Foot and Ankle conditioning - Central Athletic Club
Foot and Ankle conditioningBy Kenny PearsonAs a bipedal creature, humans walk, run, jump and throw on our 2 feet. This evolutionary difference sets us apart from other primates allowing us to walk and run upright and use our arms for other things. However this has its drawbacks. Sports people in general and athletes in particular put a lot of strain on the lower legs. The lower legs do not have the same large muscles other parts of the body do but must carry the full weight of the body as the athlete runs by repeatedly landing on one foot then the other. This makes an athletes lower legs particularly vulnerable to injury.Having well-conditioned lower legs has the following advantages:It makes the athlete less vulnerable to injuries. A large proportion of injuries suffered by athletes are around the lower legs:shin splintsankle ligament injuriesfoot fractures, the bones in the foot are vulnerable to overtraining. Having well conditioned lower legs and gradually increasing your training load means the tendons and muscles can absorb the shock of the feet repeatedly hitting the ground. In poorly conditioned lower legs or where training is overdone, the foot bones end up absorbing the shock and can eventually fracture. This can be serious as foot bones have poor circulation and can take a long time to heal. So the best cure for this is prevention.A well conditioned lower leg also helps keep the legs in line so the correct running technique is maintained throughout a race or training. Otherwise injuries can materialise in the knees and hips if the legs go out of line.Athletes with stronger lower legs will perform better across all disciplines:Sprinters can put more power into the track. A study has shown that the main difference between the top Olympic sprinters and those just below them is how strong their lower legs are.Jumpers can increase the force they can apply at take off, i.e. they can jump further.Endurance athletes are able to run more efficiently with less energy lost on the lower legs allowing them to run faster for longer.Throwers can apply more force from the ground all the way through their bodies to the throwing implement. Throwers in particular spend a lot of time developing foot and ankle strength to increase power.An athlete in rehab from injury unable to do normal track running training will need to do extra foot and ankle conditioning to keep the lower legs conditioned for when they do return to running, e.g. if they are doing swimming or exercise bike work. See my separate note on exercise bike training.StiffnessThe phrase “stiffness” is used a lot when talking about foot and ankle strength and other areas. This refers to being able to maintain your bodies position when it is put under stress. Lower leg stiffness means keeping your lower legs in position when they make contact with the ground, i.e. it doesn’t collapse. This allows the lower leg to store the energy of the impact with the ground then return it to the rest of the body when the foot leaves the ground. This is called the stretch shortening cycle which anyone interested can read up about. This type of stiffness is desirable. This should not be confused with lack of mobility which is undesirable.Foot and ankle exercisesSo how do we develop foot and ankle stiffness? Calf raisesSimple to do at home and effective. Can be done on the stairs at home or any raised box.For beginners start with both feet on the step but can progress to single foot.For safety make sure you have a bannister or something to hold onto for balance. This is not a balance exercise.Drop ankles down then raise them up repeatedly for the required number of reps.Ensure ankle goes through the full range of movement. Right down as far as it will go then right up, ideally onto toes like a ballet dancer, but for beginners this is probably beyond you so just as high as you can.Stop once you get too tired to do the full range of movement even if you haven’t reached your target number of repetitions. You don’t want to overdo this, save it for next time.Start off easy. You will probably get stiff calves the first time you do this.Do 3 sets of whatever your target is and take 1-2 minutes rest between each set.Can repeat 1-3 times per week but don’t do it 2 days in a row. Your muscles will take 48 hours to recover and get stronger after each session.Increase the number of reps each time.Once you get good start doing single leg ones. Go back to 10 reps on left leg and right leg Beginner level: 3x10 repetitions on 2 legs.Level 2 : 3x15 reps 2 legsLevel 3: 3x20 reps 2 legsLevel 4: 10 reps left, 10 reps right then 2x20 reps on 2 legs.Level 5: 3x10 reps on each leg.And keep increasing in single leg on until you reachAdvanced level: 3x30 reps on each leg.Once you reach advanced level you can just maintain this and progress other areas of your training. You should now be able to just repeat this each week with ease and without any muscle soreness the next day. You could even add it to your warm up, cool down routines.Foot and ankle conditioning sessionI got this session off the Loughborough elite throws group but have adapted it (i.e. made it easier) for developing athletes.Points to note:Foot contacts should be almost flat, back of the ball of the foot.Short steps, 30cm or so to ensure the lower legs do all the work. We aren’t jumping.Keep legs athletically straight. This means nearly straight but with a slight bend at the knees so it has give in it. Should be roughly the angle at the knee your leg has when your foot hits the ground when running.Use a line if possible so you keep in a straight line.Start at 5m but can increase 5m each time you do it up to 25m. Can put a cone, marker at either end.Session should take no more than 20 minutes and can be done between 1-3 times per week.In general all exercises involve going forward the required distance then going back facing same way.Line crossing 2 footed back and forth over line. 1Facing forward 2then go back facing same way (i.e. go backwards)3Facing to right 4then go back facing same way (i.e. working other way)Toe walks5Walk on toes forward6Walk on toes backwardSpinning left/ right is the sideways along line heel onto toe onto heel. And do it over required distance one way, and back facing same wayr. Hard work but effective.7Spinning left8Spinning rightHopping on one foot9Hopping left leg forward10Hopping left leg back11Hopping right leg forward12Hopping right leg back13Hopping left leg to right14Hopping left leg to left15Hopping right leg to right16Hopping right leg to leftTempo hopping, 2-0-1 = 2 on left 1 on right, then 1-0-2 is doing 2 on right 1 on left17Tempo 1-0-1 (i.e. C bounds)18Tempo 2-0-1 (2 on left 1 on right)191-0-2203-0-2212-0-3Sideways tacking22Tacking, going sideways tapping left then right23And back again facing same way(L) Line crossing drill facing sideways, (right) hopping forwardThe session can be done weekly as part of a full training programme. It can be done more frequently if the athlete has issues needing addressed, e.g., a history of problems with shin splits.Ankle flexibilityThis is very important and there is a simple exercise/ test for this.Place your foot flat on the ground a few centimetres from a wall toe pointing towards the wall. flex your knee until it touches the wall.Ensure your heel is still in contact with the floor. A good test is to put a sheet of paper under and see if someone can pull it out.Put your foot a few more centimetres out and try again.Measure the maximum distance from your big toe to the wall that you can touch your knee to the wall without the heel lifting up.Ideally you should be able to reach 12 or more centimetres. If you can only achieve 5 or less you have flexibility problems here and are liable to injury.Work on this until you can reach the desired 12 cms.Single foot medicine ball throwsThrowing the medicine ball on one foot provides excellent training for the lower legs. The actual weight of the ball or distance thrown is not too important unless you are a throws specialist.Can do with a partner or against a wall.Throw 2 handed. Throws specialists can progress to one hand throwing.Do 5 reps of each on the left foot then on the right foot.Stay on one foot the whole time.6 direction throws.Straight up left foot then right footStraight down To left (i.e. throw left on left foot, then throw left on right foot)To right Forward (chest pass)Back (overhead)Throws specialists can progress ontoForward throwing overheadSingle arm throws. 4 combinations here. Left arm left foot (LL), LR, RL, RR.Throwing forward, 4 combinations.Single arm to opposite sideJumping and Landing drillsThis is part of the movement dynamics syllabus.Ideally do this with a coach to start with so they can check you are doing this correctly.Foot contact should be a flat foot so the whole foot absorbs the landing. i.e. not on toes or ball of the foot.Work the ground as hard on landing as on take off. You should dip no further on landing as you do when you take off, i.e. no bounce down then up.Start 2 footed. Only progress to one foot when competent on 2 feet.Forward jumping in place2 foot to 2 foot jump, start at 50cm controlling the landing.Progress up to 1m or the width of a lane (1.2m)Straight bounds. Jump forward and land controlling the landing and repeat over several small hurdles, cones.Square jumps/hops Set up a square, can use cones, 10cm hurdles, or even just use tape or the intersection of track lines.Jump in and out of the square in every direction, forward, left, back, right.Control the landing and the flat foot contacts at every jump.Once you get good at it can progress to one foot or make the square bigger.Progression to plyometricsThis is getting to advanced level, usually athletes aged 16+ whose bone structure has matured. They should also have a high level of strength in their calves, ankles. Attempting plyometrics on weak ankles can lead to injuries, particularly in the Achilles tendon.Once athletes get to this level they should have a coach setting the session exercises and volumes.Athletes should be competent at the jumping and landing with good foot contacts and fully controlled landings before progressing to this level. It should be done initially under coach supervision to check you are doing this correctly as incorrect technique can lead to injury.Once you can do this exercises can includeContinuous jumps over mini hurdles on 2 feet.Drop jumpsboundingMultiple hopping (very advanced)Coaches should note that usually athletes don’t progress to competence at this level until about 16 yet triple jump is offered as an event at under 15. Coaches should consider how suitable this is as an event for athletes who are not yet competent at plyometric training. If they do compete training volumes should be kept to a minimum. ................
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