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Your Squat Depth Is Limited by Your Ankles

The fault

Not getting to depth, and blaming the hips for it.

Why it happens

Most people assume depth is a hamstring or glute issue. Very often the actual limiter is the ankle, and no amount of hip work will move a problem that lives further down.

The fix

Address the ankles. If that is where your restriction is, depth improves quickly and the hip work you were doing starts to matter again.

About this fix
Originally published as "How to Improve Squat Depth" on 28 March 2016, part of The Lifting Fix, a free weekly weightlifting technique series Danny Lehr ran from June 2015 to December 2016. Every episode is free here and always will be. For the full structured course, see the professionally filmed program.

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