How Triathletes Can Improve Ankle Mobility

Hey swimmers! This is coach Milo.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"How Triathletes Can Improve Ankle Mobility"

Summary:

Milo explains why floppy ankles matter for swimming and how triathletes, whose ankles stiffen from running and biking, can loosen them up. Stiff, hammer-like feet don't move water; you want ankles as loose as possible. He suggests sitting on your ankles and finding ankle flexibility stretches on YouTube. The reason it matters is mechanical: you don't actually move water during the down-kick or up-kick themselves, but in the transitions between them. As your foot shifts from kicking down to kicking up, it bends and flicks water one way, and as it shifts from up to down, it bends and flicks water the other way. That flick is the only moment you propel water backward, so ankle flexibility unlocks it, and a better kick makes you a better hip-driven swimmer, especially for the two-beat technique.

Answer:

Here's the deal. You really want floppy ankles when you're swimming. When you kick, if you've got really stiff feet, like a hammer foot, and you're just hammer-kicking up and down, you're not really moving water. You want to loosen those ankles up, and the way to do that is to practice sitting on your ankles and to find ankle flexibility stretches on YouTube. You want them as loose as possible, and here's why. You don't actually move water when you kick down or kick up. The moment you actually move water is in the transition. After you've kicked down, transitioning from down to up, your feet bend and flick water that way. Once your foot has gone up and is transitioning back down, your foot bends and flicks water the other way. So you only move water backward in the transitions, from down to up and up to down. You've got to have that ankle flexibility just for those moments, for that reason alone. And if nothing else, the better your kick, the better a hip-driven swimmer you're going to be, especially if you want to master that two-beat hip-driven technique.