Believe it or not, the ankle carries the entire weight of the body. When we walk or undergo any movement that involves the legs, the ankles are placed under enormous stress. As such, the ankles should be very strong, so that they can effectively carry the weight of the body around. Any sort of injury, like ankle sprain or even fractures can have far greater repercussions than simply disrupting our movement. It can even lead to knee and back pain, which in some cases can be very severe. Strong legs and body require stronger ankles and if the ankles are neglected, then it can cause Achilles heel to the entire body. Thus, it would be very foolhardy to neglect strengthening the ankles, if you want to keep the body in top shape. This you can do by concentrating on certain ankle strengthening exercises. These exercises are quite easy and do not require you to workout with mountains of weight. More fortunately, some of these exercises can be done even when you are sitting at your desk and working on something else. All that is required is that you spend a couple of minutes every day exercising your ankles and you can rest assured that your feet won’t shake the world beneath you. In the article given below are a few exercises to strengthen the ankles.

Ankle Strengthening Exercises

Exercise - 1
Tie a single rope to both the ends of a dumbbell. Sit on a chair and put the feet so that the rope is below the toes. Now, using the ankles lift the weight several times.

Exercise - 2
Stand on a flat surface, keeping the feet parallel to each other. Place the hands on a desk or wall for support. Then raise the ankles so that you stand on your toes and after a few seconds bring the ankle down. Do this several times.

Exercise - 3
Sit down in a chair and keep the heel on the floor. Now, tap the toes up and down. Initially tap for one minute for each foot and then go on increasing the number of tapping.

Exercise - 4
Place a large wooden block on the ground and stand on it in such a way that the heels touch the ground. Raise the heels off the ground and hold the position for a few seconds. Then bring the heels back to the ground. Repeat several times.

Exercise - 5
Take a large elastic band and put it under one leg of a medium-heavy chair. Put one foot inside the band. Hold the chair and pull the elastic with the foot as you try to cross it with the other foot that is not in the elastic. Turn around so that the foot not in the elastic is nearer the chair and pull the elastic with the foot as far as it permits.

Exercise - 6
Skipping is a great way to strengthen your ankles. Using the jumping rope, skip your way out. However, do not stress yourself. Start off with 20 skips and then increase it as you get into the groove.

Exercise - 7
Stand with the feet placed shoulder width apart. Shift the weight to one leg and lift the other leg off the floor. Hold the balance and let the ankle receive the entire weight of the body. After a couple of minutes, repeat for the other leg as well.