Limited Ankle Flexibility/Mobility

[Christianrunsonfaith]

Good day! Wondering if anyone has experience flexibility/mobility in their ankles?

I ask because I noticed while watching a Dark Horse drill video that my heels come off the footrests when I'm in the catch phase, whereas Dark Horse's feet stay on the footrests entirely. It seems like this could be an issue that could stress my knees and spine.

Any advice on how to remedy this?

[Sakly]

Typically no big issue if your heels come up, as long as you put them down as fast as possible during your drive.
Problems with knees (and also hips/spine) are more likely driven by overcompression.
A video from the side can help much to identify.

[p_b82]

I have very limited ankle mobility - extremely tight achillies and calves; to such a degree i can't squat on my feet flat on the floor; unless I'm 3/4 sliding my heels always lift a little.

lowering the foot rests can mitigate it to a degree though, but there's a balance I found.

[Dangerscouse]

My ankles have very poor ROM, due to many sprains from playing basketball in my teenage years, so my heels never get flat at the catch. Don't worry about it, and use the advice above.

[Tsnor]

..I ask because I noticed while watching a Dark Horse drill video that my heels come off the footrests when I'm in the catch phase, whereas Dark Horse's feet stay on the footrests entirely.

Dark horse is great.

The "foot flat on footrests" from Dark Horse is a teaching aid. It's not how you'll eventually row.

DONT worry about ankle flexibility. It'll come, it's something you'll get for free with time. Work HIP flexibility instead. It's critical and not free. Work your overall rowing technique. If your heels stay down you'll row a bit short. If you are careful about not moving your seat after your handle stops moving at the catch then you can lift your heels now and be a bit longer.

Here is Dark Horse's video explaining why they teach heels down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6oYDu3EO6M transcript starts "... is it appropriate to lift your heels when you're teaching someone for the first time how to use the rowing machine: NO. Why? Because the minute that you allow someone to lift their heels, the hips slide underneath the shoulders. The minute you put someone's heels down, you eliminate the possibility of them putting their hips behind the shoulders. Does it shorten the stroke? Sometimes. BUT, we're teaching them good movement."

Here is a video of a GREAT rowers (oarsman?) - watch his heels. Video linked 4 mins in when he starts. https://youtu.be/vL_Sw3Cloxw?si=BBG2WLNSlL6u9h2P&t=251

Edit: Here's another Dark Horse video that's even clearer. Transcript starting at 1:17. I added teh bold font.
"is lifting your heels wrong? the answer is no.
It is not wrong to lift your heels when you're rowing,
however lifting your heels when you're just getting started on the movement when it's not done intentionally creates this whole upstream downstream effect where the body starts contorting into positions that we don't want it to be in. https://youtu.be/DpNHwVho6Fo?si=wxUC2cvJ_x4XYBgv&t=76