04 Feb A plan to deal with Achilles’ problem

Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War in Greek mythology. He was the main character and the greatest warrior in Homer’s “Iliad.”
However, legend stated that he died due to an arrow shot into his heel, and the
“Achilles’ heel” has come to mean a person’s principal weakness.
If anyone’s ever dealt with Achilles’ pain or tendonitis, you can see how it could bring anyone down.
Here’s a workout plan prescribed to me by a trainer that I’ve found helpful after personally battling with some Achilles’ tightness several years ago. Even if you don’t have Achilles trouble, this plan offers some good ideas on how to stretch and strengthen your calf muscles.

* Calf stretch 2-3x/day – Use an incline board if possible. Do stretches
with the knee straight AND with knee bent. Stretching should always feel
good, never pain!

* Calf strengthen 1-2x/day – Use stairs. Stand off edge, let heels sink below
step-level to feel stretch between each rep. Do 2×10 with knees straight and
2×10 with knees slightly bent. Do this for 1 week at least 1 x/day. Then
increase to 2×15 x 1 week. Then 2×10, but with faster (but very controlled)
downward movement into the stretch (slower on the way up faster on the way down); Then increase to 2×15…. After the 6th week start a maintenance
program of at least 3x/week.

* Dealing with pain – It is important to remember that you may experience some pain with the strengthening, but that’s OK. As long as you are not feeling worse after. The pain literally is (in this case) the weakness leaving the body.

* Bonus tip – Add 50 “toe-ups” anytime you have been sitting/typing for awhile. Or, just get up and stretch. I believe this program can help prevent an Achilles rupture, although I can’t prove that except to say it’s worked well for me and a few others I know. This is an excellent preventative program.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com