Soleus Stretch

Hey,

I have extremely poor ankle mobility and strength, especially with my instep. The gastroc stretch is pretty fine for me, but I really find the soleus stretch hard to perform. In order to keep my knee straight over the foot, my ankle has to come very far off of the ground. When I do this I don't just feel a stretch in my Soleus but also my hip and at the front and sides of my ankle. Is it ok to have my ankle quite far off of the ground, and are the extra sore spots just indicative of poor mobility in other areas as well?

Cheers,

Jay

Hi Jay,

Sounds as though you have successfully discovered multiple mobility deficits!  

For the soleous stretch, the foot must remain flat on the ground.  Reduce your degree of forward lean until you are able to do so.  

If after reducing the forward lean until you are upright and the foot is still not flat, continue reducing your squat depth until you reach the point where your foot is flat.   In this instance feel free to rest the glutes on an elevated surface to reduce muscular fatigue.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks for the quick reply Coach. 

I've uploaded a picture of me doing it how you've described. Am I doing this correctly? I have trouble judging if my knee is straight over my foot because as I go into a full squat position, my femur seems to push to the side. 

Thanks for the help,

Jay