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Posted: 1/24/2015 1:32:03 PM EDT
I've always had skinny legs and carry most my weight up top (6'4", 265lbs).  Even in my prime when I was squatting almost 500 lbs my legs were still skinny.  I seem to always be suffering from some sort of sore ankle.  The right shoes, inserts help prevent injury for me but accidents happen easily.  So besides the usual squats, playing basketball, hiking, and cycling- so what can I do to strengthen and thicken my ankles to help prevent injury?

As usual, as one ages things get worse not better!  I'm 41 now. Here's a pic from about a year ago, a little fuzzy.



Thanks in advance.
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 2:48:36 PM EDT
[#1]
I'm not a coach, or trainer, but I'd say you need to build your calves up. They look small, compared to the rest of your frame.

I also suffered from skinny legs, but I work on 'em all the time, now. Running gave me the best results for my calves. I cycle a lot, and it mostly builds my quads, and hamstrings.
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 2:53:52 PM EDT
[#2]
I used to wear lace up boots at work.  5 years ago I changed to slip on work boots.  I used to roll my ankles 3-4 times a year.  I haven't rolled an ankle in a looong time now.  Ymmv
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 3:22:51 PM EDT
[#3]
We are the skinny calved bastards that God hates.

I can do reps, weights or both in every way imaginable, but my calves have always been skinny due to the high insertion point.

My high school basketball coach used to say "The only reason you can dunk is because you have black boy calves".  

The only thing I can correlate is that you need to work on getting morbidly obese, then lose all the weight.  Former fatties always have big calves.
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 6:14:58 PM EDT
[#4]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
We are the skinny calved bastards that God hates.

I can do reps, weights or both in every way imaginable, but my calves have always been skinny due to the high insertion point.

My high school basketball coach used to say "The only reason you can dunk is because you have black boy calves".  

The only thing I can correlate is that you need to work on getting morbidly obese, then lose all the weight.  Former fatties always have big calves.
View Quote


LOL, QFT.   I see soooo many overweight woman with ginormous calves!

Good suggestion on working the calves.  My basketball jumps are weak and this must be related.  My bicycling is probably weakening my calves.

Also a good suggestion about walking or working in shoes that actually don't have ankle support to help strengthen the stability muscles in the ankles.  In the summer I wear mostly sandals for this reason but am still forced to wear those damn Metatarsal work boots if on the factory floor at work.  

Are there any specific shoes recommended foe ankle strengthening?  I hear walked no barefoot in the grass is a good practice for this but it's not happening until the snow melts!  I will Google this.


Link Posted: 1/24/2015 7:53:21 PM EDT
[#5]
I notice that my ankles become more stable when I hike and walk on eneven surfaces in regular shoes.

You can definitely build up the muscles for strength and stability. Aesthetically, there's only so much that can be done. Calves you can build, ankles less so. You're probably one of those dudes who puts on mass but has a medium to smallish bone structure. I wouldn't sweat it too much, Arnold was like that, too.
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 8:15:30 PM EDT
[#6]
So I Googled around a bit.  Runners World had a few good articles with recommended  excersizes, stretches, and nice looking women in spandex.

One simple tip was to balance on one foot while brushing your teeth.  I tried this and my ankle actually felt better after doing this than before I did it!  I was going to ice my ankle this afternoon but forgot, it was a little sore, feels better after brushing the teeth...

The side benefit is that my teeth might get cleaner now.
Link Posted: 1/24/2015 11:21:05 PM EDT
[#7]
Have you had ankle injuries?  or are you just overly self-conscious about your twig-legs?






Not knocking, just wondering.
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 1:49:43 AM EDT
[#8]
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Quoted:
Have you had ankle injuries?  or are you just overly self-conscious about your twig-legs?


Not knocking, just wondering.
View Quote



I typically have a good strain once a year and they are always getting sore from basketball or stepping badly on the occasional bad surface.  When I go hunting in the hills I always have to wear tight lace-up boots to prevent a serious injury far away from home.

Self conscious?  Not until recently.
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 3:41:15 AM EDT
[#9]
A legit near 500 squat and weak/injury prone ankles?
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 11:09:32 AM EDT
[#10]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
A legit near 500 squat and weak/injury prone ankles?
View Quote


Formerly squatted that much like 20 years ago :).  I only do light squats nowdays.  I used to clean and jerk above my head over 250 also, which IMHO is more impressive than sqatting 2x that much.

Clean and jerk requires stable ankles as well.  I've had a couple close calls there.
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 12:54:25 PM EDT
[#11]
I've always rx'd pistols for stability for my patients...  It's a great "balance" of strength and proprioception.
Strengthing your ankles isn't honestly as necessary as developing strong proprioception which will keep you from going outside of your strength zone.





With that said?   Squat heavier, squat more.

Link Posted: 1/25/2015 1:22:56 PM EDT
[#12]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I've always rx'd pistols for stability for my patients...  It's a great "balance" of strength and proprioception.  
View Quote


Thanks for the advice, but honestly I don't know what some of those terms are, LOL.   Can you explain?

Yeah, I do need to get back to squatting more.  I've been lax on it ever since fall hunting season.  Time to get back on that horse.

EDIT:  I did Google proprioception, "The ability to sense stimuli arising within the body regarding position, motion, and equilibrium."

EDIT2:  Pistol: "A pistol is a one-legged squat, which helps to isolate each leg and build lower-body strength"
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 1:32:26 PM EDT
[#13]
Hey I'd say youtube kelly starrett's ankle stuff -- lot of good information on mobilizing the area for increased performance/injury prevention/getting rid of nagging pains.  Not sure how much it'd help on the growth/thickening factor tho
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 1:49:04 PM EDT
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Hey I'd say youtube kelly starrett's ankle stuff -- lot of good information on mobilizing the area for increased performance/injury prevention/getting rid of nagging pains.  Not sure how much it'd help on the growth/thickening factor tho
View Quote


Watched some of this.  Interesting.  Thanks for the tip.
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 3:38:51 PM EDT
[#15]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Formerly squatted that much like 20 years ago :).  I only do light squats nowdays.  I used to clean and jerk above my head over 250 also, which IMHO is more impressive than sqatting 2x that much.

Clean and jerk requires stable ankles as well.  I've had a couple close calls there.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
A legit near 500 squat and weak/injury prone ankles?


Formerly squatted that much like 20 years ago :).  I only do light squats nowdays.  I used to clean and jerk above my head over 250 also, which IMHO is more impressive than sqatting 2x that much.

Clean and jerk requires stable ankles as well.  I've had a couple close calls there.


I'm trying to walk you down the path to enlightenment.

You've squatted heavy before. Were your ankles an issue? My assumption would be that you were fine. Ergo, squat heavy and more. Wait. Is there an echo in here?
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 4:30:23 PM EDT
[#16]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


I'm trying to walk you down the path to enlightenment.

You've squatted heavy before. Were your ankles an issue? My assumption would be that you were fine. Ergo, squat heavy and more. Wait. Is there an echo in here?
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A legit near 500 squat and weak/injury prone ankles?


Formerly squatted that much like 20 years ago :).  I only do light squats nowdays.  I used to clean and jerk above my head over 250 also, which IMHO is more impressive than sqatting 2x that much.

Clean and jerk requires stable ankles as well.  I've had a couple close calls there.


I'm trying to walk you down the path to enlightenment.

You've squatted heavy before. Were your ankles an issue? My assumption would be that you were fine. Ergo, squat heavy and more. Wait. Is there an echo in here?


not trying to be a PITA, but yeah by ankles were always an issue.  That said, when I was squatting almost 500lbs I was also playing high school football and that (with the crappy pot-hole practice field) made for hell on my ankles.  

Things get better and worse again over time typically, repeat.   I think getting older is starting to make things worse again.  The big picture is I want healthy legs to walk on the rest of my life.  There's lots of things I can do within my control:
- lose more weight (down about 20lbs from my heaviest)
- wear good footwear with inserts for my low arches
- strength, balance, & flexibility.  Preventative maintenence (thus this topic)
- choose sports or activities that are a good match for my body type as not to abuse my ankles.  Basketball admittedly is a bad choice but its fun and good excersize.  
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 8:11:44 PM EDT
[#17]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


not trying to be a PITA, but yeah by ankles were always an issue.  That said, when I was squatting almost 500lbs I was also playing high school football and that (with the crappy pot-hole practice field) made for hell on my ankles.  

Things get better and worse again over time typically, repeat.   I think getting older is starting to make things worse again.  The big picture is I want healthy legs to walk on the rest of my life.  There's lots of things I can do within my control:
- lose more weight (down about 20lbs from my heaviest)
- wear good footwear with inserts for my low arches
- strength, balance, & flexibility.  Preventative maintenence (thus this topic)
- choose sports or activities that are a good match for my body type as not to abuse my ankles.  Basketball admittedly is a bad choice but its fun and good excersize.  
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A legit near 500 squat and weak/injury prone ankles?


Formerly squatted that much like 20 years ago :).  I only do light squats nowdays.  I used to clean and jerk above my head over 250 also, which IMHO is more impressive than sqatting 2x that much.

Clean and jerk requires stable ankles as well.  I've had a couple close calls there.


I'm trying to walk you down the path to enlightenment.

You've squatted heavy before. Were your ankles an issue? My assumption would be that you were fine. Ergo, squat heavy and more. Wait. Is there an echo in here?


not trying to be a PITA, but yeah by ankles were always an issue.  That said, when I was squatting almost 500lbs I was also playing high school football and that (with the crappy pot-hole practice field) made for hell on my ankles.  

Things get better and worse again over time typically, repeat.   I think getting older is starting to make things worse again.  The big picture is I want healthy legs to walk on the rest of my life.  There's lots of things I can do within my control:
- lose more weight (down about 20lbs from my heaviest)
- wear good footwear with inserts for my low arches
- strength, balance, & flexibility.  Preventative maintenence (thus this topic)
- choose sports or activities that are a good match for my body type as not to abuse my ankles.  Basketball admittedly is a bad choice but its fun and good excersize.  


Aside from the weight loss goal, for those other three I can't help but re-recommend kelly starrett's work.  You can find his Supple Leopard and Ready to Run book at Barnes 'n Noble; they're worth picking up or at least flipping through and taking some notes if you get the chance.  

on low arches
Link Posted: 1/25/2015 11:37:06 PM EDT
[#18]
Good stuff Saur.  Thanks man.  I watched part 1 and plan on watching the rest.
Link Posted: 1/26/2015 1:20:20 PM EDT
[#19]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Good stuff Saur.  Thanks man.  I watched part 1 and plan on watching the rest.
View Quote




 
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