You are welcome! The best person to answer this question would be a PT or sports medicine doc who understands where the pain is coming from and what kind of movement would be most supportive. But generally starting small and gradually working your way to deeper squats as you get stronger and your body gets a bit more used to the discomfort is a good basic approach. Check out the interview I ran a few days ago with the PT Dylan Peterson to learn more about navigating movement with pain!
Ooh tell me more about what’s happening! Is there a particular part of the movement when your heels lift? What happens if you focus on pressing down through your heels?
So when I start to sink into a squat I get about halfway down and my heels come up! If I try and push them down I feel like I'm going to fall over! ETA: I think my hamstrings are too tight...
- Are you wearing shoes (especially cushiony shoes) when you squat? If so, does it still happen if you try it barefoot?
- This can have sometimes have something to do with limited range of motion in your ankles. Some ankle stretches/mobilization work might help. I'd think more about tight calves/tight achilles than tight hamstrings. (You may very well have tight hamstrings but IDK if there's a connection!)
Also: A trainer-writer friend of mine wrote this great piece about this conundrum — give it a read. https://gmb.io/squat-heels-up/
Thanks so much for this! I do squats barefoot almost all of the time. I've been doing some ankle stretches anyway, just because I thought they were feeling tight, so hopefully it helps. I'll give that article a read!
This is super interesting. I am no biomechanist but I think there's a lot of good stuff here, and some things I'm not sure I agree with, in particular the idea that your shin has to be vertical at the bottom of a squat. This seems impossible without falling backwards! I was trained to look for the shin being parallel to the back, which is always going to be at at least a slight angle during a squat. But no harm at all in stretching your hamstrings and working on ankle mobility (the calf and soleus stretches here are great!). If you've been super-focused on that vertical shin idea, try letting your knees come a bit more forward. (That old thing about never letting your knees move past your toes is a bit out of date, don't stress about it too much.)
Amazing how many people think squats are done leaning against the wall! Great discussion and examples to coax people into this imperative anti-fragility exercise.
Thanks for this reminder and encouragement! What’s the best form and depth for someone with chronic knee pain?
You are welcome! The best person to answer this question would be a PT or sports medicine doc who understands where the pain is coming from and what kind of movement would be most supportive. But generally starting small and gradually working your way to deeper squats as you get stronger and your body gets a bit more used to the discomfort is a good basic approach. Check out the interview I ran a few days ago with the PT Dylan Peterson to learn more about navigating movement with pain!
Thanks for this! Any advice on how to squat without your heels lifting off the ground?
Ooh tell me more about what’s happening! Is there a particular part of the movement when your heels lift? What happens if you focus on pressing down through your heels?
So when I start to sink into a squat I get about halfway down and my heels come up! If I try and push them down I feel like I'm going to fall over! ETA: I think my hamstrings are too tight...
Interesting! A few thoughts, not exhaustive:
- Are you wearing shoes (especially cushiony shoes) when you squat? If so, does it still happen if you try it barefoot?
- This can have sometimes have something to do with limited range of motion in your ankles. Some ankle stretches/mobilization work might help. I'd think more about tight calves/tight achilles than tight hamstrings. (You may very well have tight hamstrings but IDK if there's a connection!)
Also: A trainer-writer friend of mine wrote this great piece about this conundrum — give it a read. https://gmb.io/squat-heels-up/
Thanks so much for this! I do squats barefoot almost all of the time. I've been doing some ankle stretches anyway, just because I thought they were feeling tight, so hopefully it helps. I'll give that article a read!
I think I read (or misinterpreted) about hamstrings here, although I don't know how accurate it is: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/you-still-dont-know-squat/
This is super interesting. I am no biomechanist but I think there's a lot of good stuff here, and some things I'm not sure I agree with, in particular the idea that your shin has to be vertical at the bottom of a squat. This seems impossible without falling backwards! I was trained to look for the shin being parallel to the back, which is always going to be at at least a slight angle during a squat. But no harm at all in stretching your hamstrings and working on ankle mobility (the calf and soleus stretches here are great!). If you've been super-focused on that vertical shin idea, try letting your knees come a bit more forward. (That old thing about never letting your knees move past your toes is a bit out of date, don't stress about it too much.)
Amazing how many people think squats are done leaning against the wall! Great discussion and examples to coax people into this imperative anti-fragility exercise.