An important thing to consider, as Kelly has emphasized in a lot of ankle vid’s, is that stiff calves are horrendous bunches of grisly tissue that have seen tons of loading. It takes a lot of consistent work to restore ankle range of motion, as I myself have found. Only by working on it diligently daily, using a combination of approaches have I made any headway.

If you’re experience a lot of this bone-on-bone blocking in the front of your ankle, the banded versions of the ankle mobs will be key (band pulling backwards towards your heel). This encourages the tibia to glide backwards as it rolls forwards against your talus. I’m a big fan of throwing the band on with my foot up on a bench, then grabbing the sides and pushing my chest into my knee to apply tension. Make sure you don’t allow your foot to collapse or your heel to rise, as either will compromise the position and your results. Don’t be afraid to do a little contract/relax here either.

You might find that, in any ankle mob, two minutes is not nearly enough time. I’ve had to put in 5-10min per side in some sessions just to feel like I made a dent. Just make sure you’re not experiencing any pain during the mob, take the longer sessions in doses (or even chunk it up throughout the day), and use a combination of soft tissue work, banded flossing, and banded stretching with an emphasis on position.

Let us know how it goes!