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Ankle/Soleus Mobility Drills

chocchillimango

chocchillimango

Well-known member
Ankle mobility is a problem that affects a lot of us and can really impact on our ability to squat to depth.

I've always had a very tight/short (?) soleus muscles that make squatting to full depth an issue but after a running injury some years ago, my left ankle mobility is worse.
Despite all the physio and flexibility/mobility exercises I did, my ROM for squats has been impacted since (although my injury healed and the ankle is otherwise OK).
These included a lot of duradisc work, calf raises, stretching of the soleus specifically, and skipping.

For sumo/goblet squats or any squats with a wide leg stance, I can get to parallel or below easy. For back/front BB squats, I am now able to get to about 70% of the way to parallel only.

It's starting to bug me so much, I want to give it one more shot at seeing if I can actually do anything to improve it, even if I may not ever be able to fix it 100%.
My form is otherwise excellent when I squat - and hip mobility does not appear to be the issue.

I've been using a combo of massage, lots of BB calf raises as part of my program, and some mobility exercises I've found online. I've also been doing a lot of bodyweight squat drills - wall squats, box squats and squat to box etc.
I have also dropped the weight right down for my front/back squats in order to work on form and my ability to squat to depth.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's experienced similar issues in terms of what has worked best for them, or from the experts on what you'd recommend as a good program of drills/exercises to do that are most likely to help if you persist.

I don't want to be the queen of the partial squat if I can help it!

Thanks in advance :-)
 
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Are you saying that you can't squat to full depth because of your tight calves? If yes, how do you know that it is your calves causing the problem?
 
hmm i notice the problem a bit too. My heels will come up when im near the bottom of my squat. And just doing bodyweight squats now i can feel my ankle/calves being the problem.
 
chocchillimango said:
Yes, as per my post, it's my soleus muscle at the base of the calf. It's a common problem but it's driving me nuts.
Click to expand...

Sorry I must have been a bit obscure in my questions. What I meant was, have you had an expert/professional diagnose your soleus as the reason you can't hit depth on the squat? If not, how did you come to the conclusion that your soleus is the root cause?

It sounds like you have already been through a comprehensive stretching routine for your soleus for at least a few months - correct? If it is a tight soleus that is the root cause, then you should have seen an improvement by now. Because you haven't, it suggests that there are other factors at play.

My other question is how does your soleus actually stop you from getting low enough? If you are keeping your weight on your heels and making sure that your knees don't go too far beyond your toes, your ankle doesn't need to dorsiflex through a full ROM. Unless you also have trouble walking up inclines and stairs, I'm still not sure that your soleus is the main cause.

EDIT: BTW, I'm not doubting you - just after more background info.
 
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buddy said:
hmm i notice the problem a bit too. My heels will come up when im near the bottom of my squat. And just doing bodyweight squats now i can feel my ankle/calves being the problem.
Click to expand...

Keep your weight on your heels and this problem should correct itself fairly quickly. Rippetoe suggests lifting your toes up during the squat if you are having trouble keeping your weight back, until the problem is corrected.
 
thanks guys, yes, I've had it looked at and it does seem to be the root cause. will try lifting toes and see how I go with my drills etc. thanks
 
Some other suggestions for you.

If you haven't already, get someone to check your technique.

Because you can squat fine with a wide stance, have you tried tackling the problem from the side? If not, start with a wide stance that allows you to get almost to full depth. Do your squatting at that width and see whether your depth improves. If it does and you can get to full depth after a while, then reduce the width again to the point where you can almost get full depth and squat with that width. Rinse and repeat. This approach has the added benefit that you can use full weight on the bar if you want so you can keep progressing your strength goals while you wait for your flexibility to improve.

If your active flexibility is a lot worse than your passive flexibility, do some active stretches for your calf muscles. While sitting, start with your ankle in a neutral position, then dorsiflex your foot. Hold for a few secs then relax. Rinse and repeat. Flex your knee to emphasise your soleus, extend your knee for your gastrocs.

I'm currently trying a 'grease the groove' approach to improving my shoulder flexibility so I can squat with a low bar position. You might like to try the same thing. Just do a set of bodyweight squats with good form whenever you get the chance. It may help by improving your neural pathways for the squat movement.
 
D-Man said:
Some other suggestions for you.

If you haven't already, get someone to check your technique.

Because you can squat fine with a wide stance, have you tried tackling the problem from the side? If not, start with a wide stance that allows you to get almost to full depth. Do your squatting at that width and see whether your depth improves. If it does and you can get to full depth after a while, then reduce the width again to the point where you can almost get full depth and squat with that width. Rinse and repeat. This approach has the added benefit that you can use full weight on the bar if you want so you can keep progressing your strength goals while you wait for your flexibility to improve.

If your active flexibility is a lot worse than your passive flexibility, do some active stretches for your calf muscles. While sitting, start with your ankle in a neutral position, then dorsiflex your foot. Hold for a few secs then relax. Rinse and repeat. Flex your knee to emphasise your soleus, extend your knee for your gastrocs.

I'm currently trying a 'grease the groove' approach to improving my shoulder flexibility so I can squat with a low bar position. You might like to try the same thing. Just do a set of bodyweight squats with good form whenever you get the chance. It may help by improving your neural pathways for the squat movement.
Click to expand...

Thanks D-Man.
I actually have two trainers, both of which are squat zen masters and have been working with me on technique. My actual form is really good except for the depth issue.
I do the bodyweight work you suggested already so that's good. I'll give the squat approach you suggested a try. I can squat to below parallel in a wide leg stance already, which is probably why I get so antzy about my standard BB squats :(
the active flex for the ankle sounds like a good one to add to the repetoire.
Much appreciated. Will be working on it.
Like you, I keep thinking there must be something else going on and I always suspect hip mobility and I'm actually doing work on that too, just in case. But so far, there doesn't seem to be anything going on there. At least, all the scrutiny from my squat queen trainers seems to not have found much there.

Patience, and keep at it ... thanks for the tips. Those two are really good ones to add to what I'm doing now. :D
 
I wasn't going to say anymore but it sounds like you're not entirely sure your soleus is the problem. Here is a textbook test for soleus length in case it helps.

soleus:
action: ankle plantar flexion
length test: ankle dorsiflexion, with the knee in flexionn.
starting position: sitting or supine, with the hip and knee flexed.
test movement: with the knee flexed 90 degrees or more to make the two-joint gastrocs and plantaris slack over the knee joint, dorsiflex the foot.
normal range: the foot can be dorsiflexed appprox 20 degrees.
passive stretch: sit forward in a chair with knees bent and feet pulled back toward chair enough to raise the heels slightly from the floor. Press down on thigh to help force heel to the floor.

apologies for typoss - i'm on the mobi and couldn't be arsed fixing it
 
yep my soleus length is not flash. did the tests ages ago. i can improve dorsiflexion by doing some flexibility and mobility drills but it only gets you so far.

the passive stretch is a good one...most of my stretches are more dynamic.

hehe by the time I finish with my ankles, I won't have enough time to go to work every day :-)
 
[YOUTUBE][ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HiB4t11I3Q&feature=related]Squat 3/3 - YouTube[/ame][/YOUTUBE]
 
D-Man said:
Some other suggestions for you.

If you haven't already, get someone to check your technique.

Because you can squat fine with a wide stance, have you tried tackling the problem from the side? If not, start with a wide stance that allows you to get almost to full depth. Do your squatting at that width and see whether your depth improves. If it does and you can get to full depth after a while, then reduce the width again to the point where you can almost get full depth and squat with that width. Rinse and repeat. This approach has the added benefit that you can use full weight on the bar if you want so you can keep progressing your strength goals while you wait for your flexibility to improve.

If your active flexibility is a lot worse than your passive flexibility, do some active stretches for your calf muscles. While sitting, start with your ankle in a neutral position, then dorsiflex your foot. Hold for a few secs then relax. Rinse and repeat. Flex your knee to emphasise your soleus, extend your knee for your gastrocs.

I'm currently trying a 'grease the groove' approach to improving my shoulder flexibility so I can squat with a low bar position. You might like to try the same thing. Just do a set of bodyweight squats with good form whenever you get the chance. It may help by improving your neural pathways for the squat movement.
Click to expand...

Hey, I tried the progression you suggested above (bodyweight only for now) and it really helped! I improved my depth in just one session. I was able to get to parallel in a much more narrow stance than I had previously. I had also done some ankle mobility work beforehand so that helped too. But it's great! Definitely keeping this as part of the warmup routine.
Thanks again!
 
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