Strong on the Stairs - Part 1: Ankles

If your knees bother you on stairs or hills - you’re not alone. Keeping the muscles around your ankles, knees and hips both flexible and strong will help you feel confident again taking the stairs. Here are a few of my favorite exercises to do just that!

We’ll start with the ankles in this segment, and then move up the chain to the knees and hips in parts 2 and 3.

If you do have an injury or medical condition be sure to consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program. This is not meant to be medical advice. If any exercises cause pain of any kind, do not do it!

When you’re walking down stairs, your back knee has to move forward over the toes as you lower yourself. That movement requires both flexibility and strength at your ankle to keep you from letting gravity just plop you down. That plop down will cause more force through your joints and you may to feel less confident in your abilities.

So what can be done about this? We strengthen and stretch at the ankle joint, which will give you more control and strength with each step.

Strengthening:

Anterior Tibialis Raises: To strengthen the front of the ankle joint, lean with your hips against the wall and walk your feet forward 2-3 feet. Lift and lower your feet keeping your heels down. Work your way up to 25 repetitions in a row.

Calf Raise from Stretch: With your hands against the wall, walk your feet back so you feel a stretch in the back of your lower leg. Keeping the rest of your body in a straight line, lift and lower your heels out and back into the stretch. Work your way up to 25 repetitions in a row, then try them on one leg!

Knees Over Toes Calf Raise: Using a wall for balance, push your knees forward over your toes until you feel a stretch through the back of you lower leg. Keep your knees, hips and shoulders in a straight line while you lift and lower your heels. Work your way up to 25 repetitions in a row, then try them on one leg!

Stretches:

In each stretch, you'll notice that you also have to do some work! Engaging the opposing muscle group while you stretch will keep you strong in that range of motion and encourage the stretched muscle to relax (a concept called reciprocal inhibition).

Calf Stretch: Step your forefoot onto a step or against the wall with your heel on the ground. Try to "lift" the top of your foot, without it actually lifting, to engage the muscles along your shin as you stretch the calves. Hold for 60 seconds on each side.

Top of Foot Stretch: Step one foot back placing the top of your toes on the ground. Try to actively plantar flex (point) the ankle while you gently try to "pull" your foot forward, without actually moving it. Hold for 60 seconds on each side.

Bonus Stair Form Tip:

When walking down stairs or hills, step down leading with the toes. By lowering your toes first, your front leg will be able to help out much sooner as the toes hit the ground. Rule of thumb: Lead with the TOES going down and lead with the HEELS going up.

You've got this!

Like with any new exercise program or habit, it takes consistency and patience to see results. If you do these exercises 3 times per week, you'll feel yourself improving and getting stronger in 6-8 weeks time! See my blog post on motivation for tips on staying consistent and check out parts 2 and 3 of this series as they come out for more exercises that will help you feel strong on the stairs.