calf tightness.
Could be though because of ankle mobility issues.
Alright.
So, we have to address that if we're ever going to get down to a parallel position here
with the squat.
We have to have adequate mobility of our ankles.
So, let me put this down and show you what most guys do who know they have that problem.
They come over here and they put a plate on the ground.
Right?
And they put their ankles up behind it.
I got a 45-pound plate so I have a little bit more room.
But it doesn't matter.
Here, they put the plate underneath their heels because the concept is if the calves
are tight, well, let's bring the ground up to the tightness.
Right?
So now when we come down, it's a lot easier to go down.
There's not as much dorsiflexion that has to happen here at the ankle to accomplish
that.
Right?
If I'm looking at my wrist that's sort of synonymous with my ankle joint, there's not
as much dorsiflexion that has to happen here to keep my heel in contact with the ground
in order to get down low like that.
So, they think that they've problem solved.
I can tell you that if you try to take that out into the field with you if you're an athlete,
you're not going to be able to carry your plate with you.
Ok, so that's not going to work, and it's really just a bandaid for a problem that actually
needs to be fixed.
So, what do we do?
Instead of putting it under the heels, kick it forward, and make sure you put it under
your toes.
Now, do you squat like this?
No.
You use it as a mobility technique before you squat.
So, you come down here, you can hold on to the bar in front of you, it's the squat rack.
You come in there and you try to engage your tightness.
You try to stretch out your calves.
You try to get a little bit deeper.
Keep your shoulders up.
Keep your head up, ok?
Work through the tightness in the calves.
Now remember, mobility is another issue, and I'm going to get to that in one second.
Another thing you could do.
Take your plate, put it forward.
Put 2 heavy dumbbells on the ground.
Heck, like 80s or 90s or 100s, ok, because you're going to use them to actually help
you.
Come down to the ground, ok.
Grab the dumbbells here and then basically pull up on the dumbbells while keeping your
head and shoulders upright.
What this does is it is actually pulling against the dumbbells that hopefully are heavy enough
that they are not going to move, it's actually pulling me further into my dorsiflexion.
So, it acts as a way to get some force downward into my ankles.
You'll see it and feel it immediately as you do this.
And it gives me really good mobility so I just try to hold this for a period of 30 seconds
or so for mobility.
It's a great stretch for the calves.
Now, this might be too intense with the plate.
Just take that out.
Come back down and do the same thing.
Now, immediately I can feel that I can get way more comfortably deep into the squat because
of that mobility drill.
Final piece of this puzzle guys.
I'm sorry, the flexibility drill.
It doesn't have to be always have to be about flexibility, and calf inflexibility.
A lot of times it has to do with mobility.
So, really important point.
With the mobility of the ankle, I don't care how deep you try to get, if you have a mobility
issue, the talocrual curl joint in the ankle which is basically the talus in the part of
the foot right in through here gets jammed in as you go into dorsiflexion.
And literally is hitting bone on bone, with the tibia and fibula above.
Ok.
So, as you're trying to push, it's not going anywhere.
So, there is a mobility technique in physical therapy where we want to get this bone to
come forward while this one goes back.
So, if you can see, again, simulate the ankle with the wrist.
It's the same joint, ok, on the ground.
As I go into dorsiflexion, these bones right here go down and backward.
Right.
They go down, and back.
Down, and back.
This bone would come forward, this one would go down.
So, watch what we do.
Come over here, again, advanced mobility.
Set up 2 of the Elast-X bands here and put them around your ankles.
Ok.
Anywhere low against the squat rack.
Now, remember, I suggest wearing pants, guys, so it's not rubbing against your skin here.
But, they are just above the ankle joint.
Right in through there, and back.
Walk back a few steps.
Now, right there.
What have I created?
I have created that force this way.
Now, when I go down into my dorsiflexion here and deep, it's even easier.
Way easier because I've got some of this actual self mobilization going on.
Alright.
So you're here.
You're going to find that you can get way deeper.
Don't worry about squatting like this right now.
We're talking about doing it as a mobility drill prior to squatting.
So now, when I come out of here, again, I can increase this by putting my toes up on
the plate.
But when I come out of where now after doing just a few of those drills, and I get down,
I mean, it's easy for me to get down to 90 degrees.
I'm not butt winking in here.
I'm not rounding my shoulders here.
My chest stays up.
I come down.
My heels are in contact with the ground.
And I've accomplished exactly what I was trying to without doing the things I told you you
shouldn't.
So, guys, strength training can be a little bit more scientific if you allow it to be.
And I think if you're going to spend your time trying to get results doing what you're
doing, then it's worth the extra bit.
It's worth applying the science to what you're doing so that you can get a more functional
result from it.
And in this case, squatting lower, squatting properly is going to keep your knees healthy,
your back healthy, get your legs stronger, and get you the results that you were looking
for in the first place.
If you haven't already, guys, start applying the science to strength and get with the program
here at ATHLEANX.
Head over to ATHLEANX.COM, pick up your 90-day Training Program, and start seeing what it's
like when you blend in all these concepts together.
I'll see you guys back here in a couple of days.
In the meantime, if you found this helpful, try some of the techniques.
You're going to squat lower.
It's going to be easier.
Stop putting the plate under your heels.
I'll see you guys in a couple of days.