OCR Europe Sports Magazine October 2014 | Page 26

ANKLE STRENGTH Improve your balance As well as having strong ankles, it is important to be able to balance. Your body reacts better when it is used to how it feels when it is in different positions. This is called proprioception, and you need to work on this in order to be able to react to changing ankle position. To train this, add in balancing on one leg and focussing on keeping your ankle straight, and when this is easy, try balancing on a wobble board or pillow. Also add in some single leg squats (hold on to something to begin with if you struggle). Also look at your agility, so that you can move quickly without stumbling/tripping. Agility ladders are great for this, and you can step quickly in different directions and different stride lengths in order to train your brain as well as your legs! Keep yourself injury free to run another day Happy L anding! Fitness and! training editor! Lucy Clay