Foot and ankle strength excercise

Looking to improve my foot and ankle strength. Calf raises is the obvious answer but im interested in the side to side strength as well. Think of rolling your ankle. That sort of thing. Any help is appreciated.

Single leg deadlift and pistols are probably your ticket.

Trailrunning or hiking could help, but I assume these are the things giving you issues?

Maybe balancing on those weird half exercise balls or walking a slackline could also help.

So I would think of the positions you are in climbing to train for functionality. In addition to that from a bio mechanics view ankle and foot strength are dependent on the whole kinetic chain ie glutes hamstrings quads tibialis anterior/posterior gastrocnemius ect. Building strength will come from resistance training in addition to finding the appropriate range of motion necessary for the type of climbing you want to do and owning that new range.

Also realize certain muscles will be more active in different positions for example soleus in the calf is more active with the knee bent while your gastrocnemius is more active with the leg straight which translates to different moves while climbing. 

As far as preventing ankle sprains trail running as mentioned above is great because your foot is consistently exposed to challenging positions. If you wanna nerd out there’s some great material online about foot and ankle bio mechanics that might help give you ideas about your own particular movement (everyone is different).

Hope this helps
Cheers 

Buy some mythos 

In all seriousness though, balance training has helped me a lot. Squats on bosu balls or even just like standing on a bosu ball. 

Calf raises of course would help.

Also getting resistance bands, wrapping them under your foot and gently moving side to side, up and down, in circles etc.

indo balance board, get a golf ball and place it mid foot (under the arch), start with softer (carpet pad, yoga matt) surfaces and *slowly* move to harder surfaces putting more and more weight on the golf ball. Practice doing the "ABC'S" with the big toe, articulating at the ankle. 

Anectdotal evidence here, but I have not rolled or sprained my ankles in any significant manner since I started slacklining regularly two years ago.

That being said, learn how to fall correctly off a slackline first or you might sprain an ankle in the process. A catch 22 for sure, but I’m convinced it’s helped my ankles a ton. 

Run in deep sand.

         Yoga offers numerous single- and double- leg poses that force being balanced with a wide range of difficulties (warrior III, eagle, various binds). The result for me has been improvement in the foot - ankle - knee - hip link stability and a stronger core.
         Those balance/stability boards ( circular board to stand on a half-circle) aren't bad either

Start out slow: walk around/hang out barefoot as much as possible (and social acceptable), instead of wearing shoes. When in line, stand on one leg and balance.

I guess I 'm a little curious - do you have a history of, or do you have now a foot/ankle sprain? That's really going to affect the answers given.

Thanks for all the great replys. I haven't done any trail running or hard hiking lately. 2 years ago I was trail running a decent amount and yes sometimes my ankles would swell up and be stiff for a few days. Or I'd roll one and need to baby it for a week or 2. Recently longer sessions in the bouldering gym or climbing outdoors has been bugging them a bit. Im trying to get ahead of any weakness or muscle imbalance before an injury develops. I have 2 little ones at home so the easy at home excercise fit with my current time availability. On top of that i just picked up some Therabands and squats are my favourite so looking forward to doing, or at least trying pistols. Being 32 sucks sometimes. I don't bounce back quite as quick.

Edit: A bit more about me. Im a big mammal. 6'4" and 240lbs. Losing 30 pounds...again, is on the list. Ive been climbing the cascade volcanos like Hood and the Sisters and Rainer over the last 4 years. Been interested in climbing more alpine rock so have been going to the bouldering gym about once a week since march with a couple breaks for an a2 pulley injury then a minor SLAP tear. I have been sport climbing outside once a month as well.