The ankle is the entire leg from the knee down. Many athletes, both novice and experienced, have problems in this area of the leg after unsuccessful jumps or runs.
Therefore, it is very important to strengthen your ankle: at home and in the gym. About why it is necessary and how to strengthen the ankle - read in this material.
Why do you need to strengthen the ankle?
It is enough to remember those unpleasant painful sensations when you accidentally twisted your leg. If it were not for the ligaments and muscles of the legs, we would do it at every step and each time the joint would suffer. However, this does not happen, since the calf muscles hold the leg tightly.
The most important function of the ankle is to keep the person's body upright and to walk and run.
Most often people with weak muscles of the lower leg twist their legs. They can fall and hurt themselves. Therefore, it is so important to strengthen the ankle.
Signs of a weak ankle
The fact that you have a weak ankle can be indicated by various troubles - small and not so.
These include, for example:
- after jogging (and sometimes even after a normal walk) your middle and ring fingers hurt on your feet.
- your legs constantly twist if you walk in shoes with heels.
- after unsuccessful buckle pulled the bundle.
You can also visually detect signs of a weak ankle. To do this, place your feet hip-bone-width apart and look at them. If the foot is piled inward, this is a bad sign. It is imperative to strengthen your ankle.
Ankle exercises
Below are a variety of ankle exercises that you can do in the gym or at home.
At home
- Jumping rope. At the same time, try to jump low, on your toes and not sink on your heel.
While jumping rope, you will develop your reflexes and hand coordination. Jumping is best on soft surfaces and cushioning sneakers. If you have flat feet, jumping without shoes can increase unwanted stress on the joint. - We run on tiptoes. This can be done during a regular run. For example, one-fifth or one-sixth of the distance.
- Have a mini-competition at home with your family. Scatter the buttons on the floor and compete who will collect the most of them. In this case, the buttons should be taken with your toes and transferred to a specially prepared container. In this way, you will develop the motor skills of your toes. In addition, certain areas of your brain are also involved.
- We do raises on toes on a dais. As an elevation, you can use, for example, a sill. You need to stand so that the heels, lowered to the floor, are below the toes. Then, at a slow pace, rise on your toes and lower yourself. Do this exercise 30-40 times.
- You can roll an ordinary empty bottle on the floor with your foot. It is better to do this barefoot, or in a sock.
- We massage the foot. This enjoyable activity is best done with special massagers.
- In order to maintain the elasticity of the ligaments and the flexibility of the joint, stretching is necessary.
- A little gymnastics involving clockwise and backward rotations of the foot will also be beneficial.
- You can also pull the toe towards you, carry out lateral tilts of the foot.
The benefits of home exercise are that you can do them anytime you want. Including sitting on the couch while watching your favorite TV series, or listening to music.
In the gym
Here are some exercises for building your ankle muscles in the gym:
Smith simulator. It has a nut on which it is very convenient to pump caviar. Also, some athletes put a plus footrest in the form of a small platform. You should stand on the platform with your feet, and the bar should be installed at such a height that it was possible to remove it from its fixation by a slight lift on the toes.
We do twelve to fifteen vertical vibrations on the simulator with the maximum amplitude of contraction and extension of the calves. Together with the muscles, the entire ankle will be strengthened. The exercise should be done in two approaches.
Hack machine. You can swing the ankle on this simulator both upside down and up - as you prefer. The main thing is that you cannot fully straighten your legs at the knees.
Training stages:
- we weigh the required weight.
- we put our feet shoulder-width apart.
- hang the heels from the platform.
- squeeze out the weight without fully straightening your legs.
- initial position. We raise and lower the weight due to the movement of the ankle, we do it at a slow pace. On the exhale - press, on the inhale - lower.
- The exercise is done 12-15 times. A couple of three approaches are enough.
We pump the ankle in the calf simulator. This exercise is very convenient to do. It is performed while sitting, so there is no load on the spine and it is excellent to pump the lower legs.
It is recommended to do this exercise 155 times, carry out a couple of approaches. The main thing is not to overload.
Strengthening the ankle with nutrition
Eating right and taking in essential vitamins is essential. Here are some nutritional and medication tips to keep your ankle healthy:
- calcium supplements should be used.
- special attention to saturated fatty acids, chondroitin, glucosamine.
- protein foods should be a priority.
- be sure to use vitamins.
Tips for strengthening your ankle
- Try to walk barefoot in summer. Especially if you are at sea. Take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the pebbles. This will create a massage effect and help you strengthen your ankle.
- Try to walk on your toes periodically. For example, at home: from the kitchen to the bedroom and back.
- Jump rope more often. This is a great exercise for strengthening your ankle.
- Experts also recommend using a massage mat. It will help not only strengthen the ankle joint, but also improve blood flow, the functioning of internal organs, reduce swelling, and prevent varicose veins. In short, impressive results can be achieved with a massage mat.
Also, on the advice of some experts, you can strengthen your legs using the techniques of the gurus of oriental martial arts. However, on the one hand, it will help to strengthen the ankle, and on the other, it can cause injury.
Particular attention should be paid to strengthening the ankle as healthy legs are essential for a runner. By following the tips described in the material and performing simple exercises, you can achieve good results.
