Ankle Mobility

HEY YOU! You know those things attached to your feet . . they’re called ankles . . they are craving your attention . . maybe you can spend some time getting to know them . . one on one date ?

Most people . . probably you  (& recently, i’ve found me). . will lack range of motion in dorsiflexion (refer to sexy picture above) . .

Get up & do this wall test to see how much ankle range you have:

How’d you go?

If you got 10cm or above . . *HI 5*

If not . . NEVER FEAR, MEL IS HERE.

WHY DO I WANT TO DO BORING ANKLE MOBILITY DRILLS?

It’s going to allow you to get deeper in movements like the squat . .

It’s going to allow you to sit more upright in movements like the squat . .

It’s going to allow you to utilize more of your glutes & hamstrings, & release that tension/pain off your knee . .

It’s going to mean BIGGER NUMBERS in your lifts . .

It’s going to allow you to generate more power, with less effort . .

Check out this article by Michael Boyle, there’s a test in there you can do to figure out if you have a flexibility or a mobility issue with your ankle . . PLUS, he talks about the relationship between ankle mobility & knee/lower back pain.

 A Joint by Joint Approach to Training

Another awesome 2-Part article on Foot Function in sports (definitely worth a read) -

Foot Function in Sport Performance

ALRIGHT . .

SO HOW DO WE FIX THIS PROBLEMO?

If you have a mobilization issue . . here are a couple of vids to get you going . . make sure you pay attention to what you’re doing . . do this drills PROPERLY or else you’re not going to see a change . .

I would do these everyday until you see some kind of improvement . .  then you can back off to only performing them on your training days . . ankle mobility doesn’t happen overnight so keep at it & be patient with it.