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2011-08-22 9:55 AM

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Nice South of France
Subject: leg strength

I have a lot of problems due to weak muscles in the legs around the ankle hip and knee. I am wondering outside of a gym, what excercises can I do to increase the muscle strength in these areas. I have a couple of dumbells and a chin up bar, and a skipping rope. A gym is out the question for the moment. 

Thanks in advance



2011-08-22 12:10 PM
in reply to: #3653500

Elite
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Subject: RE: leg strength
Whenever I read posts like this my first question is, "How do you know that these areas are weak?" However, I'll take your word for it. Here are some things to try.

Press the dumbbells overhead while standing on one leg and then repeat for the other leg. I normally don't like exercises that look more like circus tricks, but this one may be of some benefit.

Walking lunges with dumbbells.

Rope jumping. I have always found that rope jumping did good things to my ankle strength and stability. As you progress, alternate jumping on one foot. I'm assuming that your muscle imbalances won't prevent you from rope jumping.
2011-08-22 12:26 PM
in reply to: #3653783

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Nice South of France
Subject: RE: leg strength

Hi Mike, 

I will answer your curiosity. When I did no sports whatsoever about 10 years ago and smoked like a trooper and drank beer, I used to get intense knee pain. It was diagnosed as many things but never really treated. When I came to France 8 years ago it got so bad I sought out a specialist who after an MRI scan basically told me I was have psychological problems. 2 years later I started teaching myself to swim and quit the smokes. I took up running and ran a 10k in February and a Half mary in April. After that I started to have problems with my hip locking up so I went to a general doctor who referred me to a podologue, who gave me inserts in my shoes. Cue intensive painful tendinitis, a groin strain and an aggrevated disc hernia at the hip level. Cue 8 months of pain and treatment that ended with a Chiropractor refusing to let me leave his office until all pain was gone and telling me to throw my inserts in the bin. Which I did. I worked out again and blew a disc in my neck which was replaced 10 later and was bed ridden for 6 weeks. I swam and ran and biked when I could but frequently had tendinitis in the ankles, calf strain, cramping, aches in the knees and hips. In March of this year I ran a sprint and the next day was foot was stuck, I couldn't move it. I had plantar fascia and painful tendinitis again. Eventually I changed my diet and cut out Starches almost completely, cut out refined sugar completely , reduced coffee and dairy intake about 70% upped the protein in a big way and trained regularly with some tendinitis and plantar fascia. I changed my running shoes. I was doing well till I hunkered down and I got a twinge in my knee. It then ballooned up to twice it's normal size. Long story short, I had displaced my fibula and pinced my miniscus. My physio put it back it place and my chiropractor gave me the once over, which incidently rectified not just the knee but the plantar F and Tendinitis.  I am sitting her painfree for the first time this year. It's great. But I am cautious about starting the running again till I get some proper muscle strength into the joints.  I lost some weight pretty quickly just before I took up training again, due to a spiritual retreat and fast over 4 days, and the consensus from the health gurus is that I probably lost important muscle mass.

Thanks for the feedback, I will go slow with the lunges and gradually with the weight I guess.  

2011-09-29 9:38 AM
in reply to: #3653500

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