A friend messaged me last night
'How do I strengthen my ankles? They're weak.'
My initial reaction was to call them old, poke a little fun, and basically just be a dick.
But I didn't. I decided to put my helpful hat on. I'm a certified PT, I'm a student Physio, I should be able to answer this question without acting like a tool.
Whilst technically an individual can have weaker joints than another, that's not generally what people mean when they say they have 'weak ankles' or 'weak knees'. What most people mean, is that the muscles that control and stabilize the joints are weak.
With the ankle in particular, the muscles around the foot and lower leg are the ones to strengthen and stretch. So which exercises do this?
I suppose an easy way to look at this is by saying most things that make you balance. Step-ups and single leg squats are great. They both primarily work the quads, however require all the muscles around the ankle to engage in order to remain balanced.
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