Transform Your Ankle Mobility with THIS!

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of ankle mobility for overall human movement and well-being, highlighting how it lessens with age and can lead to compensations causing other joint issues. It introduces a simple wall test to assess ankle mobility and offers four exercises targeting the calf muscles, tibialis anterior, and lateral ankle movement to improve flexibility and potentially prevent injuries. The focus is on practical steps to enhance ankle mobility for better functional movement and health.

Takeaways

• 🏃‍♂️ Ankle mobility is crucial for a wide range of lower body activities, including walking, running, squatting, and jumping.
• 🔢 Ankle mobility typically declines with age, but can be improved with targeted exercises.
• 🧘‍♀️ Poor ankle mobility can lead to compensations in other joints, potentially causing issues like knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems.
• 🦵 There are 12 muscles that cross the ankle joint, with the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) and tibialis anterior being the most influential on mobility.
• 🧍‍♂️ The wall test is a simple method to assess your ankle mobility - the ability to fit one hand between the wall and your toes while keeping your knee against the wall indicates good mobility.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Resistance bands and yoga blocks can be used for ankle mobility exercises, targeting the calf muscles and improving dorsiflexion.
• 🤸‍♀️ Exercises like calf raises on an elevated surface and tibialis raises against a wall can enhance ankle mobility and strength.
• 🔄 Lateral ankle mobility is often overlooked but is essential for preventing injuries like ankle sprains.
• 🌈 Ankle eversion and inversion exercises, which involve moving the foot in a rainbow shape, are beneficial for lateral mobility.
• 💪 Strengthening ankle mobility can have a positive impact on other areas of the body, such as the knees, hips, and lower back.
• 📚 Consistent practice of ankle mobility exercises can help maintain and improve overall well-being, and even 'defy' the aging process.

Q & A

How does ankle mobility affect overall human movement?

Ankle mobility is fundamental to nearly every lower body activity, including walking, running, squatting, and jumping. Poor ankle mobility can lead to compensations in other joints, potentially causing issues like knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems. Thus, maintaining flexible and strong ankles is crucial for overall well-being.

What are the consequences of having tight ankles?

Tight ankles can result in limited range of motion and功能障碍, leading to compensations in other body joints. This can potentially cause issues such as knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems, affecting overall physical health and mobility.

How many muscles cross the ankle joint and why is it important to know about them?

There are 12 muscles that cross the ankle joint. Understanding these muscles, particularly the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) and the tibialis anterior, is helpful for improving ankle mobility and addressing issues related to tightness or weakness in these areas.

What is the wall test for ankle mobility and how does it work?

The wall test is a simple assessment to determine ankle mobility. You face a wall and kneel with your toes against it, ensuring a straight line from your big toe through the midpoint of your heel points directly at the wall. Keeping your heel planted, you lunge forward to see if your knee can touch the wall. If you can fit one full hand between the wall and your toes while still touching the wall with your knee, you have good ankle mobility.

What are the calf muscles and how do they differ in terms of ankle mobility?

The calf muscles include the gastrocnemius and the soleus, located on the back of the leg. The gastrocnemius starts on the back of the thigh bone and runs down to the heel, crossing both the ankle and knee joints, while the soleus starts on the back of the shin bone and runs down to the heel, only crossing the ankle joint. The flexibility of these muscles affects different aspects of ankle mobility, with the soleus influencing the ability to dorsiflex the foot and the gastrocnemius affecting the range of motion when the knee is bent.

What are four exercises to improve ankle mobility?

Four exercises to improve ankle mobility include: 1) Using a resistance band and a yoga block or elevated surface to lunge forward and stretch the calf muscles. 2) Elevating on sturdy yoga blocks or a staircase and performing calf raises to stretch the entire back line of the calf. 3) Performing tibialis raises against a wall to strengthen the tibialis anterior. 4) Seated ankle eversion and inversion with a resistance band to improve lateral ankle mobility.

Why is it important to improve lateral ankle mobility?

Lateral ankle mobility is crucial for preventing injuries, especially ankle sprains, that occur when the foot lands awkwardly. Strengthening the lateral structures of the ankle can help stabilize it during such instances and reduce the risk of injury.

How can ankle mobility exercises help with other physical issues like tight hips?

Ankle mobility exercises can indirectly help with tight hips by improving overall lower body flexibility and strength. When ankle mobility is enhanced, it reduces the strain on other joints like the hips, leading to better overall movement patterns and potentially alleviating tightness in the hips.

What is the recommended number of repetitions and holds for the ankle mobility exercises?

For the exercises, it is generally recommended to start with dynamic movements for 8-15 repetitions, followed by a passive hold for around 20-30 seconds. This can vary depending on the specific exercise and the individual's abilities.

How does ankle mobility relate to functional movements in daily life?

Ankle mobility is essential for functional movements in daily life such as walking, running, squatting, and navigating various surfaces. A good range of motion in the ankle allows for smooth and efficient movement, reducing the risk of compensations that can lead to discomfort or injury.

What can be used as alternatives for a yoga block in ankle mobility exercises?

Alternatives for a yoga block in ankle mobility exercises can include the bottom stair of a staircase, a sturdy elevated surface, or any object that provides the necessary height and stability for the exercises.

Outlines

00:00

🏃‍♂️ Ankle Mobility: The Foundation of Movement

This paragraph discusses the importance of ankle mobility in various human movements and its impact on overall well-being. It highlights how poor ankle mobility can lead to compensations in other joints, potentially causing issues like knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems. The video aims to help viewers assess their ankle mobility and introduce exercises to improve it. The paragraph also explains the role of 12 muscles around the ankle joint, with a focus on three key muscles: the calf muscles (gastric and soleus) and the tibialis anterior. It emphasizes the difference between these muscles, especially the calf muscles, in improving ankle mobility. A simple wall test is introduced to self-assess ankle mobility, and the video promises to guide viewers through life-changing ankle mobility exercises.

05:02

💪 Enhancing Ankle Mobility with Exercises

The second paragraph delves into four recommended ankle mobility exercises to enhance flexibility and strength. The first exercise involves using a resistance band and a yoga block or an elevated surface to target the soleus muscle. The paragraph explains the importance of dynamic movements and passive holds for muscle stretching. The second exercise focuses on calf raises using sturdy yoga blocks or stairs, aiming to stretch the entire back line of the calf. The third exercise targets the tibialis anterior with wall-assisted raises. Lastly, the paragraph addresses the lateral plane of motion, which is often overlooked but crucial for preventing injuries. A resistance band exercise for ankle eversion and inversion is introduced to strengthen the lateral structures of the ankle. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the interconnectedness of ankle mobility with other body areas and suggests additional resources for improving hip mobility.

Keywords

💡Ankle Mobility

Ankle Mobility refers to the range of motion one can achieve with their ankle joint, which is crucial for various lower body movements such as walking, running, squatting, and jumping. The video emphasizes the importance of maintaining good ankle mobility to prevent compensations in other joints and potential issues like knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems. Ankle mobility exercises are suggested to improve flexibility and strength in the ankle joint, thereby enhancing overall well-being and functional movement.

💡Compensations

Compensations are adjustments the body makes when one part of the body is not functioning optimally, leading to other parts taking on extra work or stress. In the context of the video, poor ankle mobility can lead to compensations in other joints like the knees, hips, and lower back, potentially causing pain or dysfunction. The video aims to address this issue by offering exercises to improve ankle mobility, thus reducing the need for such compensations.

💡Muscles

Muscles are a crucial component of the human body responsible for producing movement. In the video, it is highlighted that 12 muscles cross the ankle joint, with a focus on three main ones: the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) and the tibialis anterior. These muscles play a significant role in ankle mobility and are targeted in the exercises provided in the video to improve flexibility and strength.

💡Gastrocnemius

The gastrocnemius is one of the calf muscles located at the back of the leg, which plays a critical role in ankle mobility. It starts on the back of the thigh bone and runs down to the heel, crossing both the ankle and knee joints. The video emphasizes the difference between the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, noting that the gastrocnemius is involved when the knee is bent, and it does not get fully stretched in such positions. Therefore, exercises targeting ankle mobility should also include straight-leg drills to effectively work the gastrocnemius.

💡Soleus

The soleus is another calf muscle located beneath the gastrocnemius and at the back of the leg. It starts on the back of the shin bone and runs down to the heel, crossing only the ankle joint. The video script points out the importance of the soleus muscle in improving ankle mobility, especially for achieving dorsiflexion, which is the movement of the foot upward toward the shin. Exercises in the video are designed to target the soleus muscle to enhance its strength and flexibility.

💡Tibialis Anterior

The tibialis anterior is a muscle located on the front of the lower leg, sometimes referred to as the shin muscle. This muscle is essential for dorsiflexion of the foot and plays a significant role in ankle mobility. The video script provides exercises like tibialis raises to strengthen and improve the flexibility of the tibialis anterior, which in turn can enhance overall ankle mobility and contribute to better functional movement.

💡Exercises

Exercises are physical activities performed to improve health, strength, and flexibility. In the video, various exercises are introduced to specifically target and improve ankle mobility. These include using a resistance band and yoga block, elevated calf raises, tibialis raises, and ankle eversion and inversion. The video emphasizes the importance of these exercises in maintaining and enhancing ankle mobility to prevent compensations and potential injuries.

💡Dorsiflexion

Dorsiflexion is a movement that involves the upward bending of the foot towards the shin, which is an essential component of ankle mobility. The video script highlights the importance of dorsiflexion for functional movements like walking, running, squatting, and getting around in everyday life. Exercises in the video, such as elevated calf raises and tibialis raises, are designed to improve dorsiflexion and overall ankle mobility.

💡Injury Prevention

Injury prevention refers to采取措施 to reduce the risk of injuries during physical activities. In the video, improving ankle mobility is emphasized as a key factor in injury prevention, particularly for common activities like walking, running, yoga, and gym exercises. By strengthening the muscles around the ankle and improving the range of motion, the likelihood of injuries such as ankle sprains can be significantly reduced.

💡Lateral Plane of Motion

The lateral plane of motion refers to the movement of the body or a body part away from the midline, either to the side or outward. In the context of the video, the lateral plane of motion is crucial for ankle mobility and is often associated with instability and injuries like ankle sprains. The video introduces exercises that target the lateral mobility of the ankle, such as ankle eversion and inversion, to strengthen the structures in this plane and potentially prevent injuries.

💡Hip Mobility

Hip Mobility refers to the range of motion of the hip joint, which is important for overall body flexibility and functional movement. While the primary focus of the video is on ankle mobility, it briefly mentions that tight hips can also affect mobility and overall well-being. The video suggests additional exercises targeting hip mobility to complement the ankle mobility exercises for a comprehensive approach to improving lower body flexibility and reducing the risk of compensations and injuries.

Highlights

Ankle mobility is fundamental to human movement and declines with age.

Poor ankle mobility can lead to compensations in other joints, potentially causing knee pain, hip dysfunction, and lower back problems.

There are 12 muscles that cross the ankle joint, which can contribute to tightness.

Three key muscles to focus on for ankle mobility are the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus), and the tibialis anterior.

The flexibility of the calf muscles affects dorsiflexion, which is important for walking, running, squatting, and everyday activities.

A simple wall test can be used to assess ankle mobility by checking if the knee can touch the wall without the heel leaving the floor.

A good range of ankle mobility is indicated by being able to fit one full hand between the wall and the toes while still touching the wall with the knee.

Ankle mobility exercises can be enhanced with the use of a resistance band and a yoga block or elevated surface.

Dynamic movements followed by a passive hold can be beneficial for stretching the calf muscles, particularly the soleus.

For the gastrocnemius muscle, which crosses both the ankle and knee, straight-leg mobility drills are necessary for full stretching.

An elevated calf raise can improve the flexibility of the muscles on the back of the leg and help with dorsiflexion.

Tibialis raises, performed by lifting the feet upwards against a wall, can strengthen the tibialis anterior muscle.

Lateral plane mobility of the ankle is crucial for preventing injuries like ankle sprains.

Ankle eversion and inversion exercises, using a resistance band, can improve lateral ankle mobility and reduce the risk of injury.

Improving ankle mobility can have a direct impact on other areas of the body, such as the knees, hips, and lower back.

For those struggling with tight hips, there are specific hip mobility drills that can be beneficial.

Transcripts

did you know your ankle Mobility rapidly

declines with age and Ankle Mobility is

the foundation of human movement from

walking and running to squatting and

jumping nearly every lower body activity

involves ankle mobility and

unfortunately poor ankle Mobility can

lead to compensations in other joints

potentially causing issues like knee

pain hip dysfunction and even lower back

problems so keeping those ankles

flexible and strong is a gain changer

for your overall well-being so if you

wobble all over the place in yoga class

if your Romanian deadlifts resemble

Bambi this video is for you so today I'm

going to help you discover if your ankle

Mobility needs work and guide you

through some life-changing ankle

Mobility movements so that you can defy

aging better than Paul rud or JLo

herself fun fact there are actually 12

muscles that cross your ankle joint 12

so it's no wonder that most of us

struggle with tight ankles the good good

news is you don't need to know the

complex names of all 12 of these muscles

to do something about them but it is

super helpful to know about just three

of them you have your calf muscles on

the back of the leg which are made up of

the gastrus and the Solus there is a

hugely important difference between the

two when it comes to improving your

ankle Mobility which I'll get to in just

a second and then you also have your

tibialis anterior on the front of the

leg kind of like your shin muscle and

simply p the flexibility of the muscles

on the front determine how much we can

point the foot ballerinas have amazing

Mobility here and the flexibility of the

muscles on the back of the leg determine

how much we can dorsy Flex the foot

which is generally the more functional

range of motion which we use for walking

running squatting and just getting

around in everyday life but how do you

know if you have good ankle Mobility or

not try this simple little wall test to

assess your own ankle Mobility come to

face the wall and come into a tall

kneeling position with your toes right

up against the wall you want to imagine

a straight line that runs through your

big toe through the midpoint of your

heel and that line points directly at

the wall for most people this means

their foot will be ever so slightly

turned outward then whilst keeping your

heel firmly planted allow yourself to

Lunge forwards to see if you can tap the

wall with your knee then you want to

progressively move your foot a little

bit back away from the wall and continue

to test your range to see if the knee

can touch the wall without the heel

leaving the flooor it's considered a

good range of ankle Mobility if you can

fit one full hand between the wall and

your toes and still touch the wall with

your knee do you pass the one hand test

let me know in the comments below so

perhaps your ankle Mobility needs a

little bit of work let's now get into my

four favorite ankle Mobility exercises

first up grab a resistance band and a

yoga block or alternatively just

something that you can elevate your foot

up onto secure the band around something

sturdy low down towards the floor and

then Loop it around the front of your

ankle so now when you step your foot up

onto the block the band is pulling your

ankle down and back and essentially

keeping your heel firmly grounded whilst

assisting the movement of the bones

within the joint here from there you're

going to Lunge your knee forwards just

like in the mobility test exercise that

we've just done sending the knee as far

past the toes as possible you could even

add a weight for this one as those 12

ankle muscles are pretty damn strong and

your body weight often isn't demanding

enough to bring about much change I

recommend starting with Dynamic

movements for eight repetitions before

ending with a passive hold for around 20

seconds this is a great exercise for the

Solus muscle which if you remember I

mentioned is one of the calf muscles but

remember that hugely important

difference between the Cal muscles that

I mentioned the Solus muscle starts on

the back of the shin bone and runs down

to the heel so it crosses just the ankle

joint but the gastric nemus starts on

the back of the thigh bone and runs down

to the heel so it crosses the ankle and

the knee so if your knee is bent the

gastrus muscle is never getting fully

stretched you need to add Mobility

drills with a straight leg also so next

up grab yourself either a couple of

sturdy yoga blocks or perhaps the bottom

stair of the staircase I live in an

apartment with no stairs so this is my

best option stand on the elevated

surface with just the balls of your feet

so that your heels hang off the back I

100% recommend being near something to

hold on to for stability as the balance

is super tricky here and you don't want

to let that balance reduce the

effectiveness of the exercise so from

there keeping your legs straight allow

your heels to drop as low as possible

searching out a stretch along the whole

back line of that calf then simply

perform a cal raise by raising as high

up onto the balls of the feet as

possible before slowly lowering back to

the start position with complete control

I recommend taking 15 Dynamic

repetitions before holding the bottom

stretched position for around 20 to 30

seconds and you can intensify the

stretch if you want to by leaning your

body weight forwards there's one element

of ankle Mobility that seems to be very

much ignored in most of the content I

see online and is probably the most

valuable one for injury prevention but

before we get to that one let's target

that third muscle that we've already

covered the tibialis anterior so stand a

short distance away from the wall with

your feet hip distance apart before

leaning back to rest against the wall

from there simply lift your feet slowly

upward to point towards the ceiling

before slowly lowering them back down

these are called tibialis raises and the

further away from the wall that you are

standing the harder these become so

adjust accordingly for your abilities

and aim for around 15 repetitions and

then finally we've looked at the muscles

around the front and the back of the

ankle and improving our mobility in that

plane of motion but when it comes to

instability that causes the majority of

injury in regular Hobbies such as

walking running yoga or just gym

exercises it's the lateral plane of

motion that is the biggest culprit

people usually phrase injuries here as

going over on their ankle so if you're

going to give some energy to improving

your ankle Mobility you absolutely

should not ignore mobilizing the sides

of the ankle because strengthening the

structures here might just be what saves

you from an ankle sprain when your foot

lands awkwardly against the ground so

for this one you only need a resistance

band Loop it back around something

sturdy and then sit on the floor hook it

around your foot and Scoot yourself back

to bring a good amount of tension into

the band and then the technical name for

the movement that you're going to do is

ankle ersion and inversion but the fancy

name doesn't matter what I find more

helpful is to think of drawing a rainbow

shape with the ball of my foot or

thinking about pushing the outside edge

of my foot away from me followed by the

Inside Edge I recommend taking 20

repetitions in total and don't forget to

do both sides and as I mentioned earlier

your ankle Mobility has a direct effect

on other areas of the body such as the

knees the hips and the lower back so if

you also struggle with tight hips go and

check out this video next for some

amazing hip mobility drills to solve

that for you too