Come back up to standing, and try to keep your ankles as stable as you can throughout this movement. Squeeze your glutes, keep your core tight, and chest proud as you descend into a squat. Point your toes out to 45 degrees, and come up onto the balls of your feet as you raise your heels off the floor. Releve Squats with Kettlebellįrom a tall neutral stance with your feet at hip stance, hold the kettlebell by the horns at sternum height. Improving your ability to control these ranges will help maximize your depth in your squats, as well as any movement that requires ankle mobility like running and jumping.
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Regression: Take out the squats, and just do the seated ankle stretch.īenefits: This dynamic ankle stretch is going to help you kill two birds with one stone! It will allow you to focus on achieving a greater range of motion in both your dorsiflexion (bringing toes closer to shins) and plantar flexion (pointing the foot).
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Slowly come back up to standing and repeat for 5 repetitions on each side. Try to keep a proud chest, long spine, and tight core as you descend all the way down, placing your back knee on the floor, driving your front knee forward over your toes as you keep your heel firmly planted on the floor. Starting in a staggered stance with the toes of your back foot tucked under, slowly descend into a squat as you keep 25% of your weight on the back leg. Toes Tucked Under Squats to Seated Ankle Stretch Remember to take your time, and not to push too deep in a range that you don’t have access to yet. I suggest implementing one of the movements below, or all of them, into your warm-up routine or into your workout as active rest. In this article, I am going to share some of my favorite exercises to help you make your ankles more resilient and mobile, so that you don’t need any external tools to optimize your lifts.Īdding some form of ankle and foot mobility is an essential part of my practice. Olympic lifting shoes are commonly used to help many athletes achieve this range to optimize their squats. Many individuals who have limited range of motion in the ankles may not be able to displace the load of a back squat properly, leading to more stress on the knees, hips, and low back. Aside from weightlifting, proper ankle mobility is an essential aspect of balance, running, and jumping mechanics.
ANKLE MOBILITY EXERCISES FULL
Not being able to access full range in ankle dorsiflexion (having your knees over your toes) can be a limitation that can cause several compensations up through the kinetic chain in lifts, like increased torso angle in squats, or “butt winking” at the bottom on a squat. DOI: 10.For all athletes, and particularly weightlifters, being able to access full range of motion in the ankles is a movement characteristic that may easily be overlooked. Interventions for increasing ankle joint dorsiflexion: A systematic review and meta-analysis. how-to-strengthen-your-ankles-and-avoid-sprains-3-easy-exercises/ Stop sprains: 3 easy exercises for your weak ankles. The effectiveness of proprioceptive training in preventing ankle sprains in sporting populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reducing the frequency of wearing high‐heeled shoes and increasing ankle strength can prevent ankle injury in women. Associations between ankle dorsiflexion range of motion and foot and ankle strength in young adults. en/recovery/foot-and-ankle-conditioning-program/ The effects of isolated ankle strengthening and functional balance training on strength, running mechanics, postural control and injury prevention in novice runners: Design of a randomized controlled trial. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
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Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. If you wear high heels for long periods of time, these exercises can be helpful in countering the stress on your ankle joints. Leg strengtheningĮxercises that strengthen your ankles also work to strengthen your larger leg muscles and help give you a proper walking gait.Ī 2014 study suggests that training for runners should start with a “ground up” approach, focusing on ankle strengthening.
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The single leg balance with closed eyes movement is especially helpful in training your proprioception.Ī 2015 meta-analysis concluded that proprioceptive training is effective at preventing ankle sprains. This is the technical term for your body’s ability to know where it is in space when you’re moving.įor example, if you’re about to stumble or twist your ankle, your body will be aware of this and prevent the misstep.Įxercises that help with your balance also increase your proprioception. One of the benefits of strengthening your ankles is that it increases your proprioception. Ankle strengthening benefits Increased movement awareness