I think that your knees and hips aren't taking as much of the bend as they should be.
Putting the plates under there should help. If your weight truly is in your heels and your glutes aren't firing, that sounds like you've got a weak posterior chain and your body isn't used to turning that on. I bet that the ankle mobility issue has caused you to overdevelop your quads and that's why they take all the strain on the squats.
These are similar to the problems I had with my own squats. Weak posterior chain is incredibly common in our culture.
Regarding your followup message about being able to hold a weight in front of you to keep you balanced: DING! Yes, that is EXACTLY what I used to have to do, as well.
You are definitely not screwed in the squats department. Not yet. Next time I see you in person, let's go over some basic build-ups to squats (I even have an old therapy band that you can borrow) and how to develop your posterior chain in everyday habits, not just the gym.
Edit: Just because you can't get ass-to-grass in a squat doesn't mean you fail at squats, either. Parallel-or-below is the ideal, but as long as your posterior chain is firing through the whole lift, you're still getting benefit from the movement. Even if you never quite get to parallel.
no subject
Putting the plates under there should help. If your weight truly is in your heels and your glutes aren't firing, that sounds like you've got a weak posterior chain and your body isn't used to turning that on. I bet that the ankle mobility issue has caused you to overdevelop your quads and that's why they take all the strain on the squats.
These are similar to the problems I had with my own squats. Weak posterior chain is incredibly common in our culture.
Regarding your followup message about being able to hold a weight in front of you to keep you balanced: DING! Yes, that is EXACTLY what I used to have to do, as well.
You are definitely not screwed in the squats department. Not yet. Next time I see you in person, let's go over some basic build-ups to squats (I even have an old therapy band that you can borrow) and how to develop your posterior chain in everyday habits, not just the gym.
Edit: Just because you can't get ass-to-grass in a squat doesn't mean you fail at squats, either. Parallel-or-below is the ideal, but as long as your posterior chain is firing through the whole lift, you're still getting benefit from the movement. Even if you never quite get to parallel.