I have very weak ankles. Will running strenghten or weaken them? Any exercises to help gain strength?

Heres the issue. I gained weight over the winter (my boyfriend realized I have a sweet spot for fried chicken, and insisted I gain 10lbs before he'd take me snowmobiling so I didn't freeze to death. (we're in northern maine, and he lives on top of a mountian. I could see his point))





Anyway, I gained the weight and now I need to loose it. I can't afford a gym membership, and I have horribly weak ankles. Walking or running too far will usually cripple me for a while. I'm willing to put up with that if the exercize is strengthening my ankles, but is it? What can I do to gain strenght so I can run? Any ideas? I've heard dance and ballet will strenghten them. Is that true?

I have very weak ankles. Will running strenghten or weaken them? Any exercises to help gain strength?
do swimming, it wont put too much strain on your joints
Reply:Exercising does strengthen them (trust me, I have the same problem). When I was younger, my mother took me to a bone specialist for them. I wanted to play soccer and my mother was concerned that the exercise would cause me to break or sprain my ankles again (I had all ready broken one without realizing it). Try jogging. Work out at a slow pace in the beginning and then try to do more strenuous activities after that.
Reply:Ankles are all teeny bones and tendons. There isn't anything you can do to strengthen them. I'm a couple of turns over the lifetime sprained ankle limit, so I have to be very careful about running. I put in most of my mileage a bike or in the pool to save what's left for important races. Taping or elastic ankle braces can help for those times when running is unavoidable.
Reply:You can do calf stretches as I call them. Get on your tip toes and hold it for 7-15 seconds. Do a set of 10 of these. Start increasing the amount in the sets per day, such as at 2-4 a day for the increase. This should help your calves and your ankles.
Reply:try pilates or yoga. the stretching exercises will really help. you can also buy stretching rubber bands to use while exercising - my dr. told me to buy them and do ankle exercises when i broke it a few years back. walking and running will make it worse - the pounding hurts them.