Top 5 Performance Exercises to Utilize Your New Ankle Mobility
Now that we have mobilized the ankle to its optimal movement, it’s time to perform! If you missed any of the previous articles on ankle mobility here they are Ankle Performance and you (Part 1), Signs of a need to improve ankle mobility (Part 2), Corrective ways to improve ankle mobility (Part 3), Ways to imporove ankle mobility (Part 4).
These articles will be a good guide to see if ankle mobility is an issue for you and how to improve it to get the most out of the performance exercises in this article. We are going to break down the top 5 sports performance exercises to start optimizing your new ankle mobility and really amp up your performance level!
Sports Performance Exercise #1: Single Leg Box Jumps
Single leg box jumps are a great way to build single leg stability and power. Single leg allows you to evenly develop stability and power in both legs without the compensations that may happen in a bi-lateral (both legs) box jumps. This will transfer over to sport more efficiently since your typically pushing and striding off of one leg.
Sports Performance Exercise #2: Weighted Deep Squats
Weighted deep squats are a great way to work on your ankle mobility under load or weight. This allows for your ankle to gain stability in the newly mobilized position. Increased mobility in your ankle is great but only if you can stay stable in those new ranges of motion. (Remember only add weight when you can perform the exercise properly without it.)
Sports Performance Exercise #3: Single Leg Lateral Bounds
This exercise takes the single leg box jump a step further and adds a lateral aspect to it. The ability to laterally transfer your weight over, explode through your hips and ankle, all while keeping a stable ankle for landing.
Sports Performance Exercise #4: Depth Jumps
Depth jumps are a challenging exercise but must be done correctly. Depth jumps train your ankle and the rest of your body to absorb the force of the ground and use the elastic energy created by your ankle to propel your body into the air for a powerful jump. This elastic energy can only be created by a mobile but stable ankle.
Sports Performance Exercise #5: Sprints
Your sprint can only be as powerful as your ankle mobility will allow. If your ankle is too stiff you won’t be able to properly absorb the force of each foot strike leading to wasted energy and less power. This will also translate to poor running mechanics and potential injury down the road.
Written by:
NSCA-CPT, ACE-CPT
Suggested Article:
http://trainingaspects.com/corrective-ways-to-improve-ankle-mobility-part-1
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