Currently I only do compound exercises (I’m on Rippetoe’s), and haven’t touched an isolation exercise in a long time. Something I have always wanted was very strong ankles. I don’t train my calves and figure training calves is what trains ankle strength.
I was wondering the best way to go about strengthening my ankles (how many sets/reps, what exercises, etc.). Should I just start a calf program?
It’s not that I have weak ankles by any means, its just that I want uber-strong ankles.
I have found alternating between high reps and low reps on seated/standing calf raises tends to work best. Waterbury suggests sets of 10X5 with seated raises, and I too find that missive loads work well for strength and definition.
Mid
Squat barefoot.
walk with heavy loads on your back shoulders in your arms and over your head. drag heavy things as well
Phill
Work on standing on one leg and learning to balance. As wierd as it sounds, opening and closing your eyes every 10 seconds or so is enough to throw your balance off…work on doing that and you will begin to strengthen the ankle.