Training guide
Ankle mobility usually means bending the ankle up, the knee travelling forward over the toes with the heel down. You can measure it with the knee-to-wall test, and calf stretching and full-range calf strength both improve it, by a few degrees over a few weeks. Stiff ankles change how you squat and land; they're one factor among many, not a sure route to injury.
This guide covers what limits the ankle, the knee-to-wall test and what's typical, what works and how much, ankle mobility for squats and running, after a sprain, the moves with doses, and our 12-minute ankle mobility routine. Our strengthen your ankles guide covers balance, calf strength and preventing sprains.
Ankle mobility in training mostly means dorsiflexion: the knee travelling forward over the toes with the heel down, which deep squats, lunges, stairs and running ask of it. The knee-to-wall test measures it, and it gives very repeatable results.
Calf stretching added about 2 to 3 degrees in 5 trials, and about 4 to 5 degrees for held or contract-relax stretching across 20 trials. Stretch with the knee straight and with it bent, 30 to 60 seconds, on most days, as our flexibility guide suggests.
Six weeks of slow, full-range calf raises improved ankle bend about as much as stretching in 36 untrained men, and slow lowering (eccentric) training gave its largest effect at the ankle across 17 studies.
In lab studies, less ankle bend went with less knee bend and knees that drift in. Raising your heels on a small plate lets the knee travel further while the ankle catches up; it's a way round the problem, not a fix.
Single cohorts link stiff ankles with knee tendon pain in basketball and with injuries in army recruits, but reviews found ankle range didn't predict ankle sprains, and no trial shows that loosening the ankle prevents injury.
People whose ankles keep giving way reached about 1.7 cm less on the knee-to-wall test. Calf stretching with a home programme restored most in the first weeks after a sprain, and exercise cut repeat sprains. A pinch at the front of the ankle, Achilles pain or a hot, swollen ankle changes the plan: see the warning signs.
The true ankle bends the foot up and points it down; the joint below it rolls the sole in and out, as our ankle and foot joint page explains. In training, ankle mobility nearly always means bending the foot up (dorsiflexion), especially with your weight on it and the knee travelling forward over the toes.
The gastrocnemius, the big calf muscle, crosses the knee, so it limits ankle bend most when the knee is straight; with the knee bent, the soleus deeper in the calf takes over. That's why this guide uses both calf stretches.
Lying down with the knee bent, adults pull the foot up about 12 to 14 degrees with help, in a US study of 674 healthy people. With your weight on it, healthy young adults reached about 9.5 cm from the wall, or 35 to 45 degrees, in small studies, and earlier studies reported 11 to 14 cm. Treat these as rough guides: the samples were small and the figures vary between studies. Women had a little more range than men, and ankle bend falls after about 60.
The calf muscles and Achilles tendon, how much stretch your nervous system accepts, a stiff joint after an injury, and bone: an expert panel notes that ankle bend is limited by the shape of the bones. A pinch at the front of the ankle rather than a stretch in the calf suggests the front of the joint is meeting, as our squat guide and anterior ankle impingement guide explain.
Ankle bend lets the knee travel forward so you can sit down between your feet with your heels down; our squat guide says the knees travel forward as far as your ankles allow. With less ankle bend, the heels lift, the trunk tips forward or the knees drift in, and the hips can't go as deep either.
Shin and thigh length, past sprains or fractures and calf training all change the number. A previous sprain is the clearest reason one ankle is stiffer than the other.
Face a wall with one foot in front, toes pointing at the wall. Bend the knee to touch the wall with the heel down, then move the foot back a little at a time until the knee only just touches with the heel still down. Measure from the big toe to the wall. Do both sides, at the same time of day after the same warm-up (our suggested method, from the studies).
Healthy young adults reached about 9.5 cm in one study of 20 people and 11 to 14 cm in earlier ones; about 1 cm is roughly 3.6 degrees. These are rough guides from small samples. Compare your two sides, and yourself over time, rather than chasing a number.
In 50 active adults, 44% differed between sides by more than about 2 degrees and 8% by more than 5. In 105 athletes, the average difference was about 9 to 14%, more on the side of a past sprain.
Across 12 studies, a change of about 1.6 to 1.9 cm (about 5 degrees) was needed to be sure it was more than measuring error. Retest every 2 to 4 weeks rather than daily. The test isn't a diagnosis.
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Most trials are small and in healthy young adults; injury studies are observational.
Two raters agreed almost perfectly in 13 adults, and across 12 studies the test was consistent between raters, with a change of about 1.6 to 1.9 cm needed to be sure it's real.
In 5 trials of 161 healthy people, calf stretching added about 2 to 3 degrees, and the authors were unsure the change matters in practice. Across 20 trials, held stretching added about 5 degrees and contract-relax stretching about 4, while bouncing (ballistic) stretching wasn't clearly effective. Across 23 studies of 734 people, stretching and heel raise exercises worked; the longest study ran 8 weeks.
In 36 untrained men, 3 sets of 10 full-range calf raises (1 second up, 3 seconds down) 3 times a week for 6 weeks improved ankle bend about as much as 3 stretches of 40 seconds, mostly by raising stretch tolerance. Six weeks of slow heel drops increased ankle bend in 74 adults, and across 17 studies eccentric training's largest effect was at the ankle.
In 20 people with stiff ankles, adding a 4-week ankle mobility programme to strength training improved ankle bend by about 4 degrees and changed how they landed from a jump; strength training alone didn't. One small trial.
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People with less ankle bend bent the knee about 15 degrees less in an overhead squat (40 adults), limiting the ankle with a wedge reduced knee bend and increased inward knee drift (30 adults), and less ankle bend went with inward knee drift across 17 studies. Raising the heels added about 4 degrees at the ankle and 5 at the knee across 14 studies, with the ankle effect only for lifts over 2.5 cm, and didn't change hip range.
People whose ankles keep giving way reached 10.7 against 12.5 cm on the knee-to-wall test (30 against 30), and a past sprain went with less range on that side in 105 athletes. Calf stretching with a home programme restored ankle bend best in the first weeks after a sprain, from one small trial, and hands-on joint mobilisation helped mildly in ankles that keep giving way.
A sprain about doubles the risk of another in the following year, and up to 70% of people go on to have lasting instability. In pooled trials, exercise after a sprain cut the risk of a repeat sprain to about a third, and the clinical guideline prefers supervised exercise to passive treatments.
In 75 junior basketball players followed for a year, those with ankle bend under 36.5 degrees had an 18.5 to 29.4% risk of knee tendon pain (jumper's knee), against about 2% above it, from only 12 cases. Less ankle bend went with knee tendon pain in 113 volleyball players, in a snapshot study. For Achilles tendon pain, single cohorts linked less ankle bend with more cases, but a review of 10 cohorts calls the evidence conflicting. These come from single cohorts; none shows that loosening the ankle prevents tendon pain.
In 1,093 army recruits, less ankle bend predicted injury, and a later review reports that the stiffest recruits had about 5 times the sprain risk of average ones. But across 8 studies, and again across 16 studies of 3,636 athletes, ankle range didn't predict ankle sprains, while a previous sprain did. In students, less ankle bend was a risk factor in 241 men but not in 159 women.
In small studies, less flexible runners ran more economically (19 men; 48 runners with stiffer calves), and how the legs were lined up when standing didn't predict running injuries in 87 runners. We found no study showing that ankle mobility work improves running.
Stretching programmes didn't cut sports injuries across 25 trials, calf stretching before exercise didn't clearly change injury risk in army recruits, and the extra range from one session fades within about 30 minutes.
Do the knee-to-wall test on both sides and write the numbers down, so you can see change you might not feel (our suggestion).
Hold each 30 to 60 seconds, 2 or 3 times, on most days, to a clear pull in the calf rather than pain: our flexibility guide's dose. The wall calf stretch with the back knee straight reaches the gastrocnemius; the soleus stretch with it bent reaches deeper.
2 or 3 sets of 8 to 15, 3 seconds up and 3 seconds down, through your whole range, then single-leg raises from a step and slow heel drops once two-leg raises are easy (our calf and shin routines; the trial used 3 sets of 10). Keep them on the floor with Achilles pain.
10 slow rocks per side, daily, is the knee-to-wall move page's dose, and our squat technique workout uses 10 slow rocks each side, heel down. Ankle circles loosen the joint before a run. Both are warm-ups: the extra range from one session fades within about half an hour.
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Trials gained a few degrees over 4 to 8 weeks. Retest every 2 to 4 weeks, and expect slow, steady change rather than a jump. Once you're happy, 2 or 3 days a week of stretching kept range in a trial.
Letting the heel lift to reach the wall; letting the knee cave in rather than track over the middle toes; bouncing in calf stretches; pushing into a pinch at the front of the ankle; stretching only with the knee straight (our editorial list, with the knee-to-wall move page's common mistakes).
Our editorial session, built from our squat technique workout, our shin release routine and the trials above; our ankle mobility routine follows the same order. The stretches most days; the calf raises 2 or 3 times a week.
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The movement on the figure: Knee-to-wall ankle rock
The knee-to-wall rock is both the test and the drill: 10 slow rocks per side, daily (the move page's dose). Ankle CARs at 5 slow circles each way with each ankle (our editorial starting point, as on the move page), the gentler ankle circles for a stiff or recovering ankle, and a deep squat hold of 30 to 60 seconds holding a door frame, with a folded mat under your heels if they lift (our squat challenge).
The straight-knee stretch reaches the gastrocnemius and the bent-knee stretch the soleus; do both, 2 holds of 30 seconds each side (our shin release routine), building to 30 to 60 seconds on most days (our flexibility guide's dose).
Slow calf raises at 2 sets of 12 to 15, 3 seconds up and 3 down, and tibialis raises at 2 sets of 15 (our shin release routine); single-leg raises from a step at 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 once two-leg raises are easy (our bounce and load starter); slow heel drops at 2 sets of 10 to 15 once single-leg raises on the floor are controlled (our editorial starting point). With Achilles pain, keep raises on the floor and follow a clinician's plan. Heel-elevated squats are a way to squat deep while the ankle catches up, not a fix for it.
Build ankle bend over weeks with the calf work above, and meanwhile squat with a slightly wider stance and your toes turned out a little, or with your heels on a small plate, as our squat guide advises. Heel lifts help the knee travel, but they don't change the ankle itself.
Runners don't need extreme ankle range: stiffer calves went with better running economy in small studies. Ankle circles and knee-to-wall rocks suit a warm-up; calf strength suits the rest of the week. Our ankle pain when running guide covers pain.
Once you can walk without a limp and your clinician agrees, practise single-leg balance 3 times a week for at least 8 weeks, a little harder each week: a home programme like this cut repeat sprains by 35%. Our ankle sprain and chronic ankle instability guides cover the rest of the rehab.
Calf stretching with a home programme restored ankle bend best in the first weeks, and the guideline prefers supervised exercise to passive treatments, with a brace or tape for sport.
Ankle bend falls after about 60, and stretching still works: over 65, 60-second holds gained range faster in a hamstring trial. Hold a wall for the standing moves, and pair the stretches with calf raises and balance work; the NHS asks adults over 65 for strength, balance and flexibility work on at least 2 days a week.
Our ankle mobility routine tests your ankle bend, then works it with rocks, calf stretches and full-range calf raises in about 12 minutes. Do the stretches most days and the calf raises 2 or 3 times a week, and retest every few weeks.
A 12-minute routine to improve how far your ankle bends: test it against a wall, rock it, stretch both calf muscles, strengthen through the full range, then use it.
12 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A stepAn 8-minute dynamic warm-up for runners: ankle and hip mobility, lunges, skips and pogo hops.
8 minIntermediate8 movesA wallA 25-minute practice session for the squat: find your depth on a chair, groove the bodyweight squat with pauses, then load it with a slow goblet squat.
25 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 25-minute session for the overhead squat: check your ankles and reach, loosen what the check shows, then climb from the goblet squat to a dowel and an empty bar.
25 minIntermediate14 movesCardio machine, A wallA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 25-minute calf workout with a step and a dumbbell: single-leg raises for the big calf muscle, then seated raises for the soleus, with gym swaps for each move.
25 minIntermediate7 movesA wall, A stepRoll the front and outer shin and the calf, stretch the calf, then strengthen the shin and calf muscles. About 20 minutes, for comfort and strength.
20 minBeginner9 movesOther / check instructions, A foam rollerSeven stretches for after a run: calves, soleus, quads, hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wallA beginner's springy session: calf strength first, then heel drops, calf springs and gentle bounces, building towards skipping and pogo hops.
20 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A stepA 20-minute yoga cool-down for runners: calves, hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes, one balance pose and a rest, after an easy run or on a rest day.
20 minBeginner11 movesA wallThe runners' strength plan and the 30-day squat challenge both need ankle bend; the plan for seniors adds balance and strength around it.
A 12-week strength plan for runners: two sessions a week of heavy lifts, single-leg work, calf raises and hops, fitted around your runs.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA free 30-day squat challenge with a chair track and a single-leg track: 3 short sessions a week, optional practice days and a before-and-after test.
3 training days15 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginnerAfter a broken ankle or ankle surgery, follow your team's advice on when to start.
If the ankle drill gives you a pinch at the front of the ankle rather than a stretch in the calf, don't force it: keep your heels raised and see our anterior ankle impingement guide.
A pinch at the front of the hip or ankle is the joint, not a stretch: stay just short of it, and see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (our suggestion).
A step-based heel drop may be unsuitable for some Achilles problems, as our calf raise move page says: do calf raises on the floor and see our Achilles tendinopathy guide.
Ankles that are stiff, painful or swollen, especially first thing in the morning, are a different problem from tight calves: read our ankle pain and ankle arthritis guides before stretching harder (our suggestion).
With numb feet from diabetes or another cause, do the standing moves in well-fitting shoes rather than barefoot, and check your feet afterwards (our suggestion, following our foot and ankle strengthening routine and the ankle pain rule's exceptions).
If you're already very flexible, put your time into strength and control through the range you have. Stretch only areas that feel genuinely tight, and only to a mild pull, and avoid hanging at the end of your range or pushing joints back past straight. The strength and control moves below are a place to start, and our hypermobility guide has a full routine, the evidence and the warning signs. If you do Pilates, our Pilates for hypermobility guide covers which moves to adapt.
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If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Call 999 or go to A&E: after an injury, you heard a crack, the foot or ankle has changed shape or points at an odd angle, a bone is sticking out, there is a bad cut over it, you're in severe pain, or the toes look blue or white, feel numb or are cold to touch. These can mean a broken bone. Don't drive yourself.
Same day (NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre): after an injury, you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, the pain is very bad or getting worse, there is a lot of swelling or bruising or it is getting worse, it feels very stiff, or it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself. Get the same help if you also have a very high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery: this could be an infection. If you think it's broken, don't treat it yourself.
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Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
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Same day: a sudden, very painful, hot, swollen, red joint, often the big toe but sometimes the middle of the foot (the midfoot) or the ankle, especially with a high temperature, feeling shivery or being unable to eat. It may be gout, but it could be a joint infection (septic arthritis), which is urgent.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. It could be a blood clot (DVT). Watch for it after an ankle injury or time in a cast or boot.
Pain that isn't better after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, is getting worse, keeps coming back, or stops you doing normal things.
An ankle that keeps giving way months after a sprain.
One spot on a foot bone that hurts with every step and later at night: a possible stress fracture.
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Burning, tingling, numbness or pins and needles down an arm or leg while stretching usually means a nerve is under tension, so ease off to a position without it. A pinch at the front of the hip or ankle at the end of a stretch is the joint, so work below it. See a GP or physiotherapist if either keeps happening (our suggestion).
Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
Some discomfort during exercise is fine. Aim for pain you would call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour, with no more swelling or stiffness the next morning. If it's worse the next day, do a little less (a smaller range, fewer reps, a lighter band), not nothing.
The exceptions: pain in one spot on a bone should be pain-free, because it could be a stress fracture; burning, tingling or numbness means stop that movement; and if your feet are numb, pain won't warn you, so check your skin after exercise.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
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If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.
In the largest review, ankle range didn't predict sprains in 3,636 athletes; a previous sprain did.
No trial has tested it. Calf stretching before exercise didn't clearly change injury risk in army recruits, and stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries.
It adds a few degrees over weeks, about 2 to 5, and full-range calf strength adds about as much. Worth doing, with realistic expectations.
Raised heels let the knee travel further while you squat, but they don't change the ankle itself. Use them while you build range, as our squat guide says.
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Rolling programmes improved range in general, but not ankle bend when the calves were rolled.
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Runners with stiffer calves and ankles ran more economically in small studies, and range you can't control isn't an advantage.
They move the joint, which helps a stiff ankle, but strength needs load: in the trials, it was calf raises and heel raise exercises, not circles, that improved ankle bend alongside stretching. Our strengthen your ankles guide covers strength.
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Stretch your calves with the knee straight and with it bent on most days, do slow full-range calf raises 2 or 3 times a week, and use knee-to-wall rocks before squats or runs. Calf stretching added about 2 to 5 degrees over weeks in trials, and full-range calf raises improved it about as much. Our ankle mobility routine puts it together in 12 minutes.
Face a wall, bend your knee to touch it with your heel down, and find the furthest your big toe can be from the wall. Healthy young adults reached about 9.5 cm in one small study and 11 to 14 cm in earlier ones, so treat any number as a rough guide. Compare your two sides and yourself over time; a small difference between sides is common.
Trials gained a few degrees over 4 to 8 weeks. Retest every 2 to 4 weeks, because only a change of about 2 cm on the knee-to-wall test is clearly more than measuring error. People vary, so nobody can promise a number.
Build ankle bend with calf stretches and calf raises, and meanwhile squat with a slightly wider stance and toes turned out, or with your heels on a small plate, as our squat guide suggests. Stiffer ankles go with a shallower squat and knees that drift in, and heel lifts help the knee travel while you build range.
They may matter in jumping sports: basketball players with stiff ankles had more knee tendon pain in one study. But reviews found ankle range didn't predict ankle sprains, and no trial shows that loosening the ankle prevents injury. A previous sprain is the clearest risk factor for another.
Once you can walk without a limp and your clinician agrees, calf stretches and a home programme helped most in the first weeks, alongside balance training, which cuts repeat sprains. If the ankle keeps giving way months later, see a GP or physiotherapist. Our ankle sprain and chronic ankle instability guides have the stages.
That's usually the front of the joint, not a tight calf. Don't push into it: keep your heels raised and see our anterior ankle impingement guide, as our squat guide advises.
You don't need to: calf stretching before exercise didn't clearly change injury risk in a large trial of army recruits, and any warm-up loosens you for a while. Our runner's warm-up uses ankle circles and knee-to-wall rocks instead.
In training, mostly yes: ankle mobility usually means bending the foot up with your weight on it. The ankle also points down and the foot rolls in and out, which our ankle and foot joint page covers.
Yes. Ankle bend falls with age, but stretching still works, and over 65, 60-second holds gained range faster in a hamstring trial. Hold a wall for balance, and pair the stretches with calf raises and balance work.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
