{"id":150850,"date":"2025-06-02T01:14:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T01:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/150850\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T01:14:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T01:14:14","slug":"3-fixes-for-tight-ankles-that-improve-your-squats-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/150850\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Fixes for Tight Ankles That Improve Your Squats Fast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real talk: Ankle mobility can be a total buzzkill. If it\u2019s compromised, it can negatively impact your workout routine\u2014especially when attempting to perform exercises like squats<\/a>. If tight ankles are hindering your gym time, we\u2019re here with a couple fixes that will be incredibly helpful for lower-body workouts<\/a>\u2014specifically on squat day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnkle mobility is often overlooked for two reasons. First, it\u2019s not considered an exciting area to train\u2014people prefer focusing on hips or quad strength,\u201d explains Glen Owen<\/b>, founder of Glen Owen Personal Training<\/a> in Toronto, Canada. \u201cSimply put, ankles just aren\u2019t \u2018sexy\u2019 (I know mine aren\u2019t). Second, ankles are complex joints with numerous bones, ligaments, and small muscles, making them harder to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to squats, tight ankles can present issues. This complex movement calls for proper technique.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many different considerations when performing squats correctly,\u201d Glen tells us. \u201cSquatting properly is crucial because ultimately, from a mechanical perspective, if performed incorrectly, you can end up with injuries to certain joints. You may put yourself in a precarious position where your joints are at risk of muscle strain or other soft tissue damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, squatting improperly can cause fatigued muscles, leading to injury and engaging muscle groups you weren\u2019t focused on.<\/p>\n

According to Glen, there are certain clues you have limited ankle mobility in your squat.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the first things to observe is how a person squats,\u201d Glen explains. \u201cDo they rotate to one side as they squat? Do they shift weight away from the tighter ankle? Do they feel excess tension in the muscles around the ankles?\u201d<\/p>\n

Your personal \u201cmechanics\u201d are quite telling. For instance, a basketball player\u2019s long femurs and short tibias require them to squat differently, as their body proportions and height significantly alter the mechanics of the exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the long femurs and shorter tibias, they need to hinge at the hips far more, so their squat ends up looking more like a hip hinge in order to maintain their balance,\u201d Glen points out. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily tight ankles, it\u2019s their own unique bio-mechanics when squatting. Ultimately, this means ankle mobility isn\u2019t always the primary issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

7 Easy Lower-Body Exercises That Melt Fat<\/a><\/p>\n

How To Improve Your Squat Performance<\/b><\/p>\n

According to Glen, there are a couple easy ways to boost your squat performance, helping you go lower while building more muscle and strength.<\/p>\n

\tElevate Your Heels<\/p>\n

\"fitnessShutterstock<\/p>\n

Glen suggests using weight plates or special shoes to elevate your heels when squatting.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy elevating the heel, you effectively increase the length of the tibia, allowing for deeper squats,\u201d Glen notes. \u201cFor many people, like the NBA basketball player, this is a quick and easy fix. You can do it with weightlifting shoes, a wood plank or specialized equipment, or plain old fashioned barbell plates.\u201d<\/p>\n

6 Expert Squat Exercises for Building Stronger Legs Fast<\/a><\/p>\n

\tTrain Your Dorsiflexors<\/p>\n

\"olderShutterstock<\/p>\n

Work on building strength in your dorsiflexors, the muscles that pull your foot in toward your shin.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

\u201cStrengthening dorsiflexors improves foot control and can help unlock deeper squat depths by giving the nervous system more confidence in movement,\u201d Glen says. \u201cBecause the nervous system ultimately governs movement, if you improve the control and strength of all muscles around the ankle (especially the commonly ignored dorsiflexors), your body will \u2018unlock\u2019 more depth and release the tightness. After all, tightness is a sensation of the muscles\u2026so more muscle strength = increased range of motion = open and relaxed ankles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tUnderstand Your Body Mechanics<\/p>\n

\"AnkleShutterstock<\/p>\n

Everyone\u2019s body is unique, and it\u2019s very important to have a clear understanding of how your body works.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, understanding your unique body mechanics and targeting ankle mobility can significantly improve squat performance and reduce injury risk,\u201d Glen says.<\/p>\n

Alexa Mellardo<\/p>\n

\t\tAlexa is a content strategist, editor, and writer based in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has 11+ years of experience creating content for travel, lifestyle, fitness, wellness, F&B, home, and celeb news publications.\t\t\t\t\tRead more about Alexa <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real talk: Ankle mobility can be a total buzzkill. If it\u2019s compromised, it can negatively impact your workout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1154,1630,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-150850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-exercise","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114611124109463496","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}