Mobility · Focus — Ankle
Heel-Elevated Bodyweight Squat
Squat patterning, quad strength, ankle-restricted squat adaptation
Minimum Effective Dose
1 min
The shortest time that still creates real, measurable change. Hit the dose and the benefit starts. Everything after is bonus.
Why it works
Elevating the heels removes the ankle dorsiflexion bottleneck, allowing you to train the squat pattern with better upright posture. It isolates knee and hip mechanics.
How to do it
Knee tracks. Slow down.
Stay in a clean range. Control down and up. No bounce. Heels elevated removes the ankle restriction. Knee and hip mechanics only.
- Place your heels on a small wedge, book, or plate
- Lower into a squat with a tall torso. Heel elevation removes the ankle restriction
- Stand back up with control and no bounce
- Stay in a clean range — control down and up
Related exercises
Pair with breathwork
Wind down after your session with a Shift breathwork protocol.