A flat-footed squat requires that your heels remain in contact with the floor throughout the entire movement. This full foot contact establishes a stable base of support, contributing to safer movement mechanics and maximizing the activation of the major lower body muscles, such as the quadriceps and glutes. Maintaining a grounded heel prevents the body from shifting weight forward onto the toes, which reduces lifting efficiency and places strain on the joints.
Why Your Heels Lift During a Squat
The most common reason for heels rising during a squat is restricted ankle dorsiflexion, the movement that allows your shin to travel forward over your foot. Achieving full squat depth often requires 30 to 40 degrees of dorsiflexion. When the ankle cannot achieve this range, the body compensates by lifting the heel to shorten the distance the shin needs to travel forward.
Limited ankle mobility is frequently caused by tightness in the calf muscles, specifically the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The gastrocnemius crosses both the knee and ankle joints, restricting movement when the knee is extended. The deeper soleus muscle restricts ankle movement regardless of knee position.
Hip structure and mobility can also play a role in limiting squat depth. Structural limitations, such as deeper hip sockets, can limit the ability to externally rotate the hips. A lack of hip external rotation forces the knees to track forward excessively, demanding more ankle dorsiflexion than the joint can provide and leading to the heel lift.
The body compensates for insufficient range of motion by shifting its center of gravity forward to maintain balance. This mechanism pushes the weight onto the forefoot, causing the heels to lift off the ground.
Setting Up Proper Squat Stance and Technique
Establishing a technically sound setup can immediately improve your ability to keep your feet flat. A good starting point is a stance approximately shoulder-width apart, which provides a balance between stability and the ability to comfortably reach depth.
The toes should be turned out slightly, typically between 10 and 30 degrees. This external rotation aligns with the natural structure of the hip sockets, allowing the knees to track outward over the feet as you descend.
A helpful cue is to “screw your feet into the floor” before descending. This action creates an external rotation torque at the hips, engaging the glutes and stabilizing the foot arch. This ensures the entire foot, including the heel, remains firmly planted as you lower your body.
Throughout the movement, focus on pushing your knees outward, keeping them aligned with your toes. This maintains tension in the hips and ensures weight distribution across the mid-foot and heel. Bracing your core will also help maintain a more upright torso angle, reducing the need for extreme ankle dorsiflexion.
Mobility Exercises for Deeper Squatting
Targeting limited ankle dorsiflexion is the most effective long-term solution for achieving a flat-footed squat. The knee-to-wall drill is a simple and effective mobility exercise. To perform this, face a wall and place one foot a few inches away, then drive that knee forward toward the wall without letting your heel lift. Hold this forward position for 30 to 60 seconds to encourage a passive stretch in the ankle joint capsule and the soleus muscle. If you can touch the wall, slide your foot back slightly and repeat until you find the maximum distance you can reach while keeping the heel grounded.
To address the calf muscles, incorporate a standing calf stretch with variations. To stretch the gastrocnemius, stand with your hands on a wall, step one foot back, and keep the back knee straight while leaning forward. To target the deeper soleus muscle, repeat the same position but bend the back knee slightly, which isolates the stretch lower down the leg.
Hip flexor release is beneficial, as tightness can inhibit the hip’s ability to fully flex and externally rotate. The half-kneeling hip flexor stretch is performed by kneeling on one knee with the other foot forward. Gently push the hips forward until a stretch is felt in the front of the hip of the kneeling leg. Holding this stretch helps restore hip extension capacity that may be restricting the squat descent.
Temporary Solutions and Equipment Adjustments
While working on mobility, temporary solutions allow you to practice the squat pattern safely. Elevating your heels is the most common modification, done by placing small weight plates or a specialized wedge under them. This elevation mechanically reduces the required ankle dorsiflexion, allowing for a deeper squat with a more upright torso.
Alternatively, a pair of weightlifting shoes with a raised heel is a more stable equipment option that serves the same purpose. Using a heel lift allows you to maintain full foot contact, which reinforces the feeling of a grounded, stable squat while your ankle mobility improves. It is important to remember that this is a training aid to facilitate proper positioning, not a substitute for mobility work.
For some individuals, using a goblet squat variation, where a dumbbell or kettlebell is held vertically against the chest, can also help. The weight held in front acts as a counter-balance, allowing the lifter to maintain a more upright posture and sit deeper into the squat without losing balance or shifting onto the toes. This variation reinforces the correct squat pattern and is an excellent way to continue training the movement while addressing physical limitations.