Ankle Strength

[Boo Boo]

Sorry, this is a serious post....

Can anyone suggest some exercises for maintaining/building ankle muscle strength?

I am going skiing in a couple of weeks time for 10/11 days, but have a BIG competition two days after I return (very bad scheduling - the list of nominated events came out four months after I booked my ski holiday... :-( ). I cannot cancel the ski holiday (lots of money + would make a very angry husband + I love skiing in Colorado...), but I don't want to miss the competition (LOADS of ranking points if I do well...).

I know that skiing weakens my ankles (which are not very strong to begin with), so want to try to maintain ankle strength during my ski holiday (my ankles get used to the complete support of the rigid ski boots and the muscles get a lot weaker). I don't want a repeat of the post skiing broken ankle bone injury I had a couple of years back...

I wear fencing boots, so that should help prevent injury and my plan is to take them with me and practice some light footwork each day after skiing (which should help as competition prep too).

Can anyone suggest anything else that I can do to help keep my ankles strong?

Boo
(btw, if there are any fencing coaches planning to be in Steamboat, Colorado, at the end of February/beginning of March, then let me know :-)).

[JEC]

Enjoy Steamboat. We "boarded" in Breck 2nd week of January. I suggest ask your hotel concierge if any gym in town has a skier's edge exercise machine. Try it and perhaps get your husband to try it. He might be so convinced that it would help his skiing that he might buy it. For you, it is too late, but it truly helped me come back from my ACL surgeries. The only way is to strengthen the lower extremity muscles. Doing toe curls is also helpful. The skier’s edge helps you with lateral muscles, which are not strengthened in regular gym machines. I own the third version and still use it at least once a week. Your other despicable choice is to switch to snowboarding, but beware that you do not want to do that now because you would be sore for a couple of weeks. It's a rite of passage.

skier's edge website

[Boo Boo]

Thanks JEC

That is worth considering for another year (although those things tend to be quite big and we only have small houses over here...).

The place that I am staying at does have a gym, but I doubt it has a Skier's Edge machine (I have seen them for sale before, but have NEVER seen one at a gym...)

Afraid that swapping to Snowboarding is out: don't want to spend two weeks on my bum, knees or head... :-( Also, might not help my knees much. Still, I do envy snowboarders those soft, comfortable looking boots that they wear...

This is our 4th or 5th time to Steamboat (and are doing a few days in WInterPark, first, this time) - Colorado is gorgeous. Never been to Breckenridge though, is it good?

Boo

[JEC]

We lived in Denver for 3.5 years (4 winters), and skied on average 20 weekends a year. Each mountain offers similar and different challenges. Passes at Winter Park are honored at Copper Mountain this season.
Keystone has night skiing. A-Basin and Loveland have skiing above tree line. Vail and Copper have Back-Bowls skiing. Crowds are different too. Aspen and Snowmass are snobby ... Beaver Creek not as much.

[Boo Boo]

Yeah, Steamboat isn't snobby or very crowded either - I like that.

Must give some more resorts a try (but my husband is difficult to convince to try new things.... *sigh*). Would like to try Utah at some point too, but it does some VERY expensive at the moment....

Boo

[haggis]

Hi Boo

Won't be in Steamboat at beginning of March, I'll be snowboarding in Tignes.

Now for the ankles. Ideally a wobbleboard. You could take one with you and they're low-tech enough that the gym in Colorado might have one.

Light plyometrics is another option - fairly gentle bouncing on all directions. Imagine standing at the centre of a clockface (3 feet in diameter and gradually increase to 4 or even 5 as you grow more comfortable with the exercise) looking at 12 o'clock. Two-footed jump to 12 o'clock then immediately back to centre then immediately to 1 o'clock then back and so on until you get back to 12 then go anticlockwise. Stay facing 12 o'clock throughout. Repeat on one foot then the other.

Stand on a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Slowly raise and lower your heels for about 10 repetitions (You can hold onto a bannister if you're worried about falling off and breaking your ankle, leg, arm, neck etc. which would rather defeat the object of the exercise). Repeat with toes pointing out and then toes pointing in.

Skipping is another good low-tech exercise for stengthening your ankles.

Hope this helps and that you have a good time in Steamboat.

Cheers

Haggis

[magma]

haggis, your system looks great, but it's also very intensive! i don't think i could do it!

[magma]

boo boo, it won't be a waste of money. i used to ski on the east coast for several years, and found that skiing is all you'll need to build up those ankels! if you fall, just pull yourself up by the bootstraps and you'll be okay!



also, you have to make sure your boots fit properly, [they don't make ties anymore, i don't think, i haven't seen tie up boots in 20 years], what kind of boots do you wear, the gels?

[haggis]

Magma

Sure you could. I'm only talking about ten to twenty minutes a day, depending on which exercises are used. Got to be worth it if it saves Boo Boo from a serious ankle injury on her return from Steamboat.

Haggis

[a517dogg]

what if you dont have access to a skiing thing

i injured both ankles last tournement i fenced in (last weekend). all i have now is one ankle brace

[magma]

really, it sounds like too much for me, i have to lose 10-15 pounds, then i can do that.

[haggis]

OK Magma. To help you lose those 10-15 pounds you could start with the skipping. The wobbleboard doesn't require much, if any aerobic fitness - all your trying to do is keep the edges of the wobbleboard off the ground. And the "standing on a step" exercise should be done slowly and your poundage makes for more resistance for your ankles to work against. Good news! Admittedly the "clockface" exercise requires a moderate degree of fitness and coordination but reckon Boo would manage fine. Don't overdo it and you'll be fine too.

Regards

Haggis

[Boo Boo]

Thanks Haggis, these exercises are just what I was looking for (need to find my skipping rope...). Will have a look at wobble boards (don't currently have one). Will do the clock face exercises (the light plyometrics should do me some good) and the step exercises too (sounds like a variant on calf stretches, which I do already - will make sure I use the bottom step :-)). Would you suggest doing these before or after the day's skiing?

Saw two Polish fencers break their ankles or snap ligaments this past weekend (in a very cold exhibition centre), so it brings home the importance of strong ankles, warning up properly and keeping warm (you can cool down without realising).

Magma don't know if it is just me, but skiing seriously weakens my ankles (they get too used to being kept rigid by the ski boots). When I finish a day's skiing, it feels as though my ankles are made of jelly. Having the ankle injury from fencing straight after skiing, two years ago, makes me want to take precautions to prevent it happening again (especially since I am fencing in a very tough competition within two days of getting back). I am completely mad and shouldn't be skiing... I have my own Nordica four-buckle front entry boots (fitted by a good bootfitter) with custom heat moulded foot beds in them.

Haggis, have a good time in Tignes. Shame that you wont be in Steamboat - its got some nice skiing/boarding there... (champagne powder...)

Boo

[DJ Apostrophe]

there may be something to the bound up ankles leading to weakness theory... my girlfriend went ice skating a few times in figure skates that were tight around her ankles (she had never gone skating before), now both of her ankles feel weak while shes fencing... hmm

[magma]

whoever that is, name calling, name dropping, kvetching about our gevelting ankles and knees.

Mrs. Slagg

[haggis]

Hi Boo Boo

Ideally, stretch and skip before skiing. Stretch, wobble-board, step exercises, clockface exercise and stretch again afterwards. This might seem a lot after a hard day's skiing but really you're only talking about a couple of minutes to stretch, maybe five minutes on the wobble-board, other five for the clockface and step exercises (Total = 12 minutes) and that's you ready for some serious apres-ski!!

Have fun

Haggis

[Craig]

I used the exercises that haggis suggested in addition to several other ankle exercises to rehab my ankle.

Any device that is designed to support your ankle will tend to make it weaker b/c your ankle doesn't have to do the work on its own anymore and comes to depend on the ankle brace, high top shoes, boots, etc. to get the job done.

When you have weak ankles, use the braces, etc. to prevent an injury, but make sure to do the exercises to increase strength and flexibility.

As to timing, I would do the exercises before (to limber up) and after (for strength/endurance) your activities.

Cheers,
Craig

[Boo Boo]

Thanks to both Haggis and Craig for taking the time to go through these things for me: I really appreciate your advice and will be using those exercises whilst I am away: I think that they could really help me.

Now I just need to avoid breaking my legs/arms/neck or snapping the ligaments in my knees WHILST I am skiing... :-)

Thanks again, its really appreciated.

Boo