Heel Elevated Squats: Form, Technique & Benefits

A heel-elevated squat is a back squat variation that uses elevated surfaces placed under the heels to compensate for poor ankle mobility.

People with bad ankle mobility use heel-elevated squats and their variations to experience benefits from squatting without using compensatory movements that often lead to injuries and the development of muscle imbalances.

The heel-elevated squat is often provided to athletes returning after injuring their ankle.

The main goal is to get the athlete back in shape as fast as possible without waiting to lift weights due to limiting ankle mobility [1].

However, a wide population and regular gym goers have recently become aware of this squatting variation, so it has become mainstream and often performed without any prior consideration.

Healthy people should never strive only to perform heel-elevated squats because the first solution is tackling ankle mobility before residing for the worse alternatives [2].

"The heels-elevated goblet squat is one heck of a warm-up exercise. It’s also a good postural tool and, above all, absolutely demolishes your quadriceps — and you don’t have to lift heavy to reap all those benefits, either."

- Jake Dickson, Certified Personal Trainer

Elevating your heels gives you an edge in squats because it compensates for poor ankle mobility and the inability to perform sufficient ankle dorsiflexion.

Elevating your heels changes the structure of the squat exercise, allowing for more pressure to be placed on the knees, which is the biggest downside of this exercise, alongside developing dysfunctional strength.

Both squat variations, conventional squat, and heel-elevated squat target the same muscles.

However, the elevated heels will change the original squat form and allow for deeper squat depths for those with impaired ankle mobility, i.e., poor dorsiflexion.

A raised heel squat should only be performed by those who injured their ankle, resulting in a limiting range of motion, or those with permanent ankle ligament damage, meaning there is no chance of fully recovering a healthy range of motion.

If you are a healthy person who recently tweaked his ankle a little, there is no need to transition to these squats as you will only build the strength you can never use.

Michael Boyle, the head of America’s Olympic team for strength and conditioning, says this in his book about advances in functional training. He calls it building dysfunctional strength.

Learn More: Exercises to Increase Ankle Mobility and Flexibility

Elevated heels due to weight plates or squat wedges will purposefully increase the depth of your squats.

The depth will be achieved by performing additional bending in your knees instead of in your hips.

However, this doesn’t mean the regular squat depth is the same as the depth achieved by performing heel-elevated squats.

This depth can even become malicious as it can trick you into believing you can achieve proper squat depth and have sufficient ankle and hip mobility.

Improved Stability

There is no doubt you will be more stable when elevating your heels, and this is because there won’t be excessive bending forward with your torso due to insufficient ankle dorsiflexion.

The stability component is crucial for lowering the risk of potential injuries and performing the technique correctly, efficiently, and without flaws.

Proper technique isn’t only important for avoiding injuries and performing the exercise optimally without sacrificing energy for compensatory movements [4].

This is also why top athletes and players always spend the least energy during competitions.

For example, a top-rated NBA player such as LeBron James will always cover the least distance during a game.

This is not only because he knows when he needs to run but also because he perfected the technique of running, jumping, shooting, and passing according to the current needs on the court (not in the sense of having a perfect running technique overall, but for the conditions of the game).

You are bound to increase your lower body strength when performing heel-elevated squats.

However, this is not a long-term solution since you will mostly build dysfunctional strength.

The best choice is to opt for proper recovery or mobility training that will rejuvenate your joints and bring back lost ankle mobility.

Targets the Quads

This is a benefit and a downside at the same time because heel-elevated squats will put more pressure on your knees, which will result in bigger muscle hypertrophy [5].

Because your weight will shift forward due to the elevated heel position, your knees will be under more pressure, requiring your quads to work more and extend the knee or hold it in an isometric position.

The more you bend in your knees instead of your hips, the more chance of developing quad strength and hypertrophy.

Related: Best Quad Exercises For Building Strength and Hypertrophy

Performing raised heel squats is not the long-term solution if you face poor ankle mobility and dorsiflexion.

You should only perform these heel-raised squats in the initial stages of recovery after getting injured.

Getting back your ankle mobility should be the primary focus when you start rehabilitation.

Heel-elevated squats serve as the best possible current alternative, which is to be abandoned immediately after you return to your injured joint's normal functioning.

The higher the surface that elevates your heels, the less stress will be placed on your posterior chain muscles, such as your glutes and hamstrings.

The only way to solve this problem is to remove the squat wedges since that is the only way to force your torso to bend forward in your hips.

The posterior chain muscles that will suffer from inactivity include:

• Gluteus medius
• Gluteus minimus
• Gluteus maximus
• Biceps femoris
• Semitendinosus
• Semimembranosus

Kettlebell squats are the same exercise as dumbbell squats but are more functional because of the kettlebells.

This is because kettlebells allow the most significant range of motion at any exercise due to their design and handle.

How to Perform Kettlebell Squats

1. Pick two kettlebells of appropriate weight so you can perform 10 consecutive reps without making a pause.
2. Assume a standing position, feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, and ensure your feet are slightly turned outward to allow for greater squat depths.
3. Let the kettlebells hang in your hands near your body, like in the previous exercise with dumbbells.
4. Start the exercise by initiating the triple flexion - bend your hips, knees, and ankles simultaneously to transition to the bottom of the squat.
5. Hold that position for one second when your inner thighs become parallel to the ground.
6. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
7. Repeat for 4 sets, 10 reps, and rest for 2 minutes between the sets.

Spanish squats are my favorite because they are excellent for athletes and will introduce enough versatility to your workout to avoid monotony and keep your motivation high.

We will use an exercise ball with a barbell to perform Spanish squats this time.

How to Perform Spanish Squats With an Exercise Ball

1. Place the barbell on the floor and load it with the appropriate weight so you can perform at least 8 reps.
2. Bring one exercise ball and place it against the wall. Place the loaded barbell in front of the exercise ball.
3. Get in between those two pieces of equipment and put the exercise ball between your middle back area and the wall so it “hangs in the air.”
4. Step over the barbell so it becomes located between your feet in front and the wall behind.
5. Take a pronated grip with your hands and lift the barbell with your hands extended slightly behind your back.
6. Assume a three-quarter squat position with the barbell hanging in your hands below your butt and an exercise ball placed between your middle back and the wall.
7. Start the exercise by squatting down while allowing the ball to roll and help you achieve the desired squat depth.
8. When your thighs parallel the ground, reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
9. Repeat for 8 reps, 4 sets, and rest between 2 and 5 minutes between the sets.