Ankle Mobility For Mountaineers

When it comes to physical preparation for mountaineers, mobility is often completely overlooked.
 
Which is a shame. Because if certain joints don't have the range of motion they prefer, then it can cause many compensations through the body.
 
Which can often contribute to discomfort, pain and injury.
 
And while aerobic conditioning and strength training should be two of the big blocks in any mountaineers preparation...
 
You would be crazy to ignore mobility!
 
And today specifically, I want to talk about ankle mobility.

Now having a sufficient range of motion in the ankles is important for a couple of big reasons for mountaineers (there are many more, but let's stick to these today):
 

1. If the ankles are restricted,  this will cause the body to try and find more movement somewhere else, which will typically end up allowing extra movement in the feet or knees. This has consequences in your hiking, running, climbing and strength training, and can often contribute to discomfort, pain and injury.
   
   
2. If the ankles are restricted, it will be difficult to plant your feet properly on steep inclines, which will cause the calves to do a huge amount of unnecessary work (and inhibit some of the larger leg muscles doing their share of the work)
   
   

So it is safe to say, you want your ankles moving freely and happily!
 
But the big question is, how can you tell if the ankles are tight or not?  
 
Well, I have got you there.
 
Introducing the 'Knee To Wall Assessment', a  simple self-assessment for ankle mobility.
 
With this assessment, you can test your own ankle mobility and decide whether you need to put some focus on improving your range of motion or not.
 
You can watch a video description of this assessment here:

Scoring:  

• Less than 5cm =- poor ankle mobility
• Between 5-10cm = acceptable ankle mobility
• More than 10cm – good ankle mobility
  
  

Give it a try!

And if you want some extra help with your training for mountaineering, I highly encourage you to check out the Online Summit Program:

https://www.summitstrength.com.au/online-mountaineer.html
 
Yours in adventure,  
 
Rowan