Post: #1

I need a good routine for to improve my ankel and hip mobility for squats. Shoulders as well. Right now I'm place a weight under my heels when I squat which helps me maintain my back arch, but it's kinda like squatting with training wheels.

Any ideas?

Oh, and well searching the internet I saw this vid of this guy doing full squats w/ 350lbs. Damn impressive.

Post: #2

check out Clint darden on youtube, he dealt with this already.

Post: #3

In no particular order:
Keep squatting, you'll naturally get more flexible.
Get some olympic weightlifting shoes with a heel.
Bulgarian split squats.
Prowler pushes and sled pulls.
Front squats.
Overhead squats with a snatch grip.

Also try playing with how much you arch your back and your hip tilt. I actually keep my back pretty flat when I squat and I can drop much deeper into the hole when I get my hip tilt just right. For shoulder flexibility try changing your grip around. I settled on a 'claw grip', thumb and pinky under the bar, middle three fingers over. A 350lb squat is decent but not exceptional:
http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLiftin...dards.html

I'm at 315 at the moment, should hit 350 in 3-4 months.

Post: #4

Do pause squats and stretch daily. Also front squats forces you to keep your back straight the entire time.
Getting a shoe with heels is a good idea but you shouldnt use it as a crutch, meaning you still need to work on mobility/flexibility.

Post: #5

squat with the bar daily until you get perfect form and depth. post a video on a forum like starting strength or crossfit to get coaching if you cant hire a coach

Post: #6

One stop shop for all your squat technique/flexibility needs: http://www.youtube.com/user/johnnymnemonic2

Edit: it's perfectly normal to elevate your heels for most squatting. Most competitive powerlifters and all Olympic lifters lift in heeled shoes. Or, you could just work your flexibility like crazy if you really insist on squatting flat-footed.

Post: #7

Try squatting with a much wider foot stance and with your knees/toes at 45 degree outward angle. AKA Power squatting. It really helped me and allowed me to go past parallel.

Post: #8

This site is the truth for improving your mobility.

http://www.mobilitywod.com/

Post: #9

What worked for me was just squatting down and holding it. I use this as a stretch and warmup. If you don't have the flexibility to hold an unweighted squat at the bottom grab something sturdy to hold onto. Do this a few times a day for longer durations over time. This helped me out a lot. Now I can do the snatch, clean and jerk, and overhead squats a lot better. And I've got some busted up knees from my years as an Infantry dude.

Post: #10

sit in the bottom of the squat as far as you can, every day, until you can sit all the way down..hamstrings on calves for ten minutes.

hold a weight in your hands to help settle you in if you need to

keep your chest up!

Post: #11

And you're set:

Post: #12

Surprisingly regular ol' planks have helped me just as much as stretching (static/dynamic).

Post: #13

I recommend adding plate loaded front squats for every leg day's warm-up routine. Squat all the way down, ass to grass. The movement will build some strength to your erector spinae muscles and abdominals while working on hip + lower back mobility. Almost everybody I have showed this exercise has said that they have felt immense lower back stretch. Start with 5 kg and work your way up as your anterior deltoids strength allows you to(personally doing 3 x 5 reps of 15 kg for warm-up).


Another exercise to help with squat mobility and teach the correct movement pattern is the goblet squat.

Post: #14

If you aren't already, try pushing your knees out. It helps you go deeper in the squat while keeping a good arch in your back

This article explains it: http://startingstrength.com/index.php/si...qtGIvRDsil

There's some more articles on there with useful tips for lifting

Post: #15

Shoulder dislocations for shoulder mobility. I wrote a breakdown on this somewhere but here is a decent post about it.

http://www.bodytrainer.tv/en/blog/73-How...slocations

I would also consider the possibility that you don't have mobility issues with your ankles, you might just have unusual biomechanics. Everybody is different.

Otherwise reaper's suggestion is good, just go ass to grass in the bottom position as a mobility drill.

Post: #16

This is a common problem. Most people don't have natural flexibility to do a full squat properly.

A lot of good advice has been mentioned already, and this is what has worked for me:

- A lot of squatting. Overtime you develop better flexibility
- Squatting with weights. Obviously you're loading up a barbell regardless but to develop flexibility loading the barbell with 45 plates a side is much better to force that ROM than simply squatting with the empty bar or light weights.
- Wider stance. Not too wide, but wider than shoulder width apart, with toes about 45 degrees out.

I did some stretching at some point, and they do help. Although I didn't have the patience to keep it up overtime. Squatting properly takes time. Some olympic shoes with a raised heel will help tremendously if you are looking for quick fix.

Post: #17

(12-14-2013 02:57 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  This is a common problem. Most people don't have natural flexibility to do a full squat properly.

A lot of good advice has been mentioned already, and this is what has worked for me:

- A lot of squatting. Overtime you develop better flexibility
- Squatting with weights. Obviously you're loading up a barbell regardless but to develop flexibility loading the barbell with 45 plates a side is much better to force that ROM than simply squatting with the empty bar or light weights.
- Wider stance. Not too wide, but wider than shoulder width apart, with toes about 45 degrees out.

I did some stretching at some point, and they do help. Although I didn't have the patience to keep it up overtime. Squatting properly takes time. Some olympic shoes with a raised heel will help tremendously if you are looking for quick fix.

Very true. I find that squatting with just the bar for my warm ups is not as comfortable as squatting with added weight. The added weight makes the motion much easier and controlled.

Post: #18

I find that I too also have trouble squatting below parallel. I can squat fine without an empty barbell or weighted barbell but as soon as I add a bar, I have trouble getting my butt lower into the full squat position.

I think I lack mobility in the hips, knees and ankles. Anyone have some good stretches or exercises to help improve mobility in those joints?

Post: #19

(08-21-2014 06:02 PM)objectivist tree Wrote:  I find that I too also have trouble squatting below parallel. I can squat fine without an empty barbell or weighted barbell but as soon as I add a bar, I have trouble getting my butt lower into the full squat position.

I think I lack mobility in the hips, knees and ankles. Anyone have some good stretches or exercises to help improve mobility in those joints?

It may not have anything to do with your lower body at all. I was having trouble with the back squat because my shoulders were so tight. I was having problems getting the bar on my traps while holding the bar. I had to use a wider grip to compensate. Lately I've been doing a good warmup and stretch of my shoulders before I do back squats and it's helping.

Post: #20

Stretch your glutes,calves, quads and hams before squatting. Get down into the squat stance and lock your hands together in front of you and stay in that position for a minute.

Post: #21

(08-21-2014 07:45 PM)vinman Wrote:  

(08-21-2014 06:02 PM)objectivist tree Wrote:  I find that I too also have trouble squatting below parallel. I can squat fine without an empty barbell or weighted barbell but as soon as I add a bar, I have trouble getting my butt lower into the full squat position.

I think I lack mobility in the hips, knees and ankles. Anyone have some good stretches or exercises to help improve mobility in those joints?

It may not have anything to do with your lower body at all. I was having trouble with the back squat because my shoulders were so tight. I was having problems getting the bar on my traps while holding the bar. I had to use a wider grip to compensate. Lately I've been doing a good warmup and stretch of my shoulders before I do back squats and it's helping.

I had a similar issue. I ended up fixing it by taking a wider grip and hooking my middle three fingers over the bar and my pinky and thumb under. Some how that opened up my shoulders more.

In general I'm a huge fan of getting a coach to take a look at your form every few weeks - they'll catch shit like this.

Post: #22

Improving my core strength improved my mobility.

Squat only as much as your limiting muscle group allows for. Most people that is the core.

Also, flex your back.

Post: #23

My friend who just started out at the gym couldn't do a straight bar squat to save her life.

A fellow lifter suggested to us that she try clenching a dumb bell to her chest and squatting that way to build up the muscles. Sure enough, she's up to 75 lbs on a straight bar now.

Try that and gradually increase the weight with the goal of switching to a straight bar.

Post: #24

If you wanna practice outside of the gym.

When going for a dump use your legs to control how you lower yourself onto the toilet. Same goes for all seating positions. Ezimode box squats.

Post: #25

I have never had any problems squatting deep and proper. I think this because from a very early childhood I noticed how older people complain about back pain when they bend their back to pick things up. Therefore from an early age I always squatted to pick things from floor or low shelves and always made sure my back is arched properly. I also do a lot of bodyweight squats in off days and as a warmup.

I suspect people cant squat because you squat only in gym. Try squatting more often outside of gym in real life. Squat when picking up things from floor instead of bending, squat when taking shit, learn to squat as a resting pose instead of sitting. Try to walk in squat it's a very good exercize.

For soulders and back you should do shoulder dislocations and try to perform a bridge.

It's so wierd that people cant squat, I believe you really shouldn't squat with weight if you cannot squat properly without it. It's fucked up to not be able to do the most natural thing.