I was fortunate enough to be working with NWK Cross Fit over the weekend. And can summarise most of what was discussed in the following sentence.
Stability, Mobility and Power
I.e., control force, distribute force and tolerate force. If we can do all of these key things, we will be less likely to suffer from injuries such as
- ankle strains
- achilles tendonitis
- shin splints
In these post, we’ll focus on mobility
I like to start with a distraction stretch. Now, you can do this with a belt as well. We just need a pivot around which we can distract the ankle joint by shifting it in its articulation. After doing this exercise, everyone noticed how they were able to hit the bottom of the squat with much greater comfort whilst keeping the bar path uniform.
If the ankles are tight, the bum will shoot backwards to find a way around tight ankles. This can load the spine, the hamstrings and the glutes as we shift less load into the quadriceps.
You should also notice there is more play in the ankles to abduct the hips. If you’re a runner this reduces the chance of inversion (arch collapsing) as we can weight bear to the outside of the foot more effectively. Whilst weight lifting we can
Give this exercise a go and if you have any issues with your ankles or any other injuries, you know who to contact