How to strengthen ankle point, flex, twist and bend?

[Query]

It seems clear that ankle point and flex strength make it easier and faster to initiate turns, and help with control. Spins generally begin with turns, so the same should apply.

I've never used freestyle boots. I guess they don't leave much room for ankle bend. But many ice dancers using use full range of motion ankle bends to begin deeper edges.

I guess the torque we need for spins and jumps comes to some extant from the ankle twisting strength.

So I guess becoming stronger in all these ways, should be a good thing. Strength might also make it practical to use blades with longer rocker lengths, and therefore to initiate turns more quickly and more precisely. Since skate boots have high heels, we should be develop strength in elevated heel positions.

I guess the obvious way to strengthen these things is simply by doing them, on the ice. Off-ice, one could simply put plastic blade guards on the blades, and do toe and heel raises and lowers, and bending and twisting ankles while standing. I guess normal non-elevated heel shoes and barefoot exercises won't help as much?

But theory says pushing your current strength near its limits helps make you stronger. (Doing it in normal shoes won't work for me. I have no high heel shoes other than skates, and it's clear the foot should be in the same configuration as when it is needed.

So I'm trying to figure out good off-ice exercises to help.

Do toe and heel raises while holding weights sound good?

Any ideas for twisting and bending strength?

[Purple Sparkly]

I would not recommend doing ankle exercises with your skates on off-ice.  This could prematurely break down your skates. Also, wearing skates excessively off-ice, for example, walking around the house, breaks them down differently than when you are skating.

Skates do have a heel, but it is not as high as it may look on the outside and I would not call it a "high" heel.  A pair of men's work boots have a similar heel height and any shoes have at least a little "heel."  My foot lays almost flat in my boot.

The exercises on this website are good for flexibility and strength.  I have done all of these exercises or a variation of them for years.  I do #4 all the time, in any type of shoe, just because it is fun and feels good.  I like to raise up on my toes and hold it as long as I can, usually impressing people with my balance.  I also do #3 frequently and have been since I was about 11 years old.  I have strong and flexible ankles and have never experienced any kind of ankle injury.  If I lay flat on my back, my feet lay flat, and if I have a blanket over me, there is no "foot bump."  Apparently this is not normal because somebody commented on it one time and before that I had no idea that it was unusual.

[kssk8fan]

Basic ballet will help to strengthen the ankles and increase range of motion at the same time.  However, IMO for turns on ice, it involves so much more.  Knee bend is crucial as is upper body/core strength which results in more control.   Ice dancers have some of the best turns because they are trained to get down in their knees.  Ice Dancers boots are also lower cut in the back (however more and more freestyle boots are designed this way now) which allows more range of motion in the foot to create a nice line from extension. 

[Doubletoe]

You do not want to be "twisting and bending" your ankle, only flexing and extending.  You also don't want to be doing any of these exercises or stretches in skating boots, which limit the range of motion in your ankles and feet.  Do them barefoot or in low-rise athletic shoes.  
Calf raises will help strengthen the calf muscles required for pointing toes, while calf stretches will help stretch the achilles tendons to allow the forward ankle bend required for deep edges.  However, that ankle bend needs to be accompanied by deep knee bend (knees over ankles over toes), which requires quad--and some hamstring--strength.  Squats are always good for that.  Of course you should have a trained physical therapist or trainer show you proper form on these if you haven't done them before.  And yes, ballet is good, too.

[Query]

Thanks Purple Sparkly, for the exercises.

I was looking for training which would push my strength to its limits - which the ShapeFit site doesn't really do.

My boots have high heels - like many ice dance boots. (Enough that they hurt my ankles when they were new. Klingbeil took the heels down maybe a 1/4" at my request (they are now 2" - 2-1/4" - I forget), but they are still pretty high for me, high enough that I think exercises need to be oriented towards that configuration to be much help.

Yes, doing exercises in my skates and blades was a dumb idea. Bad for blades as well as boots, even with guards.

I could do exercises while facing downhill on a ramp. That's not the same foot configuration as in skates, because skates also bend the feet up near the balls, but it's closer.

Ballet is not in my personal future. That is not the way I am designed to move, by body type, flexibility, or personal image. It would be a little better if I took lessons aimed at at guys like me, but that would have to be privates and is very expensive.

BTW, I been taught by at least one coach that ice dancers should twist and bend ankles, to enhance edges. My boots are cut down in back, and do not limit my ankles' range of motion in any direction, though they slow motion down.

But freestyle skaters don't twist the ankle at all when they enter or exit a spin or rotational jump? Is the limitation deliberate, or is that just because of the boots' stiffness?

[icedancer]

You do not want to be "twisting and bending" your ankle, only flexing and extending.  You also don't want to be doing any of these exercises or stretches in skating boots, which limit the range of motion in your ankles and feet.  Do them barefoot or in low-rise athletic shoes.  

Actually there is quite a bit of deliberate pronation and supination of both the free foot (like in Moves and turns especially) and skating foot, but also in all aspects of skating - my coach calls it "rolling the foot" and I actually think this language is becoming one of the lost arts of figure skating because I have not heard many coaches talk about that very much. 

Ice dancers do often strike their feet at a greater angle to the ice than most freestylers and I think this is where some of the supination may come in handy.

Please forgive me if I am not making any sense but I think this is what Query is getting at.

[sk8lady]

Ice dancers do often strike their feet at a greater angle to the ice than most freestylers and I think this is where some of the supination may come in handy.

Please forgive me if I am not making any sense but I think this is what Query is getting at.

I hear the same thing from my ice dance coach--you're supposed to bend the ankle to deepen the edge. No twisting involved though!

[lindafmb]

One of my skating clients broke an ankle and needed to strengthen it so that she could get back to competitive level (she's a competitive singles skater from Canada, senior level). So I made this video for her, which you may also find helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuOq4jrAL2w

Please enjoy, and let me know if you have questions, comments, or concerns.

Linda

[AgnesNitt]

I started a ballet style barre class to improve my turnout. It turns out that one of the exercises they do is actually working better on my feet and ankles than my turn out.

It takes about 3 minutes.
Keep the arms low and in front of you. The first few times you so this, you may need to balance agaonst a chair.

feet together
plie' 3 times slowly.
on the 4th plie' raise the heels, then pulse (keeping the heels up) 4 times
lower the heels
repeat twice from the top
On the second repeat do 24 pulses instead of 4

Do the same exercise series in the first position.
Do the same exercise series in the second position.

Repeat the series of three two more times.

[LilJen]

I've broken both ankles and PT has involved BOSU (an inflated half-sphere) and stretchy bands (aka "Thera-Bands"). You can do a lot with therabands, and they're easy to get and inexpensive--lots of pushing and pulling of the foot up and down and to both sides to strengthen the muscles all the way around your ankles.

Heel raises are good; even better is if you can do them standing on a step so that you get a fuller range of motion (plus when you're down the calf muscles get a good stretch).

It's my understanding that "ankle bend" refers pretty much to forward/backward and NOT side to side motion. The side to side motion is what has done in my bones and ligaments and I, for one, want to avoid that to prevent further ligament damage!!

[lindafmb]

It's my understanding that "ankle bend" refers pretty much to forward/backward and NOT side to side motion. The side to side motion is what has done in my bones and ligaments and I, for one, want to avoid that to prevent further ligament damage!!

I've mentioned this before in another thread, but it bears repeating. The primary joint actions at the ankle are plantar flexion (think "plant your toe") and dorsiflexion (this toes up, like a dorsal fin on a fish). There is also some lateral movement, but to the point made here, that's not where the emphasis should be placed, since the ankle joint only has a limited range of motion in that plane.

The exercises LilJen mentioned, including work on a BOSU, are in the video I posted above. I show lots of band work in other vids on my channel as well.

I'm currently working with two younger adult skaters who are currently side-lined due to ankle sprain. Active recovery is key to getting back on the ice more quickly, but always follow the guidance provided by your doctors and PTs. Good luck in your recovery.