Exercising the Shin Muscles

[Guest guest]

To prevent shin splints one must exercise the shin tib muscles

to balance the strength of the calf.

This is basically the opposite of a calf raise, ie

you raise your toes up towards your shin and back down.

But this can be hard to do with extra resistance.

Many gyms do not have the Tib machines.

Well I found a way to do it!

Basicly you grab a barbell and put a small plate on each end so that the bar

is just the right height.

Point your toes and hook one foot under the bar against the plate on one

side.

Position the barbell so that your shin muscle is full stretched

(with your toes pointed) when you hook your foot under it.

You can use a small block under the heel to get a fuller stretch.

The bar should rest near your toes.

Put your other foot ontop the bar to stop it from rolling away

when your exercising..

Now do the exercise by pulling your feet up towards your shin, with your

heel staying on the ground, and lower to complete one rep.

It works suprisingly well!

Add more weight as you get stronger, but use a smaller plate or

the same size as one you have on now to keep the barbell at the right

height.

The other way is to get an old shoe and nail a plank of wood

to the bottom, through the inside of the shoe with some wooden nails.

The piece of timber should extend 6 inches in front of the shoe.

Put a nail through the end of the overhang. Now you can add small plates

on this nail and exercise away.

Just me rambling

Hope that was of help to someone.

Colin Chung

Sydney, Australia

[Guest guest]

> To prevent shin splints one must exercise the shin tib muscles

> to balance the strength of the calf.

> This is basically the opposite of a calf raise, ie

> you raise your toes up towards your shin and back down.

> But this can be hard to do with extra resistance.

> Many gyms do not have the Tib machines.

>

> Well I found a way to do it!

>

> Basicly you grab a barbell and put a small plate on each end so

that the bar

> is just the right height.

> Point your toes and hook one foot under the bar against the plate

on one

> side.

> Position the barbell so that your shin muscle is full stretched

> (with your toes pointed) when you hook your foot under it.

> You can use a small block under the heel to get a fuller stretch.

> The bar should rest near your toes.

> Put your other foot ontop the bar to stop it from rolling away

> when your exercising..

> Now do the exercise by pulling your feet up towards your shin,

with your

> heel staying on the ground, and lower to complete one rep.

> It works suprisingly well!

>

> Add more weight as you get stronger, but use a smaller plate or

> the same size as one you have on now to keep the barbell at the

right

> height.

>

> The other way is to get an old shoe and nail a plank of wood

> to the bottom, through the inside of the shoe with some wooden

nails.

> The piece of timber should extend 6 inches in front of the shoe.

> Put a nail through the end of the overhang. Now you can add small

plates

> on this nail and exercise away.

>

> Just me rambling

> Hope that was of help to someone.

***Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin

splints?***

Kruse

Carmel IN

USA

>

[Guest guest]

> Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin splints?

* Yes! As long as your not currently suffering from it

If you are, rest it first until it has healed and then exercise the muscles.

You have to balance the strength of your calf muscles.

[Please provide references for your statements. Mel Siff]

Colin Chung

Sydney, Australia

* Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if

you wish them to be published!

[Guest guest]

> Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin splints?

* Yes! As long as your not currently suffering from it

If you are, rest it first until it has healed and then exercise the muscles.

You have to balance the strength of your calf muscles.

[Please provide references for your statements. Mel Siff]

Colin Chung

Sydney, Australia

* Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if

you wish them to be published!

[Guest guest]

Kruse:

> Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin

> splints?

I think that strengthening the anterior tibialis can help (sometimes

the weak muscle is the posterior tibialis - I believe that if the

pain originates lower on the shins that is how one can tell), but one

should also remember to maintain the flexibility in their calf

muscles/achilles.

[Flexibility refers to Range of Movement (ROM) of a joint, not to

muscles, so you need to elaborate. Some of the calf muscles cross

both the ankle and knee joints, so this issue also has to be addressed.

Mel Siff]

Also, make sure that you do not increase the intensity or duration of

whatever exercise you might be doing (i.e. jogging, sprinting, jumping)

too quickly, as this will not give time for your body to adapt to the training.

Habeeb Ahsan

Mississauga, ON, Canada

[Guest guest]

> ***Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin

> splints?***

It doesn't for me, I have been exercising both tibialis anterior and

the fibularis/pyronei muscles for a few years now and apart from

improving their appearance (which is the main goal for a bodybuilder)

I've found no additional benefit from it.

Van Mol

Belgium

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

> ***Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin

> splints?***

It doesn't for me, I have been exercising both tibialis anterior and

the fibularis/pyronei muscles for a few years now and apart from

improving their appearance (which is the main goal for a bodybuilder)

I've found no additional benefit from it.

Van Mol

Belgium

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Kruse:

> > Does exercising the tibialis anterior help prevent medial shin splints?

Habeeb ahsan:

> I think that strengthening the anterior tibialis can help (sometimes

> the weak muscle is the posterior tibialis - I believe that if the

> pain originates lower on the shins that is how one can tell), but one

> should also remember to maintain the flexibility in their calf

> muscles/achilles.

Mel Siff:

> [Flexibility refers to Range of Movement (ROM) of a joint, not to

> muscles, so you need to elaborate. Some of the calf muscles cross

> both the ankle and knee joints, so this issue also has to be addressed.

** I was referring to the length (and mistakenly used the word

flexibility) of the plantarflexors of the ankle joint - primarily

gastrocnemius and soleus - and meant simply to stretch these

muscles. As the gastrocnemius crosses the knee joint, in order to

properly stretch it, the ankle must be dorsiflexed to its greatest

degree and the knee must be extended -- the stretch will be felt

close to the knee. In order to stretch the achilles, do the same

stretch as for the gastrocnemius, but bend the knee -- this stretch

should be felt slightly above the calcaneus. If I have left

something out, or am still unclear, please let me know.

Habeeb Ahsan

Mississauga, ON, Canada

[Guest guest]

Never posted here before, but I'd thought I'd mention

another way (or two) to work the tibialis anterior...

Really quite simple, but easy to overlook -

1) Sit upright on a bench with the legs on the bench,

ankles hanging off the end, and both feet together.

2) Set the plate of the dumbbell on the laces of your

shoes so that the post of the dumbbell goes b/w both

feet.

3) Dorsiflex (raise toes towards shins) and lower.

The only disadvantage os that setup can be a bit

awkward.

This works even better if you have a seated bench with

the post for the feet (like most Cybex seats).

Sit upright with the knees flexed, and your heels on

the post in front of you. Put the dumbbell b/w your

feet as described earlier, and dorsiflex and lower.

[if you wish to use something which offers variable

resistance without the need for any apparatus, have a

training partner restrain the upper surface of your

foot while you dorsiflex your ankle - this is simple

and effective. Mel Siff]

Thanks to all of you, I've been enjoying the

intelligent discussions!

, Personal Trainer

B.S. Kinesiology

Austin, TX

--- CoolColJ wrote:

> To prevent shin splints one must exercise the shin

> tib muscles

> to balance the strength of the calf.

> This is basically the opposite of a calf raise, ie

> you raise your toes up towards your shin and back

> down.

> But this can be hard to do with extra resistance.

> Many gyms do not have the Tib machines.

>

> Well I found a way to do it!

>

> Basicly you grab a barbell and put a small plate on

> each end so that the bar

> is just the right height.

> Point your toes and hook one foot under the bar

> against the plate on one

> side.

> Position the barbell so that your shin muscle is

> full stretched

> (with your toes pointed) when you hook your foot

> under it.

> You can use a small block under the heel to get a

> fuller stretch.

> The bar should rest near your toes.

> Put your other foot ontop the bar to stop it from

> rolling away

> when your exercising..

> Now do the exercise by pulling your feet up towards

> your shin, with your

> heel staying on the ground, and lower to complete

> one rep.

> It works suprisingly well!

>

> Add more weight as you get stronger, but use a

> smaller plate or

> the same size as one you have on now to keep the

> barbell at the right

> height.

>

> The other way is to get an old shoe and nail a plank

> of wood

> to the bottom, through the inside of the shoe with

> some wooden nails.

> The piece of timber should extend 6 inches in front

> of the shoe.

> Put a nail through the end of the overhang. Now you

> can add small plates

> on this nail and exercise away.

>

> Just me rambling

> Hope that was of help to someone.

>

> Colin Chung

* Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and

city of residence if you wish them to be published!