Ankle Mobility | Cirencester Personal Trainer

How to increase ankle mobility

First start by rolling the surrounding areas. Tight calves and fascia can really restrict the ankle joint. Start by breaking up the tissue in that area by rolling the bottom of your heel and the gastrocnemius of your calves. You want to have direct pressure on these areas so the best mobility tools are going to be a tennis ball or a foam roller.

Sit down, cross one leg over the other and start by placing your calf on the tennis ball. Apply pressure to the ball as you roll it up, down, forward and back over the muscles of your calves. After spending about 2 minutes on this area, switch legs and do the same thing to your other leg.

With a similar strategy, do the same thing on the heel of your foot. Stand with one foot firmly planted on the ground and the other on top of the ball. Apply pressure and move your foot in multiple directions. If you feel extra tight at any point, sit and breath holding pressure over that spot.

Ankle Protocol 001

To achieve the full benefit of the below stretches be sure the repeat each exercise/drill 2-3 times, apply this protocol into your weekly training schedule and in no time full range of movement should be reached.

Down dog gastrocnemius stretch - start in a full push-up position, from here drive your hips towards the sky and your head between the arms, keeping the legs and arms straight but not locked out, this is your down dog pose.

Once down dog is achieved slowly work to place alternate heel to the floor, holding each time for a 5's count, continue this sequence for at least 30's.

If the heels can be placed to the floor without an issue, bring the hips closer to the floor until you once again feel tension/a stretch within the calf.

Kneeling soleus lunge - place one foot out in front of you in a kneeling 90/90 position, plant both hands on-top of the front knee and apply pressure whilst shifting you weight forward in the aim to get the knee over the frontal toes.

If you feel the heel of the front foot elevate reduce the forward drive regaining full stretch within the soleus. Hold this position for at least 30's before switching sides.

Seated bottom to heal lean - within this stretch we are aiming to hit the frontal muscle of the calf, the tibialis anterior, this is a difficult stretch so if you already suffer with knee issues please proceed with caution.

Start in a kneeling position, making sure to leave hip distance between the feet, slowly sit back onto your heels allowing the tops of the foot to rest on the ground, rest the bottom onto your heels and relax into the stretch for a further 30's.

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