Need a little squat tune-up?
Do squats hurt your knees? Do they feel goofy. Just don’t like em?
It’s not just you.
A lot of times, the akwardness with squatting comes down to one of a few things:
1) Your ankle mobility is limited.
Squats require a ton of bend in the hips, knees and ANKLES. If your ankles don’t like to bend (and this is COMMON), the depth of your squat will be very limited (making it a bit more hingey).
Try this: Prop your heels up. This takes some of the ankle mobility out of the equation and changed the range of motion required in your knees and hips (more in the knees, less in the hips).
It’ll get your quads firing like crazy and help make your squat more squatty and less hingey.
If you like, you can work your way back to the ground over time.
2) Your weight is shifted too far forward.
You’ll need to learn to shift your weight down and back.
Try this: Use a counter-balance to shift your weight back and get your butt DOWN while maintaining an upright-ish torso.
Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of you and aim to get your weight in your mid-foot (underneath your shoelaces… if you were wearing them. Although I like to picture you squatting barefoot…).
Slowly lower into your squat, elbows help pry open your knees, and keep your torso relatively upright.
3) Your foot stance is too narrow.
It’s a myth that your feet should be hip distance apart and that your toes should be facing forward. Y’all, there are at least 4 differently shaped pelvis types. You really think they’re all going to squat the same?
Try this: Open up your stance. Get your feet wider. Turn your toes up just a bit.
Your knees should track over your toes (let’s say, 2nd toe), but it doesn’t matter how wide your feet are or where your feet are pointing.
Bonus: Mix and match these tips. Try a wider stance, heels-elevated gobelt squat and see what happens.
Try these out- if they helped, drop me a note below!
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My mission is to make sure that having a baby is not a reason why you can’t do all the things.
Contact me if you have questions about exercise or pelvic health pertaining to pregnancy or postpartum. I also offer personal training services and consultations to folks locally (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland) and online.
Certified Prenatal & Postnatal Coach, Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach and Postnatal Fitnesses Specialist.
