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Of course, everyone who is familiar with running knows the importance of strengthening the ligaments of the foot and ankles. Another thing is that sometimes it is hard to spend 5-10 minutes on training for ankle exercises: we dress, tie our laces - and run out into the street. That’s sad. After all, the good condition of the elastic ligaments reduces the risk of pain in the feet. And strong ankle muscles improve the power of the lower back and even the shoulders while running and just walking. Best Exercises for Strengthening Your Ankles Of course, there are plenty of good exercises that will help you work out your ankles, so without any further ado, let us have a look at those. Stretching towardsSit on the floor and straighten your legs in front of you. It is important to ensure that your thumb, little toe, and heel remain in the same direction as you pull the foot over. Only under this condition the muscles will be strengthened and stretched in a balanced way, which will prevent collapse on the outer or inner part of the foot while walking and running. When pulling the foot away from you, try to stretch your toes, as if you are making them longer and do not twist them under the foot. Repeat 15 times. RollingFrom a seated position with your feet in front of you, pull your feet as close to you as possible. Put your knees sideways, keeping your feet together. Keeping this position of the legs and resting with your hands on the floor, lean your body forward and raise your pelvis above the floor, trying to stay in position for a while. If you feel the potential in yourself, you can roll left and right, touching your feet with your palms. Ups and downs exerciseTraditionally, they are offered to be done on stairs, but slow doing on a flat surface will give an excellent result. Rise on your toes as high as possible, keep your heels in weight, and then bend your knees, pushing your heels forward. Place your heels on the floor, and only then straighten your legs. It is very important to make sure that your knees and ankles do not roll or fall. Dumbbell squatsSquats are good for developing your ankles and combined with dumbbells or a barbell (if you're already trained enough), this exercise becomes even more effective. Start with those dumbbells that you can lift 15 times without having to put them on the floor. For beginners, a weight of 2-3 kg is suitable. Bodybuilders need to lift more weight to build leg muscles. Perform squats as follows: stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, arms with dumbbells at your sides and if you are doing an exercise with a barbell, hold it on your chest or behind your head. Sit down, bending your knees and lowering your buttocks to the floor. Keep your back straight and squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. The knees should always remain directly over the feet; do not push your knees further than your toes. Push yourself back to the starting position. Do 2 sets of 10-15 squats. LungesKeep your torso straight and your shoulders back. Step forward and lower yourself until both your knees are at the 90-degree angle. Make sure that your knees do not protrude over your toes. Do two sets of 10 repetitions for each leg. Final Word Strengthening ankles is extremely important for both professional athletes and sports enthusiasts, so no matter if sport is your life or you work out just to keep in shape, you still need to work on your ankles.

The hamstrings are often underestimated. Usually, training focuses on the quads and calves, but the hamstrings seem to be less important. However, it should be remembered that neglecting any muscle has aesthetic and health consequences that you can avoid by working with it well. The reason you shouldn't forget about these muscles isn't just because of the symmetry and the look of your body. A weak hamstring is one of the most common causes of injuries most professional athletes have. Best Workouts for Hamstrings The best way to strengthen your hamstrings is, of course, exercising. So let’s talk about these workouts. Barbell 90The main benefit of this exercise is that you don't need lots of equipment, just a barbell. Start in a standing position with a barbell on your shoulders, keeping your back straight at all times. Bend your knees slightly, stretch your glutes, and bend forward 90 degrees. Then inhale and return back to the starting position. In addition to the hamstrings, this exercise will also strengthen your glutes and back. HyperextensionHyperextension is a great exercise for the hamstrings, as well as the muscles in the lower back and glutes. Sit comfortably on the hyperextension machine with your heels firmly resting on the platform at the bottom of the machine. Cross your arms over your chest or behind your head. Smoothly lower yourself down until you feel a stretch in the muscles of the lower back and hamstring while inhaling. Without delay at the bottom point, straighten to the level of the starting position, exhaling. Then return to the starting position. Throughout the exercise, keep your head in line with the body, keep your back straight. Tights upThis exercise can be performed on two horizontal bars on the playground, or simply put your feet on a chair or bench. We will describe the home workout option. Sit on the floor with your feet on the chair. Raise the body on your hands so that the tights are up in the air. Bend your knees and lift your tights up so that your body is parallel to the floor. Do 7-8 reps. One foot and dumbbellsThis exercise works well but requires a nice sense of balance. Take dumbbells in your hands, take one leg back and do not lower it to the floor until the end of the exercise. After that get to the previous position. Repeat this exercise a few times until you are tired. Final Word Hamstrings might seem insignificant but it doesn’t mean that you can skip working on these muscles. In fact, strong hamstrings will protect you from many injuries. So do not hesitate and start working on these muscles right now.

A lot of people want to know how to build shoulders at home without dumbbells and other sports equipment at hand. Everything is very simple. Building the muscles of the shoulders, and especially the deltas are easily done with pull-ups and push-ups, which will help to get the shape of your dream. Workouts for Building Shoulders Push-upsFor the most part, this exercise will work with the pectoral muscles, but the shoulders will also be involved. A narrow position of the hands will involve the triceps and the middle delta in the work, and if you put your arms wider, then in addition to the middle part, you can also use the front delt muscles. In order to maximize the use of the muscles of the shoulders in the exercise, try to do push-ups a little higher, so that only the deltas work. One-hand push-upsThis exercise is good for toning the shoulder girdle. It is important to take into account one point: the wider the legs are, the easier it is to perform the exercise, but the less the pressure on the muscles. So choose the best position for yourself. Dumbbell ShrugsThis exercise is perfect for the shoulders muscles as well as the trapezius muscle. And your posture after doing this exercise regularly will be improved! Stand up keeping your body straight. Hands with dumbbells are lowered. Lift dumbbells, not with your hands, try to include only the shoulders muscles during it, lifting your shoulders as high as possible. Sideways dumbbellsAlthough the exercise is basic, it is more suitable for athletes with a more advanced level. Doing dumbbells or swinging them is supposed to improve the work of the shoulders. So first of all, you need to stand up slightly leaning forward. In the initial position, the dumbbells are at the bottom. Let’s take a breath and spread them apart, trying to raise them as much as possible. When you get them at shoulder level, pause and gently lower your arms. Barbell pressIt’s the most effective exercise for building up your shoulders. It is also called a standing barbell press. It is easy to do, firstly you need to put your feet shoulder-width apart, take the barbell with a straight grip and raise it to the chest. After that, you need to exhale and raise the barbell up. After that, you need to stay in this position for a second and slowly lower the barbell to the starting position, while inhaling deeply. Wrapping Up In order to quickly build perfect shoulders, you need a nice set of exercises, with which you will achieve maximum results. You can't just exhaust them with working hours in a gym. Follow the advice we gave you and you will get great results as soon as possible.

The calf muscles are often neglected in the early training stages when people concentrate on working out the chest, arms, and back. As a result, exercises for building calves are postponed or performed extremely rarely, which leads to a lack of progress. The muscles of the lower legs, as well as the deep muscles of the back, practically do not rest during the day, as they have to bear the weight of the body, help maintain balance, and stabilize the joints when walking. This means that it is focused on a low level of development and the way of working with it should be different.Here are some exercises for calves. Calves 45Among all the exercises this one is aimed at developing the calf muscles, it is also one of the most difficult ones. It's all about changing the angle of the legs, which allows you to use not only the calves but also the soleus. To perform this exercise, you need Gakkenshmidt's Machine. Depending on the design, you will be facing it or not. Set a suitable operating weight. It is calculated as the arithmetic average between the working weights in the two previous exercises. Next, select the weights according to the loads. Then you need to lower the heels, trying to stretch the calf as much as possible. Perform a toe lift. Lock in the position of extreme tension for 1-2 seconds. Calf raises with dumbbellsThis exercise is designed for athletes of any level and is considered the main one for working out the calf muscles. Stand on a wooden block. You can perform a movement in Smith, getting a step platform under your feet, and put the barbell on your shoulders. Fix the body in a straight position. If additional weight is required, dumbbells or weights should be taken. Next, you need to lower your heels below the level of the bar, trying to stretch the ankle as much as possible. Rise on your toes with a powerful impulse movement. Stay in this position for 1-2 seconds and tighten the calves. Slowly lower and get back to the starting position. Seated calf raisesThis exercise is great for lazy training and will be a perfect option for beginners. Sit on the machine seat. Place the toes of the feet on the support step. Lower your heels to the floor as much as possible. Lower the lever with soft stops on your knees and lock. Leg pressLie on a leg press machine. This uncommonly effective device for working out the legs can be used for training the calf muscles. Look for the platform where the legs would be straight. Fix the speed. You only need to do two actions. Remove the platform from the stops and squeeze it out with your toes. Return the socks to their original position. It is important to know that the effect of posture on the development of the lower leg and calf muscles is much stronger than the effect of training. Flat feet, if not taken into account and not compensated, also interfere with bringing the shape of the lower leg. To improve your calves without exercising machines, you can simply choose the right shoes and adjust your gait. Wrapping Up Developed calves not only help you perform certain exercises better but also make your legs look simply gorgeous. Therefore, take another look at these exercises and make sure to at least give them a try while working out next time.

Push-ups, exercises with dumbbells, planks, and handstands - all these exercises require strong and flexible wrists and today we will tell you how to develop wrist strength and do exercises without pain and discomfort. Gymnastics, climbing, crossfit, various martial arts - all these sports require strong wrists. In fact, wrist strength should be developed along with flexibility. This will help you cope with exercises that not only require good grip but also joint mobility. In addition to that, these muscles will allow you to train without pain or injury if you are learning to do a handstand or other challenging elements. Exercises for the wrists are also useful for people who are not fond of sports. Warming up and stretching these muscles can help avoid tunnel syndrome, which is a compression of the median nerve between the bones and tendons. Warming up will help relieve muscle tension. Exercises for Wrist Muscles As you can see, working on your wrists is extremely important for both your health and the ability to do other exercises, which is why you have to know how to correctly develop these muscles. So let’s take a look at some wrist strengthening exercises. Raising from Wrists to Fists Sit on the floor with your legs bent under you. Place your hands on the floor on the back of your hand, fingers facing each other. With the strength of your wrists, try to move your hands and make fists. If this works out easily and without pain, transfer your weight to your hands and try again. Reduce the load if pain occurs. Repeat 15 times. Dumbbell Rows Place your forearms on a platform. Turn your wrists so that your palms are facing the ceiling. Take the dumbbell with your fingers and start lifting it with the power of your wrist. Start with small weights and gradually increase the load. Perform three sets of 8-10 reps. Reverse Grip Body Bar Lift You will need a body bar for this exercise. Unlike the barbell, it is lighter so you can practice without overexertion and pain. Grasp the body bar with a reverse grip, bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle. Open and tilt your palms slightly so that the body bar rolls onto your bent fingers. At the extreme point, the angle at the wrist should be 90 degrees. With the power of your wrist, lift the body bar back up. Perform four sets of 8-10 times. Holding Dumbbells Grasp the top of the dumbbells with your fingers. Hold as much as you can - 30 seconds or longer. Hand Rotation with Dumbbells Take dumbbells in both hands, bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle. In the starting position, the back of your hands should look up. Flip your hands over so that your fingers are on top, and then return to the starting position. Turning back and forth counts in one go. Perform four sets of 8-10 times. Wrist Stretching Sit on your knees, place your palms in front of you, fingers towards you. Pull your torso back, increasing the angle at the wrist. Hold at the extreme point for 3-5 seconds, come back and repeat. Do it 5-10 times. Wrapping Up Wrists might seem like insignificant parts of the body, however, you need to develop these muscles to be able to do many exercises. So if you want to improve your wrist muscles, make sure to do these simple workouts and you’ll quickly see the results.