reducing impact on ankles during step ups

[JoshDunn]

My ankles have been getting sore from the impact of the back foot returning to ground during steps ups.

I tried landing on the balls of my foot then rolling back unto my heel. That helped but not as much as I'd like.

The gym already has rubber flooring but its still hard.

Anyone experienced anything similar and if so any ideas on reducing the impact?

[ryan122185]

If you cannot control your speed on the descent maybe your box is too high. One of the component of the step up is controlled lowering... this will contribute to building up some of stabilizing muscles.

[gibson57guy]

Originally Posted by JoshDunn

My ankles have been getting sore from the impact of the back foot returning to ground during steps ups.

I tried landing on the balls of my foot then rolling back unto my heel. That helped but not as much as I'd like.

The gym already has rubber flooring but its still hard.

Anyone experienced anything similar and if so any ideas on reducing the impact?

Don't land on the bottom... Seriously.. just lightly brush the bottom of your shoe on the floor but don't actually land it... this will also teach you to have a slower decent as you will be trying to find the bottom to just brush it but not land it... You may have to use a smaller step as this will
require more strength and control...

If you still want to actually land your foot then descend much slower and gain more control.. even if you have to go to a lighter weight or smaller step..

[GqArtguy]

You have to control the descent such that its not a hard landing. Some people may have existing plantar fasciitis which can definitely flare up during this movement, in which case that should be taken care of first.

Worst comes to worse, do split squats or lunges.

[LisaS]

Josh -
I have a tricky right ankle (plates & screws). For me, landing the same on the left and the right - the right felt like it was being pounded.
Somethings I tried: landing on toes, landing on heel, trying to barely brush the floor, etc.
What seemed to work for me: for 2 weeks (about 3 workouts on by A/B routine) I substituted one-leg glute bridges with my foot up on a 12" step for the step ups. I'm not sure if it made me stronger, or taught my glutes to fire or just gave the ankle a rest - but when I went back to stepups at the same height I'd been using I was able to do them without ankle issues.

[JoshDunn]

I never thought about the box height. Thanks all. Will try and see how I go.

[JoshDunn]

Did step ups today. Used a lower box and lowered my back foot until I touched a toe (foot was in plantarflexion) to the ground then pushed back up. Even though the box was lower it seemed to work better. Thanks all.