Are You Exercising Wrong? I Was!

So, apparently I've been exercising wrong for the past 4 weeks.  I was visiting a Body Attack class at my friend's gym & my ankles were killing me after all the jumping!  They had been bothering me already from doing the Insanity workouts, but it was feeling even worse.  So, I had to ask the instructors what they thought was causing it.  They told me that the tendency for a lot of people just starting out is to land on their tip toes instead of landing on their whole foot.  Insanity is pretty jumpy & that day of Body Attack was majorly jumpy.  It was crazy!  I am not there yet.  

Anyway, it's the Achilles tendon that is sore & inflamed.  Check out this from Web MD:

- - -


What Can Cause Achilles Tendon Injuries?

• Overuse

• Stepping up your level of physical activity too quickly

• Not stretching enough before exercise

• Wearing high heels, which increases the stress on the tendon

• Problems with the feet. An Achilles tendon injury can result from flat feet, also known as fallen arches or overpronation. In this condition, the impact of a step causes the arch of your foot to collapse, stretching the muscles and tendons.

• Muscles or tendons in the leg that are too tight

- - -

Ok, almost every single thing on that list is a possible cause for me.  I have never worked out this much & started very abruptly exercising almost every single day since.  Insanity does not have you stretch before each workout, but about 15 minutes in.  Not sure if that was part of it?  I also wear heals often & have no arches; at all.  Ha!  

Here's a list of symptoms from the Web MD:

- - -

What Does an Achilles Tendon Injury Feel Like?

• Pain along the back of your foot and above your heel, especially when stretching your ankle or standing on your toes. In tendinitis, pain may be mild and worsen gradually. If you rupture the tendon, pain can be abrupt and severe.

• Tenderness

• Swelling

• Stiffness

• Hearing a snapping or popping noise during the injury

• Difficulty flexing your foot or pointing your toes (in complete tears of the tendon)

- - -


If this sounds familiar to you, you may want to get it checked out just to be sure.  Protect yourself from a more serious injury.  

I'm sure the main thing, for me, is all the jumping & my ankles are just freaking out.  So, I had one of the instructors kind of demonstrate how to correctly land.

Here are some tips from sportsmedicine.about.com:

- - -

How to learn proper landing technique:

• Begin with a thorough warm up, and use the Glute Activation Routine to get the glutes firing prior to practicing jumping and landing drills

• Initiate small (1-2 inch jumps), land as softly and quietly as possible, and sink deeply into the landing.

• Land with your whole foot and keep your weight evenly distributed from heel to toes. Avoid landing only on the balls of your feet.

• Ensure your knees are tracking over your foot and not caving in or falling outward)

• Shift your weight back over your heels. Your knees should remain behind your toes during the movement.

• Focus on the glutes (review the safe squat technique) throughout the movement.

• Over several weeks, and with your trainer's guidance, increase the height of your jumps to a 12 inch box.

• Follow your trainer's lead regarding reps and sets, but consider performing 2-3 sets x 6-10 reps. Do this 3 times each week or more as instructed.

• Jumping drills can be intense, so stop when your form fails, your lower body fatigues, or you have any aches or pains. It does more harm than good to practice this drills with poor or sloppy form.

- - -

Here's a video of a pre-workout stretch to do to avoid injury:

Here is a video demonstrating the proper way to land:

Hope this is helpful!  I wish I'd come across this information sooner.

Love you!!