Your Squat Isn't the Problem. Your Ankles Are.

What the body does: heavy loading through the hips, spine, and shoulders, often at end range, often with fatigue accumulating across a training block.

Where it shows up: low back, shoulders, hips, knees.

Why it happens: the load is intentional, so the issue is usually mobility restriction plus accumulated fatigue rather than the weight itself. Limited ankle or hip mobility changes squat mechanics and the lumbar spine compensates. Shoulder complaints often trace to thoracic spine stiffness rather than the shoulder joint.

Worth naming: this group tends to train through discomfort and arrives late. They also respond well, because they're consistent.