Struggle To Deep Squat? It’s Probably This One Fixable Thing Holding You Back

Deep squat, Asian squat, Slav squat, resting squat… Whatever we want to call it, many in the West struggle with it.

Nevertheless, this struggle is entirely circumstantial, very fixable, and definitely not some kind of immutable law of the universe:

A strong foundation

A proper deep squat relies on four main factors:

1. Ankle dorsiflexion allows the toes to pull toward the shin.
2. Hip flexion and external rotation bring the thighs close to the torso while slightly rotating outward.
3. Knee flexion ensures the thighs and calves make contact.
4. Maintaining the center of mass over the midfoot is essential for balance.

Correspondingly, the reason for struggling can be a case of…

1. Limited ankle mobility, which prevents the knees from moving forward, shifting weight backward.
2. Tight glutes and weak hip flexors making it hard to bring the torso close to the thighs, often causing people to fall backward.
3. Quad tightness can also restrict depth if the thighs cannot meet the calves.
4. Proportionally longer femurs than average can cause extra difficulty as the pelvis shifts further back, requiring more knee travel for balance.

However, we said “one thing”, not “four things”, so what’s the deal?

For most people, we are told in this video, ankle mobility is the biggest limiting factor in achieving a deep squat. Thus, she recommends working on that, and (at the end of this video) links to another video with specifically ankle exercises.

For all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

The Secret To Better Squats: Foot, Knee, & Ankle Mobility

Take care!