How to Mobilize for Front Squat

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How To Mobilize Your Way In 4 Steps To A Better Front Squat

By

Sam Visnic NMT

www.SamVisnic.com

©2011 Sam Visnic

All Rights Reserved.

Warning!

This information is NOT medical advice, and does not replace

the diagnosis nor treatment of a licensed physician. This

report and related content is for information purposes ONLY.

Always seek the advice of a qualified health care

professional before beginning any health program. Any

actions taken as a result of reading this report and/or related

information is at your OWN risk. Endyourbackpainnow.com,

Sam Visnic, and all related affiliates and associates, assume

no liability as a result of actions taken on your part.

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#1: Improve Ankle Mobility

As you can see in the pic, the knee needs to move forward over the toes as far as possible in order to

allow proper depth of the squat while keeping the torso upright. If ankle mobility is limited, the knee

cannot move forward, and instead, the hips must compensate. This is also a common pattern in

individuals with weakness in the quadriceps at deep knee angles. In particular, the “tear-drop muscle”

on the medial side of the quadriceps, the vastus medialis (VMO), is highly active in deeper knee angles.

In order to avoid the deep knee flexion, the range of motion is cut at the knee and ankle, and the

individual is forced to sit back further into the squat.

How to Fix This:

-Stretching the Gastrocnemius and the Soleus: In particular, emphasis must be placed on supinating or

pronating depending on the individual to achieve the maximum range of motion increase. It should be

noted that some individuals may need additional load to stretch the calves such as a dumbbell or calf

machine, due to excessive tension or difficulty finding the stretch.




Gastrocnemius Stretch

Soleus Stretch

-Neuromuscular Therapy: General stretching may not produce the needed length necessary. Soft

tissue techniques can increase extensibility of the tissues and access deeper layers of the compartment

of the lower leg, such as the tibealis posterior, which are in-accessible through stretching alone.




#2: Improve Glute and/or External Hip Rotator Flexibility, and Hip Joint

Mobility

Flexibility imbalances in the hip during the squat lead to the inability to anteriorly tilt the pelvis. Since

pelvic tilt correlates directly with the position of the lumbar spine, this area is critical to address. As one

descends into the squat, the goal is to maintain the lumbar spine in extension. This is to protect the

spine against compression and shearing forces and of course to protect the spinal discs. When the hips

lack flexibility, the individual is forced to increase recruitment of the lumbar erectors in order to

maintain the lumbar lordosis. Of course, the worse the hip flexibility, the less chance of this actually

holding. As parallel is approached in the squat, the pelvis will cease to move, and the lumbar spine will

begin to flex if the individual continues to go deeper. At this point, there is a tremendous strain

particularly at the L-5/S-1 segment, as most trainees will “bounce” quickly out of the bottom position.

This requires a rapid eccentric/concentric contraction of the lumbar extensors, which, depending on the

load and/or the training volume, is a recipe for disaster.

How to Fix This:

-Stretching the glutes in multiple directions to influence the restricted fibers

-The 90/90 stretch for improving flexibility of the lower “deep 6” external hip rotators

90/90 Stretch

-Foam roll/softball rolling of the glutes and IT Bands: (The IT band attaches to approx. 80% of the glute

fibers on the posterior side, and thus, are strongly connected!)




Foam Rolling Glutes

-Neuromuscular Therapy: Soft tissue techniques focused on the deeper gluteal fibers, in particular, the

piriformis, glute medius, and additionally, the tensor fascia latae, will improve flexibility. Additionally,

hip mobilizations.

#3: Improve Thoracic Spine Mobility

Once ankle and hip flexibility is restored, the next common problem area that comes up is the thoracic

spine. The issue most frequently found here is lack of normal extension. Due to our lifestyles, faulty

exercise programming, and lack of postural awareness, the thoracic spine is commonly “stuck” in

flexion. Normal range of motion in the thoracic spine is 30-35 degrees. Most people will NOT fall into

this range, however, the bigger concern is not what the static spinal measurement is, but instead

whether or not the individual CAN extend their curve and get to normal range. Its generally agreed that

one should be able to near fully flatten their thoracic spine, or at least come decently close to doing so.

Measuring this accurately requires the use of inclinometers placed on the spine.

Limited thoracic spine mobility is a problem in the front squat because it simply doesn’t allow the torso

a more upright position. If you consider how much heavier a weight is in front of your body if you bend

forward 10 degrees, it becomes clear how lack of thoracic extension can make or break a 1 rep max lift.

Its common to see individuals with lack of thoracic extension to have difficulty getting the bar into

position, and cannot keep their upper arms parallel to the ground during the movement. This is because

of the extraordinary loading the rhomboids and traps receive in order to compensate for the imbalance.

These muscles simply aren’t strong enough to do the job. This is a strong cause for early fatigue during




strength endurance protocols. Now, you can imagine what happens if the next exercise in the protocol

is a pullup! Performance will suffer dramatically due to the state of “pre-fatigue” the upper back is in!

How to Fix This: Note: The thoracic spine gets a bit complicated, due to its role as the link between the lumbar and

cervical spine. General mobility work focusing JUST on the thoracic spine is definitely good, but

addressing cervical, lumbar, and in particular breathing imbalance problems are the key to getting the

best correction possible.

-Mobilizing the thoracic spine: This can be done simply by using a foam roller, and eventually

progressing to more rigid devices as tolerated. Its important to note that the foam roller is mostly useful

for mobilization the middle portion of the thoracic spine, as there is just not enough weight to mobilize

the upper portion, and it is not a good idea to mobilize anything lower than approx. T-8 without an

appropriately sized foam roll, or tennis balls, etc. In addition, rotation mobilization at minimum must be

included in the process. Upper thoracic mobilizations are included in the procedure to correcting the

cervical spine.

Foam Roll Thoracic Spine

Upper Body Rotation Stretch

-Neuromuscular Therapy: Percussion therapy with the Vibracussor, along with releasing the diaphragm

and abdominal muscles can significantly improve thoracic mobility and restore normal breathing

mechanics.




#4: Correct Flexibility Imbalances in the Shoulder Girdle

Outside of the sterno-clavicular joints, the only thing that keeps your arms and shoulder blades

connected to your body are muscles. The head-jaw/neck/shoulder unit is referred to as the “upper

quarter”. This area is so vastly complicated due to high degree of neurological complexity, that most

trainers and therapists don’t understand it, let alone address it with good mobilization and flexibility

work. The focus here with regard to improving the front squat is to make sure the upper arm can stay

parallel to the ground and the bar can be appropriately placed as to reduce the amount of workload to

the shoulders and upper back.

A common problem is lack of BALANCE in the rear delts, external shoulder rotators, and rhomboids.

Typically, the external shoulder rotators may present as limited in flexibility, along with the lats, teres

major and traps. In a number of cases, it appears the way to make the quickest improvement is to foam

roll the teres major. Since the teres connects the lower border of the shoulder blade to the upper arm,

excessive tension in it can cause the shoulder blade to move up pre-maturely when the arm is lifted.

This presents a problem in the front squat.

How to Fix This:

-Foam roll the teres major

Foam Roll Teres




Putting It All Together

I suggest that you perform this routine only once per day to start with, of course this all depends on your unique body, workout experience, and the severity of the imbalance. Over time, as you feel comfortable, you may progress to performing this routine up to 3x per day, until you have achieved the depth you desire for your front squat. I hope to have provided some excellent tools to help you on your journey toward correcting your posture, and get you the health and performance you desire. As always, I am open to your feedback and appreciate knowing about your successes with this program. I would love to hear from you, so send me an email letting me know how this program has helped you, or if you have questions you would like me to answer via my blog. Sincerely, Sam Visnic

Neuromuscular Therapist

[email protected]

Be sure to check out my blog at www.Endyourbackpainnow.com/blog




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How to Mobilize for Front Squat