Ankle Mobility Drill:
Active stretching of the calf muscles.
The calf is made up of two muscles, when these muscles are neglected they can become tight and restrict ankle mobility, in turn cause foot, ankle, knee, hip and back pain. Restricted ankle mobility can also contribute to problems during the gait cycle or exercises like squatting.
So, why not add some easy ankle mobility drills to the repertoire to combat these issues before they start or to fix stretch and mobilize them if they have already began causing you problems. Mind blown, right?!
Take notes, here’s what you do!
1) Grab a stretching strap, a heavy band or tube, a rope or even a belt. Anything long and firm enough to wrap around your forefoot and apply tension with.
2) Wrap the strap around the forefoot and begin pulling toward your chest with your knee as straight as possible.
3) To add in the active portion of the drill, begin activating your calf against the resistance of the strap.
4) To focus on each head of the gastrocnemius, pull toward the left to isolate one head, and to the right to isolate the other.
