Ankle Mobility

What’s up brilliant friends!

A lot of the grief I experience in obtaining proper squat position is from my limited ankle mobility. My feet turn out in order for me to get to proper depth in my squat.

At first I thought this was something I could look past, and eventually fix through gradual repetition with my feet pointed more and more forward. But I eventually realized that it’s going to take a lot more attention than that.

So, of course, this is now my obsession.

There’s a set of instructional videos made by JagRoop on YouTube that hit gold for me recently. Here’s the one for ankles I just watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2eDhjxq1G4&feature=em-subs_digest

Lowering down into the squat properly, with feet forward, knees out, and back flat, requires mobility in all key areas:

This is why the squat is the greatest diagnostic movement for us humans, and the greatest exercise for strength and performance.

By being able to squat properly, we can demonstrate that we have ample mobility and strength to perform normal, daily movements, and of course athletic movements.

It’s rare to have good mobility. The irony is that the more you have been involved with sports and body building, the more likely it is that you lack sufficient mobility.

I’ve been able to lift a lot of weight compared to the average Joe. However, it’s time for me to get serious about the long game. I’m going to focus on mobility and proper positioning, scrapping the heavy weight for now until I can just get into the right positions.

Squatting 400 lbs. by age 30 would be great, and I want to go beyond that at age 40, 50, and 60 without blowing out my knees.

I’m several weeks into my second Madcow session, but I’m going to drop it to pursue this new endeavor. I promise myself I will surpass my strongest self when it is time.

I encourage you, whether you consider yourself a beginner, intermediate, or advanced in strength, to gain mobility before stacking on any more weight. Start with the ankles.