Ankle and wrist strength

[GymnastForever]

Both of my ankles are bad and I wear braces on both of them for practice. The braces can get annoying and I would like to practice without them but I don't want to injure myself. I also wear tiger paws and I would like to practice without them too. Any tips on strengthening my wrists and ankles??

 

[dreamergymnast]

My wrists are sore when I do gymnastics without wristbands, but Tiger Paws annoy me too. Is it that the reason you dont like tiger paws because theyre too bulky? If so, wristbands are smaller and are not as bulky. Because I used to have tiger paws, and when I got wristbands they are fine. But some people say wristbands only work for going under grips, and they do not provide as much support as tiger paws. So it depends on your wrist. For ankles, I just use athletic tape (again, if braces are too bulky.) Sorry, but I do not have any strengthening tips. Good luck

 

[GymnastForever]

It's ok and yes they are too bulky but I also hate that I have to switch from tiger paws to grips whenever we go on bars and if we go back on floor or whatever I have to switch back. I just hate that I'm all braces. I have both wrists and ankles in braces. As for my ankles I don't know if my coach will let me tape both. He normally only likes me to tape one.

 

[dreamergymnast]

Do you not want any ankle support or a thinner one? Because I looked at ankle supports online and there is one that is supposed to be lighter. As for the taping, I do not agree. In my gym, lots of gymnasts tape both ankles. Just curious- what level are you in and how did you injure your wrists and ankles?

 

[GymnastForever]

It would be nice not to have one but if I have to then I would want a thinner one. I'm not in level right now because I am just coming back from an injury. I injured my ankles when I was younger, just fooling around, and when I don't wear my supports I roll my ankles. My wrists started hurting in practice one day when we were tumbling and I didn't really think about it and my one wrist gave out, so I wear them for support just in case. I could probably go without them but I don't know if I trust myself without them now.

 

[BlairBob]

Save tape, get some ankle braces. Maybe jump rope, a lot.

Make a rice bucket and do as much wall handstand as you can do that your wrists aren't dying.

 

[GymnastForever]

Ok. Thanks. As far as the braces I kinda don't want to wear them so that's why I asked for tips so I wouldn't have to wear them.

 

[dreamergymnast]

It is understandable that you dont like braces (i dont care for them either) , but you should get some type of support. If you dont like any ankle support, talk to your coach (if you havent done that yet) and explain your situation. He should understand and let you. Good luck to you and your gymnastics

 

[GymnastForever]

Ok. Thanks for the help and you too.

 

[Kiwi]

Get some small weights (only 1 - 2 kg) and very slowly move your hand back and forward while holding the weight, i.e. wrist flexion and extension, try to use your whole range of movement. Get a squishy ball and squeeze it at least 30 times a day with each hand. You can also make your own slosh pipe to strengthen wrist stabilising muscles. These exercises came from a specialist hand physiotherapist I saw about my own wrist injury. I always wear tiger paws now, they don't weaken your wrists, just stabilise them and prevent them from extending too far and too quickly.

For ankles, do lots of foot circles in both directions. You can also use a theraband and practice 'writing' with your foot. Using a wobble board can also help. You can also do lots of calf raises slowly on one foot, going up to high releve then slowly lowering down. If you do these on a step you can also lower your heel down a bit further. Even just practice going up into high releve on two feet and hold - around the house or wherever, you can do this anywhere anytime.

 

[GymnastForever]

Ok. Thank you for your help!!

 

[ubee0173]

Calf-raises galore! for some reason I like to do these while I'm waiting for something in the microwave- I guess because then I don't need to focus on how many I'm doing, I just stop when the timer goes off. You could set a timer for how ever long works for you and then switch legs when it goes off. If one ankle is stronger than the other, you can set it for a minute longer on the weaker side until it catches up

also, here are some that I picked up while working at a nursing home- and these worked well on 90+ year olds, so I bet they'll work a lot faster for you! If you have some ankle or wrist weights, grab them and head over to your favorite recliner(any comfy chair or bed will work just as well). Sit down so that your feet are just barely dangling off the end and place the weights around the ball of your foot area (if you have narrow feet , wrist weights might be less likely to slip off or down).relax your foot, and then slowly bring it back up into a flex. Do as many as you can without totally fatiguing your ankle. Then scoot up so your feet aren't dangling any more and rotate so that the outside of your foot/ankle is touching the chair, and bring them together- sorta like closing and opening a fan. After several repetitions, turn your feet so that the inside of your ankles are touching the footrest and rotate them back to the neutral position.repeat as needed. you can use the same weights for your wrists- hang your wists over the arms of a chair and drape the weights over your fingers near your fingernails or hold them gently between two fingers- don't grasp them tightly in a fist though or you'll work your forearms instead of the muscles of the hand-wrist area! Keep your hand flat and flex your hand so that your fingers are pointing at the ceiling. do however many reps you are comfortable with then rotate so your thumbs are parallel with the ceiling and slowly bring your hand toward your body, like you're waving.

sometimes I think I'm describing a workout or drill perfectly well and my students look at me like I was speaking gibberish, so if something didn't make sense, pm me and I'll try to clarify

Sent from my SGH-T499 using ChalkBucket mobile app

 

[GymnastForever]

I understand. Thank you

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

Do all of the conditioning exercises already said. With your tiger paws, strengthen them everyday, but slowly ease off of them. Like, for a week, wear them for everything you normally would, except in warm-ups. Then ease off of them for everything but tumbling. And so on.

 

[GymnastForever]

Ok. Thank you