Calf and ankle high-step mobility
2 rounds: 10 knee-to-wall rocks per side, 12 slow calf raises, 30 s calf stretch per side.
- Slot
- Mobility
- Focus
- Mobility
- Time
- 8 min
- Intensity
- Low
- Injury risk
- Low
- Intervals
- 2 rounds
- Equipment
- Wall, Floor space
How to do it
Do 2 rounds of: 10 knee-to-wall rocks per side (stand facing a wall, one foot a hand's length away, and push the knee to the wall while keeping the heel down), 12 slow calf raises (rise onto your toes, then lower all the way down), and a 30-second calf stretch per side (hands on the wall, back leg straight, heel down).
Who it’s for
Ankles that limit your high steps, heel hooks and smearing. Ankle range is easy to ignore and it quietly caps a lot of footwork.
Common mistakes
- Heel lifting on the knee-to-wall rocks. Heel down, always. If it lifts, move the foot closer to the wall.
- Bouncing the calf raises. Slow up, slow all the way down. The bottom of the range is where most people are stiff.
- A short calf stretch. Thirty seconds a side, back leg straight, heel down.
- Only doing it when something hurts. Twice a week keeps the range.
How to progress
Move the foot further from the wall on the rocks as the range comes, and do the calf raises off a step so the heel drops below the toes. Measuring the knee-to-wall distance every few weeks makes the progress visible.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
- Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
- Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
- Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.
Related blocks
Start with a ready-made block
A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.