strengthing and improving flexibility in heels

Question

I've got one of those lazy "Ididntexerciseinalongtime" heels which is causing improper form on my squats. I've spoken to some knowledgeable fellas at my gym and they pinpointed my weakness in my squat form is my heels and their inability to flex when coming down (they lift up).

My stats are 5foot9 (175cm) I'm 80kgs, 28 years old and as I first said, I haven't done a lot of exercising for a good 5 years.

My personal trainer told me to stick some 5kg plates under my heels which has helped tremendously on my squat form, but I shouldn't and don't want to rely on doing my squats forever this way. He also gave me some stretching tips to try and gain some flexibility into my heels, which were doing free weight squats at home and squatting as low as I can go while maintaining my heel to the ground with both legs in uniform (1 leg in front of the other).

I'm squatting 80kgs easily, to the point that I need to lift a heavier weight, but it'd be pointless to squat heavier with a crappy form (even with a mediocre form using the plates, I'm a bit worried I'll damage my knees). Specifically doing back squats, although I am practising front squats for power clean form.

Is there any other exercises or something I can do to gain some more flexibility in my heels?

[edit 29/03/2011] Added Youtube links showing me doing my squat

1. Olympic Bar only back squat (no plates under heels)
2. 60kg Back Squat (plates under heels)

My bad on the recording them wrong way round (I wasn't filming obviously! ;).

Answer 1

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but after watching the videos you posted, what you are doing is barely a half squat. Your technique is pretty damn far off and it has very little to do with "heel flexibility". I strongly recommend that you start from scratch.

1. Pick yourself up a copy of Starting Strength. This book should be a pre-requisite for entering a gym. It is, by far, the single best resource I've seen for teaching the basics of strength training: detailed instructions on each lift, the effects of the exercises, a simple beginners routine, and everything else you need to know. You'll learn from this book that a proper squat includes the hip joint dropping below the knee (as seen from the side), heels flat on the ground, knees out, back locked in extension. Getting to proper depth makes an enormous difference in the difficulty of the squat, engages far more muscles, and keeps your knees safe. If you want to get strong, learn to squat properly.
2. Other useful guides to squatting include Stronglifts squat guide, Starting Strength wiki (see the squat section for a preview of the actual book's contents), Squat Rx video series and the Crossfit exercises page.

Answer 2

I'm assuming you're doing a classic squat with feet and knees hip-width apart, knees pointing in the same direction as the toes and bending to 90 degrees at the lowest. In safe squatting form, in which knees stay above the shoelaces, the ankles are not too deeply flexed, so you shouldn't need any more flexibility than you'd need to walk.

If your heels are coming off the ground, this is a sign that you're letting the knees come too far forward. This is a common "cheat" that makes the exercise much easier for the quads. However, it is dangerous, because it puts a lot of strain on the knee joint. Besides, the quads are one of your main targets, so you want to target them, not avoid them.

A trick for correcting this is to lift all ten toes inside the shoes and try to keep them lifted throughout the squat. This forces you to send your hips out behind instead of letting your knees come forward.

Stand sideways to a mirror with no weight and check out your form. If your knees jut out beyond your shoelaces, keep working with no weight until you can get those knees back. On the way down, try to move your hips back before moving your knees at all. On the way up, try to send your hips upwards instead forwards. A trick is to extend to arms forward to counterbalance. It's a bit of a crutch, but it will train your muscles to contract in the right combination. Once you have the form, slowly begin to add weight. Setting the bar lower on the back of the shoulders can help keep you in good form (source). If you add so much that your heels pop off the floor again, you're lifting too much. You'll gain more strength in your quads by lifting less weight in proper form.

All that said, if you still want to work on ankle flexibility in a way that's relevant to a squat, you should do a soleus stretch. Since the knee is bent, it stretches the muscles more similarly to a squat than a straight-leg calf stretch.

Answer 3

Are you in any pain? If you are in pain, you might want to consult a physical therapist/sports doctor before trying to exercise your heels.

If you aren't in pain, you can go up and down on your tippy-toes to work your heels using body-weight or you can do standing calf raises if you have access to a gym. The machine will allow for a deeper stretch and standing on steps (from a staircase/stairwell) will work the same if you want to start off with body-weight (recommended). And stretching your heels using regular stretches as well as manually (i.e. bending the foot one way and back and holding) would be sufficient to stretch it.

Answer 4

It could be a number of things and various ways to approach it. I had a similar problem due to leaning forward to much, so instead of standard squats, I first focused on front squats (weight in the front - either barbell or dumbbells) and also picking my toes up. This helped me feel how my body should be for standard squats. I also spread my feet out a bit and pointed my toes out a bit once I started standard squats.