Ankle Mobility and Strengthening for Climbers

Good ankle mobility and strength throughout a full range of motion are more important for climbing than you might expect. A climber without adequate ankle range of motion will struggle with moves such as high steps, smearing on slabs, or moves that require rocking one’s body weight overtop of one’s feet. Without good ankle strength throughout the entire range of motion of the ankle, a climber may be able to get into positions requiring good mobility but will have difficulty moving out of them. Additionally, ankle strength and mobility are important for generating power for dynos, toe hooks, and heel hooks, as well as injury prevention — for example, preventing ankle sprains when landing on a crashpad, or tough heel-toe cams.

The following exercises will help you improve your ankle strength and mobility for climbing:

Mobility:

1. Gastrocnemius Stretch

• Stand on the edge of a step or box

• Place one heel off the edge and step forwards slightly with the other leg

• Drop the one heel off the edge of the step/box

• Maintain a straight knee position on the leg on the step/box to create the stretch in your gastrocnemius muscle

• Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat 3 times
  

2. Soleus Stretch

• Stand on the edge of a step or box

• Place one heel off the edge and step forwards slightly with the other leg

• Drop the one heel off the edge of the step/box and bend this knee slightly

• Maintain a bent knee position on the leg on the step/box to create the stretch in your soleus muscle

• Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat 3 times

3. Banded ankle mobilization

• Wrap a heavy resistance band around an immobile object (near the ground), such as the bottom of a post of a squat rack

• Place the looped end of the band around the front of your ankle. The band should be right at the top of the foot/bottom of the ankle for this exercise to be effective

• Move forward to create tension in the band

• Step forward with the other leg. It should be just slightly ahead of the other foot in a standing lunge position

• Bend and straighten the leg with the band attached to it, rocking your weight towards your toes as you lean forwards but keeping the back heel flat on the ground.

• Hold for 6-8 seconds in the bent knee position and then straighten the back leg to return to the starting position

• Repeat for 6-8 reps

Strength:

1. Eccentric heel raises

• Place both feet on a step or edge of a box

• Raise your heels off the slant box/step, lifting as high as they can go by engaging your calf muscle

• Hold for 1-2 seconds at the highest point

• Slowly lower your heels down towards the bottom of your range of motion over 3-5 seconds

• Pause for 1-2 seconds at the bottom of your available range of motion and repeat

• Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps

• This exercise can be done with straight legs to strengthen the gastrocnemius muscle, or with the knees slightly bent to strengthen the soleus muscle. Ready for a progression? Try adding weight or doing these with a single leg at a time.

2. Bosu ball lunge step-ups

• Place a Bosu ball on the floor in front of you, flat side down

• Stand a large step away from it and then lunge onto the Bosu with one leg

• Make sure your knee travels forwards over your toes and you drop your hips down towards the floor, bending both knees to 90 degrees

• Push into the front leg and stand up to finish balancing on one leg on top of the bosu ball

• Step back with the free leg and return to the start position

• Repeat, keeping control in your trunk using your core stability muscles

• Repeat 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps on each side

3. Tibialis anterior kettlebell raise

• Start by sitting on a bench with your foot hanging off the edge of it

• Loop the handle of a kettlebell around your foot while wearing shoes

• Slowly allow the weight to pull your foot down into plantar flexion and raise the weight by dorsiflexing the foot (toes towards the shins)

• Slowly lower the weight to return to the starting position and repeat

• Repeat 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps — This is a great exercise to improve toe hook strength!
  

Have you experienced a recent ankle injury?

Or are you looking for more ways to improve your ankle strength and mobility to improve your climbing performance and decrease

the risk of an ankle injury?

Come visit us at Elios Health on Main Street, in Vancouver where our physiotherapists use a combination of manual therapy, modalities, and exercise prescription to help you reach your climbing goals and stay injury free.

Original Article by Rachel Rubin-Sarganis

Cover Photo by Otto Norin