Lower Legs Simplified

A simple protocol for shin and Achilles problems and more

This is next in my series of simple articles based on trying to help 100+ high school students and faculty at a school where I’ve been volunteering.

Lower legs might not seem like a big deal in life, but shin and Achilles problems are quite common. Rarely do people in pain have a plan against them.

The protocol I’ve found most helpful is a simple set of 5 reps with a 5-second hold at the top of each rep, for both a straight leg and a bent leg calf raise.

Each exercise is a simple scale from:

Two legs assisted…

…to two legs unassisted…

…to one leg assisted…

…to one leg unassisted…

- and for extreme goals: one leg loaded.

To be clear, your heels are going all the way down on each rep, but you’re holding the top position for 5 seconds each time.

The 5-second hold at the top slows things down and gets people to really coax the lower legs to get stronger.

Anyone can access this via a step or similar item.

We have lots of bumper plates at the school so this makes a simple setup.

Why This Helps

Let’s look at the life of an average athlete:

You’ll usually find years of push-ups.

Then you’ll find many years of weight lifting for the upper body and upper legs.

Maybe you’ll see some calf raises but rarely with anywhere near as much emphasis as is given to the body above.

And due to the 1970s mistake of “no knees over toes,” you almost never see a bent-leg calf raise, which more fully trains the lower, deeper calf muscle (the soleus) which helps protect the Achilles.

Seated calf machines are common in commercial gyms - but almost never seen in school gyms (and understandably so, because they’re expensive and take up space).

Now add maximum effort running and jumping to the mix!

So we develop what’s above the lower legs out of proportion to the lower legs, then put extreme demands on the lower legs, and wind up with pain in the lower legs.

Doesn’t that sound like a recipe to create lower leg pain?

This is all too common and I’VE BEEN THERE! Slowly but steadily, I restored more natural proportions to my regimen and body, and I haven’t had to worry about any lower leg pains in many years, despite putting myself under extreme demands!

Top athletes now consult me for these same problems and I’ve never seen a case to the contrary: They’ve placed huge emphasis on everything above the lower legs, almost no lower leg development, and intentional avoidance of knee over toes due to college education accidentally demanding that avoidance.

Fortunately, the solution in this article is simple and accessible to anyone.

Don’t expect a few weeks to undo many years of training the body out of a natural balance - but at least now we’ve got a simple formula we can use the rest of our lives.

And while no exercise makes a human body impervious to injury, we can absolutely improve our chances and create lives with less pain and more ability.

Yours in Solutions,

Ben

For full-body programs which include these exercises: atgonlinecoaching.com

And for the foot-shaped shoes I’m wearing in this article: atgequipment.com