Have you ever wondered how some people can squat with an upright torso? And you can’t??? For those of us that sit all day for work or school and those that sit for leisure, the sedentary lifestyle is seen as the new smoking. Our calf’s get tight and reduce our ankle mobility. Our hips get tight and the constant rounding of the low back causes stiffness. Then we go to the gym and wonder why we can’t squat. But what if I told you that the key to unlocking your squat was ankle flexion. You might not realize it but ankle dorsiflexion is responsible for the upright torso in a squat…
“Additional research when looking at the barbell back squat has shown that there was a significant relationship between greater ankle mobility and a more upright torso in a parallel squat position (24). A parallel squat in this study was defined as when the hip markers of the subject became lower than the average height of the knee markers when analyzed through 8 Qualisys ProReflex MCU 1,000 cameras and Qualisys Track Manager v.2.9 (24).” LaPlaca, David A. PhD, CSCS1; Seedman, Joel PhD, CSCS2. “The Importance of the Foot and Ankle in Athletic Performance”. Strength and Conditioning Journal: June 2021 – Volume 43 – Issue 3 – p 67-79 doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000598. Accessed 7 October 2021
firstfitness1.com 