Hey all, just looking for suggestions for getting in shape for my April NOBO thru attempt. Of course, the best training is just to be hiking every day, but short of that, what are some exercises/activities that you do to specifically encourage ankle and knee stability?

Whenever I go backpacking, if I'm already in shape I don't struggle with cardio or soreness in the major muscle groups, but I get really sore in all those little muscles and tendons in your feet and ankles that don't get used too much until you're out on uneven, rocky ground. At PT for an old knee injury, I learned some exercises for improving knee stability and dealing with IT band pain, so I'm doing a lot of those to hopefully ward off recurring knee pain, but we didn't do much for ankles. When I was living in Morocco until recently, I was surfing and slacklining a lot and that seemed to target and strengthen those areas. But now I'm 4 hours from a coast and there's actually winter here, so what kind of stuff can I do as a substitute?

Thanks for any ideas!