Lost Keys to a Deep Squat – Assessing Hip Internal Rotation

Being able to get into a deep squat is extremely challenging for many people and information on how to improve your squat mobility is sometimes missing a few key points.  I’ve covered this topic thoroughly with several exercise demonstrations in many previous posts.  One often overlooked but very important keys to a deep overhead squat is having adequate hip internal rotation.  If you’re lacking hip internal rotation then when you hit the bottom of a squat your feet will end up spinning out.  If you have a client whose feet are always spinning out at the bottom of a squat despite your cueing, then you’re going to be wanting to check hip internal rotation.

Keep in mind that everyone is going to have different shaped hips and varying levels of hip rotation as a result.  Some people will naturally have more rotation then others just because of the way their bones are shaped.  Things like femoral version, cam and pincer deformities and femoral rotation change from person to person and will likely affect their ability to rotate at the hip.

Because of this it’s important not to stretch through a painful pinching sensation.  However, if someone is limited by a capsular or muscular restriction we can work on that.  Before you go willy nilly on hip rotation first you’ll need to assess if you’ve got a hip internal rotation problem.

If you’re not hitting 40 degrees on both sides then you’ve got some work to do.  Next part we’ll go over my favorites for improving hip internal rotation.

My hip internal rotation is so bad,

Dan Pope DPT, CSCS

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