Your ankles are your friends. Although you may not really pay attention, your ankles do a heck of a lot for you. They are constantly being placed under stress as they work hard to support you in your activities.
If you want to have healthy ankles for life, it is important to learn how to strengthen ankles. Functional ankles are ones that are supported by healthy and strong connective tissues and muscles. Strong and healthy ankles know how to absorb loads from all angles.
Keep in mind that we focus on two types of ankle strengthening exercises. The first type requires a resistance band and is all about loading your ankle joint in various directions. The second type is all about stabilization and teaching your ankles how to stabilize on uneven terrain.
Combined, these two types of exercises will strengthen the connective tissues that support your ankles.
I would recommend three tools for strengthening your ankles. For sure the first tool would be a simple, light resistance band that you can use to progressively load your ankle as you put it throught directional movements. Second on the list would be a bosu ball. The last tool I would recommend would be a stability disc. These two tools are great for developing great ankle stabilization.
You would use the light resistance band to incorporate a progressive resistance on your ankle joint, especially in dorsi and plantarflexion. Use the bosu ball and stability disc for balancing exercises. Start with short, simple holds and move on from there as you progress.
If you are just learning how to strengthen ankles, start off slow. If possible, perform all listed ankle strengthening exercises on a daily basis to make sure your ankles are always ready.