Ankle Mobility Limitations

Hey All, 

 

I'm having trouble completing the first progression of the single leg squat in the Foundations course. Everything else is coming along really well. The only way I can currently complete a single leg squat is by holding onto my opposite foot as that keeps my weight centered over my supporting foot. I can do the deck squat (rolling squat/candlestick) but require a decent amount of momentum and end up standing through my heel as opposed to a balanced drive. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do improve my mobility. Not sure if I truly lack the mobility needed or if my position is just that bad or if I'm just missing stability elsewhere. I have been dealing with this for some years now. Would love to hear any and everyone's thoughts! Thanks in advance. 

Is this a soft tissue extensibility (flexibility) of the posterior calf musculature problem or is this a joint mobility problem? In other words, if you drive into dorsiflexion with your lead ankle in a lunge-type movement, do you feel a stretch on the back of the lower leg?

Also, many smartphones (definitely iOS devices) have goniometer apps available. With these, you can easily measure your dorsiflexion range. The literature suggests ~35° to be the minimum target to reduce the risk of injury. The more the merrier. How exactly this applies to squatting isn't as straight forward, but knowing whether or not you have adequate passive ROM is nice.

Some people exhibit other issues that do not allow them to access the dorsiflexion available to them in a squatting movement pattern. This can be due to a number of issues including mobility in other joints, stability in any joint, and/or motor control.

I wish I had more concrete advice. I hope for your sake that this is a simple tissue extensibility issue (stretch, problem hopefully solved). Joint mobility can be (but isn't necessarily) hard or impossible to improve depending on an individual's joint structure. Stability or motor control can take a while to track down without significant personal experience/knowledge or an experienced practitioner/trainer.

A video of you performing the element will help us see what's going on better than just describing it.