Post-surgery ankle mobility for squatting & the eternal recovery timeline

Injury Diaries, Part 12. This is taking forever.

Nov 04, 2025

Read previous installments in the series.

The last couple months have been the most frustrating in my surgical recovery journey. I thought I’d be done with physical therapy and back to some form of running by the end of September, but instead — after pushing myself too far on a six-mile hike in early September — I found myself with worsening pain. I had to back off some of my hopping for a few weeks, and reintegrate exercises targeting my foot and toes. The running I thought I’d seen glimmering on the horizon turned out to be a mirage.

I thought about writing in the middle of it, but truthfully, I didn’t want to talk about it. Along with being frustrated with my body’s seeming incapacity to continue healing and improving, I was mad at myself for getting too ambitious about hiking and (likely) injuring my plantar fascia in the process. My fall goal of hiking more overshadowed my goal of fully rehabbing my ankle, and as a result, I wasn’t able to accomplish either.

The last couple weeks, though, have finally given me the hope that I will get there. Three Saturdays ago, after a lower body lifting session, I tested out some jogging on the turf outside my gym. My physical therapist had asked me during my previous appointment if I’d tried jogging and told me that heel striking is better for people with stiff ankles, so when I hit the turf, I went heels first. I was a little limpy at first, due to weakness, not pain, but as I warmed up, the limp faded. I was quickly winded, but jogging felt good.

A few days later, I went out again and jogged for a little longer. Then, October 25, I went out again and ran for the equivalent of two Kirk Franklin songs, because that’s the type of mood I was in.

This Wednesday, I went back to PT and gave my physical therapist the update. She had me jog for her in the hallway, printed off an official “return to run” plan, and after a few other exercises, sent me home. The first part of the plan has you run one minute, walk one minute, up to seven times, as a way to reintroduce the stress to your tissues and give them a chance to adjust. Once you can do that comfortably and without needing a few days to recover, you bump up to running two to three minutes, walking one minute, up to five times. I’ve already done more than that first phase, but I’m still going to do one minute on, one minute off the next time I jog.

I don’t want to speak too soon, but I might finally be getting somewhere.

In the meantime, these last couple weeks, I’ve also had the smoothest squat sessions since my surgery. It takes some time to prep my body for squatting because ankle mobility plays such an important role. But I’ve found a few things that help.

So in the interest of serving any other ankle-impinged lifters out there:

My Post-Ankle Surgery Squat Mobility Routine

I complete all of the following after warming up on a stationary bike. I also do hip prep in the form of bulldogs, pigeon stretch, and child’s pose. Unloaded drop squats help me find the right stance.

1. Static stretches I can’t skip

Kneeling-with-toes-tucked-under foot stretch: For my poor feet, which got somewhat destroyed over years working food service in bad shoes, not to mention my ankle injuries. 1 minute.
Standing quad stretch: Stand on one leg and hold my opposite foot behind me. Helps stretch out the front of my ankle, which gets super tight and stiff. 30-second hold, 3 times.
Basic calf stretch: With my hands on the floor, I plant my left foot flat on the floor and tuck my other foot behind it. 30-second hold, 3 times.

2. Kettlebell to the lower calf

How I do it: Sitting on the floor, I place my leg on the handle of a kettlebell so that the handle is just below the bulk of my calf muscle. I press my leg into the handle and try different angles until I find a tight spot. Then, maintaining the pressure on my leg, I raise and point my foot until I feel the spot loosen up.

What it does: Targets tight, stiff areas of the lower leg that impede ankle dorsiflexion.

3. Ugly cossack squats from the floor

A cossack squat is a lateral squat like this that emphasizes one leg at a time. My left ankle gets so stiff that I can’t do a regular cossack squat without the following pre-work.

How it’s done: Seated on the floor, I straddle my right leg outward and bring my left foot almost to my butt. I plant my left foot into the floor and lean my weight into that foot. I use my hands to help get up onto that foot. I hold in that lower position and press my knee over my foot a bit, then either rock back onto the floor or stand.

What it does: Initially, my heel will lift because of how stiff my ankle is, but after a few times, it’ll stay closer to the ground. I test regular cossack squats from the top to see how my mobility has changed. Once I’m able to get into a more normal position from the top, I do 10–20 regular cossack squats.

4. For when my ankle feels extra pinched

Extra-long standing quad stretch: I’ll hold the position a minute at a time and go diagonally so my right hand is holding my left foot behind me. This emphasizes the ankle more.
Banded ankle dorsiflexion stretch: With my foot on a box, I put a band around the top of my foot (lower ankle) and pull the band backward while pushing my knee over my toes. I make sure to also pull my knee backward to work the full range of motion of my ankle, but going forward is where I feel the pinch. I do this a few times until going forward feels more fluid.

Together, these help grease up my joint, get it unstuck, and loosen up what’s tight in and around my ankle. If I prep my ankle properly, I don’t notice it while I’m squatting. My left foot is able to push properly through the movement, and I can hit decent depth.

Women's Barbell Club

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?