Image credit: lezomeo

Your ankles are made for mobility. You can move them up & down, rotate them in & out, … Your knees are designed for stability. When your ankles and/or hips lack mobility, your knees are forced to compensate.

Knee pain and lower leg injuries like shin splints can be caused by tight calves & lack of ankle mobility. Here are 2 simple exercises to stretch your calves and improve your ankle mobility.

Pike Calf Stretch. Assume the pike position. 1 foot on the floor with straight leg, 1 foot behind your ankle. Raise on your toes. Come back by pressing your heel against the floor.






Ankle Mobility Drills. Hold on to something. Assume the Split Squat position. Push the knee of your front leg as far as possible and come back. You will feel the stretch in the front of your ankle.

• Heels on The Floor. Lace your shoes or go barefoot. The heel of your front leg must stay on the floor. Curl your toes up if necessary.
• Back Leg Doesn’t Matter. The goal is to stretch your front leg, not your back leg. The heel of your back leg can come off the floor.
• Work on All Planes. Ten reps straight forward, ten reps to your big toe, ten reps to your small toe.

Do 1-2 sets of 10 reps of the Pike Calf Stretch & Ankle Mobility Drills as warm-up before your strength training workout. You can also do them on non-training days for faster improvements in ankle mobility.