“To see actual improvements in ankle mobility, you need to work on both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion,” says Wickham.Īs an end-range isometric stretch, this exercise does just that. Try flopping the bell onto its side and using the rounded portion instead. Note: If your calf muscles are super-duper tight, the handle of the kettlebell may be too intense. Work your way up your entire calf before repeating on the other leg.After a few rocks in every direction, shift the kettlebell another 2 inches up your calf and repeat.For even more pressure, cross your other ankle on top of this one. Think about pressing your calf down into the handle to increase the pressure, and then rock the muscle from side to side and up and down, massaging it on the handle.Lift your leg and rest your calf on the kettlebell handle, just above your Achilles tendon (a few inches above your ankle). Sit with legs extended in front of you and a kettlebell positioned handle-up next to one leg.“And when those muscles aren’t working, they’re weakening.”Ĭertified personal trainer Julia Hickman, founder of Fastinista Online Studio, adds that previous injuries, other bodily imbalances, age, and diet can also affect ankle mobility. “With nothing else to do, those muscles start to snooze,” explains Wickham. But these foot-mattresses take over the job that the muscles in our feet and ankles should be doing (supporting our bodies). Plus, most shoes these days are super-duper cushioned.

Doing this long-term can affect our ability to lengthen those muscles responsible for bringing our ankles into a dorsiflexed position.

“They have a 12-millimeter (or so) heel lift, meaning your foot is in a slightly plantar-flexed position all day long.”Īnd that means the muscles along the bottom of our feet are in a slightly shortened position all day. “The day-shoes and sneakers most people wear all day long are too high,” Wickham says.

Our footwear choices aren’t helping, either The problem: Both sets of people aren’t moving their ankles through their f-u-l-l range of motion. Long distance runners and Peloton aficionados, for example, may move frequently, but they’re moving in the same exact plane of motion (the sagittal plane) over and over. And the people who are moving often, aren’t moving in a varied-enough way.” “Instead, we’re sitting at work, sitting during meals, sitting while bingeing our favorite shows, and sitting during our commute. “These days people aren’t moving enough,” says Wickham. Why many people’s ankle mobility goes bad

Ankle mobility stretches