- How to overcome shin splints
all the way from the hamstrings down to the calf.
And I just sat back.
And what you do is you just pull it towards you.
Hey, what's up, Trainiacs?
Triathlon Taren here.
With the new year, 2018, coming around,
there's a lot of people that are starting new triathlon,
running, swimming, cycling programs.
And one of the biggest things that us office workers
end up experiencing, because we tighten up
in the back of our legs all the way from the glutes
to the hamstrings down to the calves, is shin splints.
So what I'm going to give you here
is somewhere around a two- to three-minute routine
that I used really successfully
that I think you can use
because podiatrists recommend this type of protocol
for how to overcome shin splints not just now,
but really strengthen your foot
so that you don't really ever have
to worry about shin splints.
So we're going to start off on the jump block here
by doing some stretching of our calves.
Because what happens in shin splints is,
let me zoom in here now to my delightful tootsies.
Shin splints happen because of tight calves here
and the front shin having to work really hard
as you're pulling back up,
so that pull that your foot is working
against the tightness of your calves
is what's going to cause that discomfort in the shin here.
So what we need to do is we need
to strengthen out the calf muscle
and strengthen the shin muscle afterwards.
So let's stretch it out.
You want to do these barefoot.
And go up against a wall or a block, a chair,
something like that.
And there's a few different exercises that you can do.
Basically just pick whatever you end up feeling the most.
First one is the very standard.
Push that back.
Push your hips back and forward.
If you really, really want to lengthen it out
for a long period of time
and improve your flexibility permanently,
you've got to hold this for about three minutes
on each side.
You don't have to quite do that.
You can do it for only about 30 to 40 seconds.
And then you can go down, actually bend your knee.
And I really like bending your knee,
coming forward, and going side to side.
So you're not just stretching that calf muscle,
but you're stretching that calf muscle
and the Achilles muscle
and exercising the foot side to side,
activating all those stabilizer muscles in the foot.
So that's one exercise that you can do.
I tend not to feel that very well.
Something that I do feel very strongly,
ooh, and this is all the way
from the hamstrings down to the calf,
is just sitting in, you can hold onto something,
and pulling your toes up towards your chest.
Hold that for a long period of time.
That will stretch it out.
And then the last one that I feel a lot
is downward dog.
You're in for a treat now.
Just holding this and pushing those heels down to the floor
will really stretch out, again,
everything from the hamstrings
all the way down the back of your legs.
Push it down.
And just like the other movements,
I like going side to side a little bit
so that you stretch out all the different areas
of the calves.
Okay, so once you've got the back of your leg stretched out,
you want to strengthen all the muscles
so that when they form,
they're forming stronger and properly.
And what you can do starting with your foot,
basically working your way from the calf
all the way around to the front of your leg,
is a wobble board.
So I'll give you just a short wobble board routine.
Shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
And this will strengthen your total foot bed.
Take that wobble board, whatever it is.
It doesn't have to be this.
Grab a chair or a countertop.
And, ooh, plantarflex as in P, plantar.
Point your toes as much as you can
and try to wobble back and forth.
Do that with one foot.
Do that with the other foot.
Hold each for maybe about 10 to 15 seconds.
And then as you do that,
move the wobble board around.
So you're changing the angle
that the wobble board is wobbling.
And then as things become easy,
you can just Google wobble board routine,
and tons and tons of videos will come up.
You want to do these barefoot
so that you're not relying on a shoe
to keep your foot stable.
You're actually building the stability yourself.
And then the last thing that you can do,
you can do this in your office,
you can do this at the gym,
you can do this with shoes on, shoes off.
How I ended up getting over the splints
that I ended up having
was just as I was on the phone in my office,
I tied a TheraBand around a desk leg
and I just sat back.
And what you do is you just pull it towards you.
Get yourself enough tension
so that there's tension the entire way.
You can just sit there and you go like that.
And as simple as that, do that about 20, 30 times.
Do it a few times throughout the day
and you're going to be strengthening
that front muscle where you start feeling the shin splints.
So there you go.
I hope that that helps you live a little bit more
of a pain-free triathlon existence.
If you're not yet subscribed, please subscribe.
And, like, it would be super awesome
if you hit the notification bell below
to see all the videos that we put out
about triathlon every single day.
If you want to see another foot strength video
that we've got,
click the one up here.
Or if you just want to see the best of Triathlon Taren,
click that down here.
If you are an existing Trainiac, thanks.