Squat Mobility Guide
Here are my top 5 exercises to improve your squat depth
Weighted Ankle Rocker
This is a great exercise for improving ankle mobility. The weight can give you assistance to increase your range of motion.
Start in a kneeling position. Place a weight on top of your front knee. Lean forward forcing your knee over your toes. Use the assistance of the weight to go further. You should feel a stretch at the back of your calf.
Knee Forward Split Squat
Loading up the movement after increasing your range of motion is key to making mobility work stick. It’s also important to integrate it into the specific movement you’re trying to change. Use this exercise after improving your ankle range with the exercise above to really improve your squat depth!
From a lunge stance grab a weight in each hand. Lower down into a split squat. Keep your chest up and really drive that front knee forward over the toes. When you stand up keep the knee over the toes for as long as possible.
This will teach you to load the ankle in that new range of motion.
Goblet Squat
This exercise is great for people with limited hip mobility. The kettlebell gives you a counterbalance and really lets you sink deep into the squat. It’s more specific than the exercises above and can also be used for people with less ankle mobility.
For this one start in your squat position. Hold the kettlebell in front of your chest. Slowly lower into the bottom of your squat. Pause in the bottom to increase the time spent here.
Heel raise squats
Heel raise squats are great for people with limited ankle and hip mobility. The plates provide a counterbalance and can instantly help people get a deeper squat. It also carries over really well to the squat and can be performed with weight on the bar.
Place some plates under your heels. Assume your squat stance. Slowly lower down into your bottom position and pause there for a few seconds.
Tempo Squats
Tempo squats are great because they’re the most specific exercise here. They are also great because slow eccentrics have been shown to increase the length of the muscle and connective tissue. To do that though you need some weight on the bar and lower yourself slowly into the bottom position!
Start in the squat position with the barbell on your back. Slowly lower down into the bottom position (3-5 seconds) and pause there (3-5 seconds).
How to use this guide
There you have it, my top 5 exercises for improving your squat depth. Pick 3 or 4 exercises, try these for 2-3 sets of 5-10 reps for 4 weeks as part of your warm up. Complete them 3 - 4 times per week.
The guidance above is a great starting point for most lifters and will yield big improvements.
However, there is likely a lot more we can do to increase your mobility and performance, even if you’re working through an injury, with more specific programming to suit you and your specific circumstances.
With my coaching services, I help committed CrossFitters, Weightlifters, Powerlifters and weekend warriors to get back to optimum fitness and to PB their major lifts in 1-2 months, without hours of complicated stretching and mobility drills.
If that sounds like something you might be interested in, click the button below to find out more about my coaching service
Alex Dear
MSc, MCSP
Physiotherapist