Almost three weeks ago, I was not particularly attentive and preferred to look around rather than at my feet. As a result, I twisted my leg badly, my ankle swelled and I feel the consequences to this day. Moreover, based on my previous experience of sprains, the leg may make itself felt for several more months. Because of this, I had to limit my sports activities, and even give up some for a while.
In order not to repeat this sad experience, I will look at my feet and strengthen my ankles. In addition, there is already snow and ice on the streets, so for those who do not refuse to run even in such weather, these exercises will be especially useful.
There are several muscles in the ankle that help support it during any kind of physical activity. Therefore, strengthening these muscles helps to increase productivity and avoid injury.
Proprioception
Proprioception is the ability of an organism to determine its place in space. If an athlete moves to a position that can injure the ankle, increasing this ability will help « warn» him about the injury danger of such a position. In addition, it increases productivity. A person with a good sense of balance and awareness can use his body more effectively. Therefore, he will start with exercises for balance. Moreover, they do not require special equipment to perform them and they can be performed even in the office.
1. Stand on one leg. Stay on one leg for 30 seconds. Then change your legs. The time can be brought up to 1 minute.
2. Balance and catch. This exercise can be performed with a partner. Standing on one leg, throw a ball to each other. Try to change its direction every time — then closer to the right hand, then to the left, then higher, then lower. Then change your leg. Perform 3 sets of 30 seconds for each leg.
3.Mini squats on one leg. Standing on one leg, perform 10 half-squats with the leg slightly forward. Then 10 with the withdrawal of the free leg to the side and another 10 squats with the withdrawal of the free leg back. Repeat the same exercises with the second leg.
There are several ways to strengthen the ankle. In the first type of exercise, you need to use an expander or a special rubber band (thera-band), which you can buy at a pharmacy. But I'm not sure that this is sold in our pharmacies.
When performing the following exercises, wrap the tape around the upper part of the foot and bend the leg. This exercise works out the internal muscles of the foot. Perform three sets of 20 times on each leg in each direction.
The second way to strengthen the ankles is to lift on your toes. It is necessary to perform toe lifts both standing and sitting, as this will help strengthen the calf muscles and Achilles tendons. Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
The third option is strengthening — plyometric training, which uses various types of jumps to train the ankles. Do 10-15 repetitions.
Scissors
Jumping with a squat. Start performing the jump from the position of «squatting », jump up and land gently.
Arrange a run on your toes using 50% of your maximum speed. The distance of one such repetition is 15 meters.
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