Lots of people have trouble with getting good depth on squats, including me. There are various assessments to help determine the problem(s). A couple of them keep popping up online--including from some sharp trainers--that aren't so good. They're not useless, but they don't show what some trainers think they show. In case you're looking around the 'net for answers to your squat depth questions (and who isn't?), here are a couple to approach with caution.
A brief synopsis of the video:
- Holding a weight in front of you to "activate your core" is often misinterpreted to mean a lack of core strength is to blame. But the test is really more about physics than kinesiology.
- Putting a board under your heels to get depth can be misinterpreted to indicate poor ankle dorsiflexion (closing the angle from the toes to the shin). Maybe, but probably not: you don't need a whole lot of dorsiflexion to get squat depth. (Single-leg squats are another story.) Again, physics is involved as raising the heels shifts the body's center of mass forward, helping prevent the backward tipping that so often happens.
Are the assessments useless? No--they can at least show sufficient hip mobility, etc. But be careful about misinterpreting results.
Not everything you read on the internet is true. Except on this site, of course. Yeah!
Be seeing you.
-gary