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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Are you slip-sliding away on mounds of snow, skating on icy sidewalks and wading through deep slush ponds this winter? This terrain creates an Olympic challenge, we could call it the “Upright Event!” Staying stable on your feet requires strength, balance and co-ordination. You will definitely benefit from strengthening one of the weak links: your ankles.
No matter what the season, ankle strength helps prevent falls and injuries. City streets present ongoing obstacles of pot holes, crumbling curbs and uneven side walks. Vanity and athletic performance may trump safety issues for you, and if so, these simple exercises strengthen the ankles to keep you walking in high heels and playing sports with confidence throughout the year.
Of all the muscles in the body, the earliest declines in muscle strength occur around age 40 in the muscles of the lower leg. The changes happen imperceptibly over the decades, and have a dramatic impact on walking ability in the later years.
To create muscular balance, the muscles in the lower legs need to be strengthened to keep up with the powerful muscles of the upper leg. Try heel-walking and toe-walking. Walking on your heels with your forefeet lifted toward the ceiling strengthens the tibialis anterior in the front of the shin. Walking on the balls of your feet, heels lifted, strengthens the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calf. When you’re at home, kick off your slippers and do a few laps of each.
You can also use a stretch band to target the calf and shin, as well as the muscles on the inner and outer sides of your lower leg. Use a 3-4 foot length of band. Different colored bands denote different levels of resistance: light, medium and heavy. Use a light band when you are just starting so that you can learn to articulate the foot without moving the rest of your leg. As you develop strength, progress to the heavier resistance.
For all of the following exercises, use this pacing: When you perform the action, hold for 2-3 seconds, then release without letting the band go slack. Do 12-15 reps on each leg. Perform the exercises 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days. It’s important to allow a day of rest for the muscles to rest and build.
1) Calf strengthener: Sit in a chair or comfortably on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Loop the band around the ball of your foot and hold one end of the band in each hand, making sure that it stays taut. Point your foot against the resistance of the band, pause, then release and repeat. Change sides.
2) Shin strengthener: Tie the band around a secure object, like the leg of a couch. Sit up tall with one leg extended in front of you and the band looped around the top of your foot. Put a little tension in the band, then pull your forefoot back toward your body against the resistance of the band. Do all your reps, then go on to the next exercise before switching feet.
3) Inner sole twist: From the starting position in #2, re-position your right foot to the left so that the band pulls against the inner edge of the forefoot. Keeping your heel on the floor, twist the sole of your right foot inward and upward. Only the foot should move, the rest of the leg should stay still. Do all your reps, then
Perform the last exercise before switching feet.
4) Outer sole twist: From the starting position in #2, re-position your right foot to the right so that the band pulls against the outer edge of the forefoot. Keeping your heel on the floor, twist the sole of your foot outward and upward.
Do all your reps, then switch feet and repeat exercises 2,3 and 4 on the other side.
Strengthening your ankles can help you recover from a stumble or a slip and prevent common injuries that occur from falling. It’s a wise investment of your time to spend a few minutes two or three times a week to make sure that your ankles stay strong.
Joan Pagano, former trainer to Jacqueline Onassis and Caroline Kennedy, is a best-selling author, a speaker on health and fitness topics and the owner of Joan Pagano Fitness in New York City. For more about Joan and her services, please visit JoanPaganoFitness
(c) Copyright – Joan L. Pagano. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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