How Anterior Pelvic Tilt Influences Your Squat Depth

When it comes to improving squat depth, most athletes will spend the majority of their time chasing hip and ankle mobility. I completely agree that these things are drastically important to squat performance, but one crucial consideration is often completely lost - pelvic positioning. Although there are two directions the pelvis can tilt in, anterior pelvic tilt (forward tilt) and posterior pelvic tilt (backward tilt), our main concern will be how anterior pelvic tilt (APT) affects squat depth.

Whether you’re a powerlifter, CrossFitter, Olympic weightlifter, or are training traditional strength and conditioning, squat depth is important for multiple reasons.

1. It allows you to train your joints through a greater range of motion (healthy for the joints)
2. It offers the opportunity to bring the muscles through a deeper stretch under loading
3. You’re able to catch a heavy barbell closer to the ground during the Olympic lifts
4. You won’t “fail a lift” in a competition due to lack of depth

My goal here is to help you better understand how the position of your pelvis may be affecting your squat depth and potentially creating uncomfortable symptoms that are disguised as mobility issues. In this article, we’ll be chatting about:

• How anterior pelvic tilt affects your hip mobility
• Common symptoms that may be experienced due to anterior pelvic tilt
• Finding your ideal squat stance
• How most people end up in an anterior pelvic tilt during their squat and how to fix it

Let’s jump into it!

Understanding Anterior Pelvic Tilt and its Impact on Squat Depth

The pelvis is a butterfly-shaped bone structure that acts as a connection point between the lower body and the upper body by attaching to the hips and the spine. Due to this relationship with the rest of the body, the moment the pelvis begins to shift positions by tilting either forward or backward, it naturally has a positional impact on the areas that it immediately connects to - the hips and the lumbar spine.

When we bring our pelvis into an anterior pelvic tilt, two things happen:

1. Our hips move into deeper ranges of hip flexion
2. Our lumbar spine moves into deeper ranges of extension

This is important information because this means that the position that our pelvis is in has a direct impact on how the hips and spine will perform through the squat pattern.

Defining Anterior Pelvic Tilt and Squat Depth

If at this point it isn’t clear, anterior pelvic tilt is when the pelvis tilts in a forward motion. This can be a static position or a dynamic movement. What I mean by this is that the athlete may naturally be resting in an APT position, or they may guide themselves into that position while initiating the squat.

If you take a moment to go back to when you were taught to squat, you may have been told some iteration of “sit your hips back”. While this cue was always intended to initiate the squat while avoiding “too much” knee-over-toe mechanics, it may have inherently had a drastic influence over the position of the pelvis.

The same athletes that have adopted this mechanical pattern in their squat will often begin to notice poor squat depth, tight hips, pinching in the hip flexor area near the bottom of the squat, and even a butt wink (flexion of the lumbar spine at the bottom of the squat). All of which can be mitigated or avoided completely simply by adjusting the position of the pelvis.

Mechanics Behind Squatting with Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Now, an important thought to remember here is that our joints only have a certain amount of range of motion. Think of it as a glass of water. The glass only has so much space within it for the water to take up; once the water is filled to the brim, you can no longer pour any more water into the cup without the water compensating by spilling over. The same goes for our joints. You can only take it through its full range capacity before it begins to compensate by recruiting movement from other areas. If some of that range is taken up before the squat pattern even begins, there is less range to offer to the movement pattern.

Impact of Anterior Pelvic Tilt on Hip Range of Motion

The main influence that a forward pelvic position will have in the squat pattern lies at the hips. Considering the pelvis is the location at which the hips connect, as soon as we tilt our pelvis forward or backward, there is a change in hip angle. When the pelvis tilts in an anterior direction, the hips will move into flexion.

This is an important consideration to remember because as soon as our pelvis moves into an anterior tilt, it removes some squat depth capacity. This really just means that we will reach our end-range hip flexion earlier in the squat pattern. Once we reach our end-range hip flexion during the squat, if we were to attempt to achieve more squat depth, we would then be required to recruit some range of motion from other areas, as the hips no longer have any range to offer to the pattern. When the hips need to recruit range as compensation, they will pull from the pelvis first. This is where that pesky butt wink commonly stems from (not the only case, but certainly a common one).

Addressing Common Issues Associated with Anterior Pelvic Tilt in Squats

Anterior pelvic tilt isn’t only a concern for a reduction in your ability to squat to full depth…it can also flare up a few annoying symptoms that can easily be avoided entirely by adjusting the position of the pelvis, which might be easier said than done.

Before diving into some tips on finding your ideal squat stance, let's have a quick look through three common symptoms and compensations that can stem from squatting with the pelvis in an anterior tilt.

1. The Butt Wink (which we’ve mentioned a couple times now, so let’s clarify what this is and why we shouldn’t necessarily fear it)
2. A “pinching” sensation at the hip flexors when you reach the bottom of the squat
3. Low back discomfort at any point during the squat

1. The "Butt Wink" 🍑😉

Ah, the butt wink. Such a cute name for such an annoying compensation. Now, I’ve mentioned the winking butt a few times in this blog already, but I want to make sure you understand what it is. Essentially, as you are reaching the bottom of your squat movement, if you are displaying a butt wink compensation, your pelvis will tilt in a posterior (forward tilt) position and cause a visible flexion of the lumbar spine. This lumbar flexion will force the hips forward as well and create a “wink” of the glutes as they tuck under the body in order to follow the direction of the hips.

Here I’m doing my best to perform a butt wink compensation to show you how this might look 👇

Many coaches and athletes are highly concerned with the butt wink (and demonize this compensation as a surefire way to induce a disc injury) during the squat pattern, as it will inevitably cause loading to the lumbar spine under flexion. While this certainly could be a concern if this is causing discomfort, pain, or performance issues, understand that lumbar flexion during movements is a normal part of our squat and hinge patterns.

Although, in many cases, we idealize a neutral spine, the spine naturally moves into certain ranges of flexion that may be non-visible to the eye. While I certainly agree that a neutral spine during squats is definitely more optimal as it will allow us to utilize positions that we are inherently stronger within, I don’t believe that creating fear around flexion is necessary. Let’s try not to fear the butt wink but instead to better understand it. That way, we can know if and how we should be approaching it.

If you’re curious to learn more, Greg Lehman has an incredible article written on the topic of spinal flexion under load. You can read it here.

2. “Pinching” Discomfort Of The Hip At Bottom Of The Squat

Now, this is a pain in the ass (dad joke). Many athletes will complain of a pinching sensation at the bottom of their squat, which limits their ability to train a deep squat due to fear of approaching the painful ranges of motion. There are two main reasons why the pinching might be happening.

1. As mentioned above, when our pelvis is tilted in an anterior direction it will naturally place the hips into hip flexion. When our hips are in flexion, our hip flexors will begin to shorten as a result. Keeping in mind that a visible “bounce” at the bottom of the squat is very common, this bounce can place a lot of additional stress on the hips. If the hip flexors are already at their shortest end range when reaching the bottom of a squat, this bounce can force additional pressure onto the hip flexors to shorten even further.
2. Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI). This is definitely a challenging and frustrating situation to deal with. FAI is when the femur or the acetabulum (hip socket) bones are irregularly shaped, causing them to rub against one another. If this is the situation, it would be helpful to have a conversation with a professional to see what you can do to mitigate the harmful challenges that this could create over time (FAI may create an increased likelihood of osteoarthritis).

Low Back Discomfort During The Squat

As mentioned above, an anterior pelvic tilt also means hip flexion and lumbar extension. Now, considering that the barbell squat will load your body, you are creating pressure through the spine (particularly in the case of a barbell back squat). While this certainly isn’t a bad thing, if our spine is out of a “neutral” position, then that pressure will also transfer stress through the discs that are out of alignment’ which they may not be prepared to handle.

It’s truly quite simple. The pelvic tilt will put you into a position that you may not be prepared to handle loading within, and loading is just placing stress directly on joints rather than muscle tissue that is designed to adapt to and manage the stress.

Finding Your Perfect Squat Stance

Okay, I’ll just hover over this topic because we have an entire ebook (which is free btw) on it…if you’re curious about understanding how your anatomy, anthropometry (the length of your bones), and mobility will have an impact on where you will find the most comfort and power in your squat stance, definitely have a read-through. Download it here.

Alright, so many of us were taught to squat shoulder (or hip) width apart, toes slightly pointed open, and hips down and back. While this might be a cool place to start teaching someone how to squat, it certainly shouldn’t be the end of the road. Just like a beautiful little snowflake, our bodies are all unique in many ways. This means that your ideal squat stance (the stance in which you feel most comfortable, confident, and powerful within) can be vastly different from the person squatting next to you.

My #1 piece of advice here is to not settle in your squat stance. Continue to play around with it throughout the years, as it is subject to change depending on the position in which the barbell is placed on your body. The different barbell positions create a shift in the center of mass which automatically changes the dynamic of the squat mechanics. For perspective, the front squat and low bar back squat are two completely different squat movements. They look and feel vastly different. The videos below demonstrate.

Additionally, if we are placing our feet in a less-than-ideal position for our body, it can cause our hips to be positioned in a funky way within the pelvis, which can influence the position of the pelvis throughout the squat pattern.

Pro Tip: Always use your first set of squats with an empty barbell (or very light loading) to simply move through the squat pattern and play around with the foot positioning. Keep this perspective to help you find the groove and know what feels best. Then start loading it up; no need to overcomplicate it!

So How Do We Fix Anterior Pelvic Tilt?

Now that we know the positions in which APT puts our hips (flexion) and lumbar spine (extension), we can start to see the approach that is necessary to improve it.

If you might think that I’ll suggest approaching this strictly with mobility training, you’re wrong. While there are some things we can do to help this from a mobility perspective, simply becoming more conscious of the pelvic position during the squat pattern can make a drastic difference. It’s all about proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body.). So let’s break this portion down into two sections and give some quick tips.

Proprioception:

• Take some time before initiation of the squat movement to feel where your pelvis may be placed
• Find the squat stance that you feel best in for that particular squat on that particular day
• Move slowly during your warmup sets to truly feel the pattern and discover if your pelvis is trying to move throughout the squat

Mobility:

• Improve length and strength in opposite functions that the pelvis places us within (hip extension and spinal flexion)
• Develop better pelvic control through strict pelvic movements
• Improve hip flexion strength WITHOUT allowing the pelvis to tilt posteriorly to compensate

Here are 3 great exercises to play around with!👇

Eccentric Hip Flexor

Seated Hip Flexor Liftoff

Lumbar CARs

FAQs in Relation to How Anterior Pelvic Tilt Affects Squat Depth

Does anterior pelvic tilt affect squat?

Yes, anterior pelvic tilt can affect depth, comfort, and overall performance throughout the squat.

What affects squat depth?

There are 3 main things that can affect squat depth - anatomy, anthropometry (length of your bones), and current mobility.

Does hip mobility affect squat depth?

Absolutely. Squatting requires us to move through deep ranges of motion through our hip rotation and hip flexion. Mobility limitations here can limit the amount of depth we’re able to achieve.

Conclusion

I hope at this point, I’ve made it relatively clear that an anterior pelvic tilt is not inherently dangerous or will automatically create an environment prone to injury. It’s not cut and dry like this. Rather, an anterior pelvic tilt in the squat is generally a less-than-optimal position for the pattern. In most cases, it doesn't allow the athlete to perform at their highest level. A neutral pelvic position will offer the athlete the opportunity to engage their muscles appropriately and load their body in a way that they are best prepared for.

The goal for us at Primal Mobility is to NEVER create fear around movement but instead to educate in a way that allows you to approach your challenges with an open mind around movement and strength as a productive solution. One of the 10 Primal Principles that we teach all of our students through the Primal Mobility Certification is: There are no dangerous positions, just a lack of preparedness. Removing fear from movement allows us to reduce the onset of pain and minimize its existence in the presence of it. This is part of our mission.

If you haven’t yet and are curious to learn more, you should consider downloading our Squat Stance Ebook. It’s free and has some cool knowledge in there that could change how you perceive the squat. Again, you can check it out here.

If you want additional support in helping you improve your squat performance, and reduce pain, schedule a call with our Head Coach, Bekah. She’ll be able to give you all the details of our coaching packages and point you in the right direction that suits your goals and needs. 

Cheers!