Heel Elevated Squats
Heel Elevated Squats
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The number one thing you can do to clean up bad looking squat is to simply elevate the heels on a wedge, board or 2.5 lb plate.
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In @certifiedfsc this is our go-to regression when any squat pattern needs to be cleaned up. In fact, for most people it’s probably in their best interest to start by using a heel elevated squat and progress to flat ground once they can demonstrate the necessary mobility and motor control.
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🔺Why Does A Heel Board Help You Squat?🔺
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🔸Posterior Weight Shift: Squatting with a heel lift is helpful because it forces the client to shift their weight posteriorly. The act of anteriorly shifting the trainee with a board is self limiting in nature because to squat correctly you have to shift your weight posteriorly. This makes for improved lumbo-pelvic mechanics, allowing the client to keep their pelvis under them during the movement. This will often be hugely helpful for clients who flex forward or experience “butt wink” when squatting.
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🔸Ankle Dorsiflexion Restriction: Elevating the heel allows you to squat from a position of relative plantarflexion, meaning it requires less total dorsiflexion to complete the squat pattern. If the client is dealing with a true mobility restriction in the ankle I would recommend working to correct the dorsiflexion restriction while still training on the heel board. Although I think it’s fine to continue squatting with assistance, restoring ankle dorsiflexion should be a priority for clients to achieve normal gait function.
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Give these a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments. 📲 👍🏽 For those of you interested in where we got the sweet heel board I’m using in the video, we actually had a client custom build them for us years ago. But luckily @perform_better sells them too!