Ankle Mobility for a Deeper, More Comfortable Squat
If your heels lift, you tip forward or your squat stops above parallel however hard you try, stiff ankles are a common reason. To squat deep with an upright torso, your knees need to travel forward over your toes, and that depends on ankle dorsiflexion: how far your shin can tilt forward over a planted foot. You can test it in two minutes with a knee-to-wall test. If one or both ankles come up short, a few minutes of targeted drills before each session, plus a temporary heel lift, will usually make squatting more comfortable within weeks. If the ankles test fine, look elsewhere.
Why the ankle matters so much in a squat
A squat is a negotiation between three joints. As you descend, the hips go back and down, the knees bend and travel forward, and the shins tilt. If the shin cannot tilt far enough, something else has to give. Usually that means the heels peel off the floor, the torso folds forward to keep you balanced, or the knees cave in as the foot rolls to find extra range. None of those are disasters at light weights. Under a loaded barbell they make the lift harder to control and much harder to progress.
This is also why the old instruction “never let your knees go past your toes” causes so much trouble. For most people, a deep squat requires the knees to travel forward, sometimes well past the toes. Blocking that movement pushes the strain somewhere less suited to it. Our guide on how to squat properly covers depth, stance and bracing as a whole. This piece is only about the ankle.
The knee-to-wall test
This is the simplest reliable check I know, and it needs a wall and a tape measure.
- Take your shoes off. Face a wall in a half-kneeling position, front foot flat, toes pointing at the wall.
- Keeping the heel down, drive your front knee forward to touch the wall, knee tracking over your second or third toe.
- If the knee touches easily, shuffle the foot back a centimetre and try again. Repeat until it is the furthest distance at which the knee can still touch with the heel firmly down.
- Measure from the tip of your big toe to the wall. Test both sides.
| Result | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| Roughly 10 cm or more, both sides | Ankles are unlikely to be your main limitation. Look at hips, stance or bracing. |
| Under about 10 cm | Ankle range is worth working on and probably affects your squat. |
| A difference of a couple of centimetres or more between sides | Often explains a squat that shifts or twists to one side. |
Treat the 10 cm figure as a practical guide used by many coaches, not a pass mark. Leg length, foot size and the depth you need all change what is “enough”. The test is most useful as your own baseline, measured the same way every few weeks.
Pay attention to where you feel the stop. A stretch in the calf points to soft tissue tightness. A pinch at the front of the ankle suggests the joint itself is limiting you, which responds better to the joint drill below than to more calf stretching. Pain rather than stiffness, especially after an old sprain, is worth having assessed by a physiotherapist.
Four drills that make a difference
These take five to eight minutes and fit at the start of a lower-body session or on a desk day. Do the side that tested worse first and give it an extra set.
1. Loaded knee-to-wall rocks
The test itself, turned into an exercise. From the half-kneeling position, rock the knee forward toward the wall and back for 10 to 15 slow reps, pausing for two seconds at the end. Resting a dumbbell or a hand on the front knee adds gentle pressure. Keep the heel down and the arch from collapsing.
2. Banded ankle mobilisation
For the “pinch at the front” feeling. Loop a heavy resistance band low around the front of the ankle, just below the ankle bones, anchored behind you so it pulls backward. Then repeat the knee-forward rocks. The band encourages the joint to glide as the shin moves forward, and many people feel immediately freer. Ten to fifteen reps a side.
3. Calf stretches, bent and straight knee
The calf has two main muscles, and one of them only stretches when the knee is straight. Do both: a wall stretch with the back leg straight, then the same with the back knee bent. Hold each for 30 to 45 seconds, two rounds. It works if the tightness is in the muscle.
4. Slow, controlled calf raises off a step
Mobility you cannot control under load does not last. Stand on the edge of a step, rise up over three seconds, then lower slowly until the heel sinks below the step and pause at the bottom. Two or three sets of 10 to 12. This builds strength in the newly available range, which is what makes it stick.
Heel lifts: crutch or sensible tool?
Raising the heels, with small plates under them, a wedge, or weightlifting shoes with a raised heel, reduces how much ankle bend you need for the same depth. It is a perfectly legitimate tool. Olympic weightlifters squat in raised-heel shoes all the time and they are not compensating for anything.
I use heel lifts in three situations: when someone needs to squat well today while their ankles improve; when the heel lift lets them reach depth with a much better torso position; and for front squats and goblet squats, where an upright trunk matters most. The trade-off is that a heel lift alone does not change your ankles. If you want the range for its own sake, for hiking, running or simply getting down to the floor and back up easily, pair it with the drills and retest. The goblet squat is a particularly good place to practise, because the weight held in front lets you sit between your legs and use whatever range you have.
Footwear matters in the other direction too. Very soft, cushioned running shoes make the foot unstable under a barbell.
How long before it changes?
You will often see a centimetre or two of improvement within a single session of drills. Much of that is temporary, so do not get carried away. Lasting change comes from doing the drills consistently, three to five times a week, and from squatting through your full range regularly. In my experience most people notice a meaningfully different squat within four to eight weeks. Retest monthly with the same method, ideally at the same time of day, as ankles are usually stiffer first thing.
Mistakes I see most often
- Letting the arch collapse during drills. It fakes ankle range by rolling the foot inward. Keep weight spread across big toe, little toe and heel.
- Only stretching the calf. If the limit is a pinch at the front of the joint, more calf stretching changes little.
- Blaming ankles for everything. If you test above 10 cm on both sides and still cannot squat deep, the answer is more likely hip position, stance width or bracing. Our hip mobility exercises are the next place to look.
When to get it checked first
If you have had a bad ankle sprain or fracture, ankle surgery, ongoing swelling or pain that is sharp rather than stiff, see your GP or a physiotherapist before pushing range. The same applies to any condition affecting circulation or sensation in the feet. The NHS has clear guidance on sprains and strains and when to seek help.
Working on it with a coach
In the private studio on Archway Road, the first squat session with a new client almost always includes the knee-to-wall test, so we know whether the ankles, hips or setup are the real constraint before loading anything. With a squat rack and plates to hand, we can test heel-lift options in a few minutes and pick the variation that suits you now. If you would like that done properly, have a look at private personal training in Highgate, where sessions are coached 1-1 and the studio is yours for the hour. Everything else in the building is on the Highgate House homepage.
Questions we get asked
Why do my heels come up when I squat?
Most often limited ankle dorsiflexion, sometimes a stance that is too narrow or weight shifting onto the toes. The knee-to-wall test tells you whether the ankle is the cause.
Should I squat with plates under my heels?
It is fine as a tool, particularly while you improve your ankles. Keep working on the range if you want it to change.
Does squat stance affect ankle demand?
Yes. A slightly wider stance with toes turned out a little usually needs less ankle bend than a narrow, toes-forward stance.
How often should I do ankle mobility work?
A few minutes three to five times a week is plenty for most people, with a retest every month.
For the full approach to coached sessions, see 1-1 training with Artem.
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