Fused ankle

[Dakotaunchained]

Hi Coach,
Before my gym closed, I added 155 lbs to my squat in 3 months. Also went from 180ish to 220 at 6’1. Looking forward to starting up again asap and thanks for your knowledge that got me this far.
Question: I bought my dad the Barbell Prescription. He’s 63 years old with no training history, but reading the book has motivated him to start. He had his ankle fused 8 years ago. How do we work around that? Any other general tips for him are appreciated.
Thank you

[Mark Rippetoe]

How much dorsiflexion does the ankle display?

[Dakotaunchained]

How do I measure that? When I have him get down into the squat position and push his elbows into his knees, he falls back. Maybe that would improve under weight? Does the fusion make mobility exercises futile?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Take a picture of his lower leg in whatever degree of dorsiflexion he can manage.

[Dakotaunchained]

Thanks for the feedback. Here is a picture of each leg for comparison. Max flex before the heel lifts.IMG-1124.jpgIMG-1125.jpg

[Mark Rippetoe]

The heels on his lifting shoes should be enough to allow a squat. If possible, find some old DoWins with a one -inch heel.

[m s]

The adidas leistungs 2 are another shoe with a 1 inch heel that should be easier to find.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The Adidas have a 1-inch net heel?

[m s]

The Adidas have a 1-inch net heel?

The net is greater than 1 inch. The effective height is 1 inch. I have a pair I use for the olympic lifts and notice a big difference vs a .75 inch heel.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Net is the offset between the ball of the foot and the heel.