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TOES LIFT while squatting?

MyKH3LL

MyKH3LL

Active member
Hi all,

Can someone help me find the source of my problem here? Whenever I squat, I find my toes want to lift...

Is this an issue with tight muscles or poor flexibility perhaps?

How can I fix this?
 
It is indeed likely a flexibility issue. Check out some hip mobility stretches etc to help with that. Also, the more you squat the more you'll essentially stretch yourself out and get better at the movement
 
Spaniard said:
It is indeed likely a flexibility issue. Check out some hip mobility stretches etc to help with that. Also, the more you squat the more you'll essentially stretch yourself out and get better at the movement
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Thanks bud.

So hip mobility stuff and glute stretches too? I feel like I have very tight glutes...

and hamstrings...

and calves.

I have a foam roller which I've been trying to use on my glutes and it seems to be helping loosen up those muscles at the moment.
 
All the way down to your calves, yup! A lot of times the posterior chain will have a large impact as well as hip mobility issues
 
goodvibes said:
I'm backwards, my heels get off the ground
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That's how I was also. My calves and hamstrings are/were crazy tight! It pulls on my lower back it's so tight. Make sure you're stretching bud, trust me, you don't want any injuries
 
Spaniard said:
That's how I was also. My calves and hamstrings are/were crazy tight! It pulls on my lower back it's so tight. Make sure you're stretching bud, trust me, you don't want any injuries
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Oh trust me I'm always having back pains. Fixing my form now and I'm using heeled shoes (romaleos).

How did you fix your form? I've been squatting like that for awhile I cnt squat any other way but ATG style.
 
goodvibes said:
Oh trust me I'm always having back pains. Fixing my form now and I'm using heeled shoes (romaleos).

How did you fix your form? I've been squatting like that for awhile I cnt squat any other way but ATG style.
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I picked up some lifting shoes and mad stretching bro. I interned with a pretty bad ass CSCS that showed me some legit stretches and with ALL the chiropractic work I've had done I kept all the stretches that seemed to help.

I don't go ATG though in fear for rotating my hips out and ****ing myself up again, so I just break parallel. At a certain age (I'm 29) I had to start going for longevity hahaha
 
I'll look into those stretches then. My doc doesn't really help. They all just tell me to stop squatting. The other told me to stop benching. -_-

I am utilizing front squats now as my main lift and been benching using DBs only.
 
If heels lift off ground then ankle mobility, if toes lift off then hip and possible ankle mobility. Also stopping at parallel after being used to ATG feels like you shorted yourself lol.
 
I go ATG. I really try to focus on sitting into the squat and ensuring my heels are planted but yeah, as I drop the toes wanna lift on their own accord.

I'm wondering, being a certain age myself (I'm 31) if I should be looking at longevity and not going as low. If for nothing but to save my knees, as I've been getting more knee pain lately... I think that could also be tight muscle related though. I'm tight everywhere and riddled with knots, even my chiro was shocked at how bad I was for my age haha.
 
Like others have mentioned its form/flexibility issue.

Imo, just keep squatting and let your body sort it out. My squat form was **** for quite awhile before I discovered what worked for me

My buttwink disappeared after continued squatting and after a period of time of experimentation and perserverance my form got good-looking aswell
 
Does the bar track over your heel as you squat? Are you leaning backwards some mid-lift? It's hard to tell without video, but bar placement and stance width could play a part too.
 
Doomzday said:
Like others have mentioned its form/flexibility issue.

Imo, just keep squatting and let your body sort it out. My squat form was **** for quite awhile before I discovered what worked for me

My buttwink disappeared after continued squatting and after a period of time of experimentation and perserverance my form got good-looking aswell
Click to expand...

letting the body sort it out does not always result in correct form though. Your butwink disappeared because increased squatting frequency increases the mobility of joints used.
The body tries to do the least amount of work possible, and will take shortcuts to do that, which can still be improper and cause damage in the long run
 
MyKH3LL said:
I go ATG. I really try to focus on sitting into the squat and ensuring my heels are planted but yeah, as I drop the toes wanna lift on their own accord.

I'm wondering, being a certain age myself (I'm 31) if I should be looking at longevity and not going as low. If for nothing but to save my knees, as I've been getting more knee pain lately... I think that could also be tight muscle related though. I'm tight everywhere and riddled with knots, even my chiro was shocked at how bad I was for my age haha.
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Do hip external rotation work and stretch the posterior chain and quads out. Hard to see without a video
 
Also sitting on your feet "traditional japanese style" is a pretty good quad stretch, and if you put your feet apart a bit it can help mobilize knees
 
You really want to spread your foot as much as you can to create maximum surface contact, it conducts force better that way. It sounds like you might be sitting a hair too far back. Hard to say without video though. Much better problem to have than heels coming up.

Before video, let me ask: How wide is your stance? How do your knees travel? By that I mean, are your shins vertical or do they go forward. Do you feel bound up in any way in the bottom of a squat?
 
goodvibes said:
I'll look into those stretches then. My doc doesn't really help. They all just tell me to stop squatting. The other told me to stop benching. -_-

I am utilizing front squats now as my main lift and been benching using DBs only.
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Right? And you look back at them, like "that's your fix???" Tell them to stop breathing hahaha
 
Spaniard said:
Right? And you look back at them, like "that's your fix???" Tell them to stop breathing hahaha
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Omg it never fails. Last year I saw 3 doctors (2 Orthopedics) and multiple physical therapy sesh. At the end I fixed myself.

Super cissus + DB benching instead of flat bench. Didn't miss a single week of chest day.
 
Instead of cueing yourself to ride your heels, cue yourself to ride the outside blade of your feet. This will help you open your hips, engage your glutes, and skwat efficiently. Also make sure you're forcing them knees out
 
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