Ryan Butler shows how to test your ankle mobility with a broomstick, then walks through three stretches: the Combat Stretch, Achilles Wall Stretch, and Squat Rockers. Limited ankle dorsiflexion makes the bar tip forward in a squat and causes knee pain. Better ankle range of motion improves squat depth and training gains.
Here's a quick test for you to see if you need to keep watching this video. All you need is a broomstick, something just like a light pole like this. What you're going to do is first place it on your head, go arms straight above your head, get your feet in a good position, and then go ahead and just squat for me. Now, if you notice that when you squat, that bar falls forward just a little bit and you bend over at the waist, Well, it could be one of two problems. It could be some really tight hip flexors, or it could be an ankle problem, right? Some ankle mobility issue where you're not able to bend all the way. Um, and honestly, here at ResetU, we've worked with thousands and thousands of clients, and honestly, about 90% of them have some sort of ankle issues. So let me show you how it's done, uh, real quick to help your squat, to help you burn more calories, build more muscle, and to improve your overall gains. I'm Ryan Butler here with ResetU. Here are your 3 moves to help you, uh, fix your ankle mobility. First, what you want to do is go ahead, get a spot on the ground. This is going to be called the combat stretch. You're going to throw your leg out into like a lunge position, rotate it to the side like this, and then lean over on your knee to really put some stress and strain on your Achilles tendon right here. Right. It's what we're trying to stretch. Now, the reason that we really want to stretch this is because our shoes have a lot of this padding, right? If you got some Nikes, Nikes have those big high heels that actually tighten our Achilles tendon. So what we want to do is really start stretching that Achilles tendon, stretching that calf muscle. All right. So I'm feeling it all right here. Now I want to lift up my toes. Try and do it without your hands. It's going to be difficult, but what you want to feel is your shin just light up. All right. I'm trying to lift my toes. If you need to, go ahead, use a little assistance, but I'm still leaning forward. Now, one thing to watch out for is when you lean forward, don't let your heel come off the ground. Defeats the whole purpose. Okay. You got to keep that heel firmly planted. Feel the stretch, lift your toes, feel your shin light up, feel that Achilles tendon really stretch. All right, now go ahead and do that on each side. I would say 5 reps, all right, where you go forward and back each time, about 15 seconds. All right. Intense, good, hardcore stretch. The next stretch that I want you to do is the Achilles wall stretch. All you need is a pole, a wall, something around that you can place your foot on. All right. From here, you want to dig your heel into the ground, put your toe up on the wall, and then push that knee forward and stretch that calf muscle. Stretch your Achilles. All right. Get that muscle to release a little bit. Go ahead. Do a few reps like I'm doing right here. I'd say 5 to 10. The more I typically feel like is the better, just because you get to really release that calf muscle and really stretch that Achilles tendon. All right. And then finally, the last exercise, you will need a pole, especially if you don't have the hip mobility, um, to keep yourself stable. But I like to call these squat rockers. So what you want to do, go ahead, get down into a squat, holding the pole, make sure you have good posture, heels are on the ground, and then you just kind of want to rock back and forth, right? Forward and back. Even what we're trying to do is just really break up that fascia in your ankles. We're trying to, you know, help your ankle mobility, get that joint to move all over in its full range of motion. That way, when you squat, you can sit down low in this position with the bar on your back. All right. Now, if this video has brought value to you, please, please, please share this with your friends, because I guarantee you it will bring a ton of value to them. Help them squat a little bit better. Help them stay out of pain. Right. Because this will help with your knee pain as well. And overall, just live a healthier, pain-free lifestyle. So go ahead, subscribe to us on YouTube at Reset U Fitness. Go and follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and we'll help you out there.
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