trying to help friend with squat flexibility

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my buddy came to me interested in lifting so i gave him some reading material and he ended up getting starting strength off ebay. only problem is he's remained somewhat sedentary and has no real athletic background. he was showing me his deadlift and his squat form and the problem is he can't even squat without his heels coming off the ground. now, i'm no coach or kinesiologist but i'm guessing this is due to poor hamstring flexibility. how would he go about correcting this? besides the obvious "stretching" reply, i'd like to know what exercises, dynamic/static, how many seconds he should hold them for, etc. or maybe i'm way off base and have no clue what the fuck i'm talking about.

any help would be appreciated.
 
a lot of it has to do with technique usually. make sure he sits back and his knees are pointing the same direction as his feet. thatll take away the mechanical restraints of his knees (which is usually an issue in beginners). for stretching, look up pnf stretching on google and have him do that a few hours before or after lifting.
 
Stretching. Just like you and your friend read up on lifting, read up on stretching.

Enjoy.
 
Have him squat with a piece of wood or plastic beneath his heel. That makes it easier to squat deep. Then look up the third-world or Asian squat. Start by sitting in the ATG position holding onto a counter or something for balance, for about a minute a day, then eventually work towards holding on with just one hand, then none.
 
I'll offer my noobish, uneducated $0.02 since I also have hamstrings that are SLOWLY becoming more flexible.

Before you have your friend try to go deep, make sure to have him take the Squat Flexibility test here: http://www.exrx.net/Testing/FlexFunction/DeepSquat.html. Tight hamstrings will affect the lower back much more than the knees in my opinion. If he's going up onto his toes then it could be his calves that are not flexible enough. Joe Defranco recommends a static stretch of the calves before squatting if you're having trouble with the depth.

I also wish I would have started with Box Squats before Back Squats since they're helping me reach a good depth without the form issues causing my back to round.
 
Klotz said:
Then look up the third-world or Asian squat. Start by sitting in the ATG position holding onto a counter or something for balance, for about a minute a day, then eventually work towards holding on with just one hand, then none.
Click to expand...


It's amazing how much that helped me...didnt even really take that long to get used to it
 
It's a good idea to simply practice deep squatting. I like to align myself in between two large heavy objects (such as furniture)on each side. I'll squat down as far as I can normally go, then use my hands to grasp the objects and pull my squat deeper, like a forced stretch.

It works wonders for me.
 
I'm going to post a FAQ on flexibility someday soon. I just need to get around to actually writing it up.

But it's possible to reach the maximum Range of Motion in a joint even if you aren't flexible simply by doing enough dynamic stretching beforehand. Check out this page for some good basic dynamic stretches you can do.
 
Krossinc said:
It's a good idea to simply practice deep squatting. I like to align myself in between two large heavy objects (such as furniture)on each side. I'll squat down as far as I can normally go, then use my hands to grasp the objects and pull my squat deeper, like a forced stretch.

It works wonders for me.
Click to expand...

Same here. At work, usually at least twice a day, I'll just grab the desk and sink into the deepest squat I can hold and sit there for a minute. It's quick and easy and I can ATG without problems.
 
I see alot of guys in the gyn squatting on their toes. I'd have your friend practice with little to no weight on the bar, he should be able to get his heels down.

I found this Dan John seminar very helpful. (sit back, big chest...etc). As Donut said, sitting in a deep squat is great; some ohs with a broomstick may also help. For me OHS are one of those movements that force you to use good form (squat more upright).

Let me know if I've linked to the correct Dan John vid. I can't tell since I'm at work.
 
thanks for the suggestions guys

im waiting for him to get on MSN and he's probably going to be very upset he can't begin his program until he gets more flexible :D
 
No one has mentioned hip flexibility yet?

Here is a video. Do the stuff in it.

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Like others said, stretching will get him ready in no time. One of the things that I did when first starting is practicing bodyweight squats at home. I would just sit down as low as I could without breaking form and sit there. Do this over and over for a couple weeks and I'm sure he will be able to make depth or pretty close to it.
 
I found a simple exercise which almost entirely solved my heels going up problem in just a few stretches. You need to stretch the Achilles heel or something, and you can do that but simply going up to a wall or something (this works better in shoes with grip), putting your foot as near-vertical as you can in the corner between the wall and the floor, and leaning forwards as far as you can. Hold and count to 20, switch legs.
 
Why did STWACoach get banned? He seemed like he knew his shit.
 
There is a stretch in Starting Strength that Mark Rippetoe suggests you use to help squat specific flexibility. Basically, you squat down into your normal squat position and attempt to spread your legs using your elbows.

It's pretty effective, IMO.
 
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