AMU Performance Podcast

Our ankles need some love.

We are often focused on developing strength and power through exercises that target the major muscles of the legs (e.g. glutes, hamstrings, quads).

However, athletes are not always intentional about training the ankle complex.

The ankle is vitally important. It is responsible for transferring force (generated by the glutes, quads, and hamstrings) into the ground.

Undertrained ankles = inefficient use of force = untapped athletic potential

We can train our ankles through a variety of “exercises” / movements that will allow us to be better, faster, and jumpier athletes.

if you’re interested in learning about specific ways to train the ankle complex, drop us a comment or send us a DM.

Relative force is an important component of athletic performance.

Athletes need to produce the right amount of force, in the right direction, at the right time.

Generally speaking, relative force can be improved 1 of 2 ways (excluding factors such as biomechanics, SSC, etc.)

We can increase the size of the engine (muscle) or we enhance the efficiency of the computer chip (neuromuscular connection).

This leads to an important question …

When we increase hypertrophy (lean muscle tissue), are we able to increase relative force? The athlete may be stronger, but they are also carrying more weight (more muscle).

Does this make them more efficient and effective? I think it depends.

Let us know your thoughts!