Mobility for the Overhead Squat

“The overhead squat is to midline control, stability, and balance what the clean and snatch are to power - unsurpassed.” - Greg Glassman

For CrossFitters, the overhead squat is the epitome of movement and mobility required by the sport. It involves every joint of the body to have optimal mobility, it requires strength in those mobile positions, and it requires balance and coordination. Balance and coordination come with years of practice, as does the strength, but how can you get better in those areas if you can’t even get into the proper position? That is where mobility comes in.

Mobility is the primary prerequisite for the overhead squat. But what area needs mobility? In short, all of them. Let’s work from the bottom up:

Ankles

Ankles?! Yes, ankles. Ankles play a huge roll in any squat, and with weight overhead, they play an even bigger role. If your knees cannot translate forward over your toes, it causes you to have a more forward torso angle. That forward torso angle then causes more demand of your shoulder range of motion. Do you have limited ankle mobility? Check yourself with this test:

Place your foot a hands-width distance from a flat wall. Move your knee towards the wall in a straight line. If your knee can touch, you have adequate ankle mobility. If you cannot touch, you will want to work on your ankle range of motion. Here is a good exercise:

Stand with your heels off a step. Rise up on two feet, then slowly lower on one leg with a straight knee. Once your heel drops down as far as it can, push your knee forward as much as possible. Repeat on other side.

Upper Back (Thoracic Spine)

The other area of the body that often surprises athletes as needing a good deal of mobility is the thoracic spine, the part of your spine between your shoulder blades. In order to help keep as much of an upright torso as possible, the thoracic spine, which prefers flexion, must have extension mobility. Here is how to assess your thoracic extension/rotation mobility:

Sit on your knees with your butt on your heels. Place one elbow against your knee, and the other hand behind your back. Rotate towards the hand behind your back. You should be able to get about 50 degrees of rotation on both sides. If cannot achieve that, work on your thoracic mobility with this exercise:

Using a foam roller, find a stiff part of your spine. Hold a weight behind your head and use it to slowly bend back over the roller. Keep your feet off the ground to keep your low back from helping out with the motion. You should only be feeling a small movement in your upper back.

Shoulder

At last, we get to the shoulder. Probably the part you thought most important, right? You aren’t wrong, but as the shoulder already has a good deal of inherent mobility, we tend to see the shoulder compensate for lack of mobility elsewhere. This looks like the shoulder going into hyper-flexion, causing instability and front-of-the-shoulder pain.

Of course, you can certainly have shoulder tightness affecting your overhead squat performance. To test your range of motion:

Sit against a wall, grab a PVC pipe and hold it palms down and hands shoulder-distance apart. Raise your arms and try to touch your forearms to the wall. You should not arch your back to do this. If you pass this, flip your hands and try with palms facing up. If you are not able to touch your forearms in either position, you may need to work on your shoulder mobility. Here is my favorite shoulder mobility exercise:

Lay on a bench or box with a PVC in a grip shoulder-distance apart. You can add a weight to it for more stretch. Slowly lower the PVC over your head, keeping your back flat. Bring the PVC up quickly. You should not arch your back during this exercise.

I pass all of these tests, what now?

Is your mobility on point but you still have difficulty overhead squatting? Without watching you move, it would be hard to pinpoint where your limitation/s is/are. Sometimes, all you need is the right cue to change your position and improve your performance. Others will need specific strengthening drills, which we will cover in another blog post.

Tag me on Instagram @theresilientpt so I can see your overhead squat!