STRENGTH EXERCISES

As with any muscle, traditional strength training will build your calf muscles. However, your ankle is one of the most complex joints in your body so focusing your efforts on building your calves with weighted movements, like calf

SKI JUMP

The lateral nature of the ski jump is great at building strength and stability in your ankles. Anecdotally, sticking to forward and back (sagittal plane) exercises appears to be all you need for riding because that’s the direction your ankles move with feet on the pedals. As soon as you put your foot on the ground however, especially at speed, things change and we need to be prepared for dynamic lateral stresses.

Use something you can easily jump over, something narrow and low to start with. Jump with both feet together, land with both feet on the other side and then jump back. As you increase in confidence you can increase the height of the obstacle or even just the jump.

Perform 3-5 sets of 20-30 reps with a short rest between them or add these to a conditioning workout circuit.

nraises, may not be the best approach for healthy, balanced ankles. More functional movements, like pistol squats, skipping, ski jumps and sled pushes, are better at building strong, robust and bulletproof ankles.