barefoot jumping?

[PeggyC]

Last summer I ran barefoot consistently and eventually did 56 miles in September (cumulative, whole month, longest run 6 miles). Then I fell off the running wagon and didn't do much all winter and spring and am finally getting back to some consistency, having already run 14 miles this month (july). I've been taking it easy, not trying to get into trouble with Too Much Too Soon.



BUT



I accidentally wound up taking over teaching Tumbling at the local YMCA a few weeks ago. I haven't taught anywhere since 2006, and this facility is pretty ghetto, so I let the kids have the mats and I wind up demonstrating quite a bit on the hard plywood floor (no springs). I've been demonstrating lots of Tuck and Straddle and Straight jumps. barefoot of course. So, this is adding to the stress on my feet/legs/ankles. It's lets say at the most 40 jumps, 3x/week.



THE PROBLEM

Right where my right foot hooks into the ankle, I have light pain all the way around, not even pain really, more like being tickled by a sharp fork. a tiny bit if sitting, more if walking and still more if running.



THE QUESTIONs

Should I stop jumping? Move to a mat to jump? Most of the kids have now learned the jumps and I shouldn't NEED to demonstrate anymore, so I could stop if you think I should.

Should I stop running till this goes away? The local pool is open for another month and I could probably get to swim laps 2x/week (better than nothing).



Should I avoid long walks while it heals? Since my mileage is still so measly low, I could maintain current mileage with just walking, but should I just go back to lazy?



Any guesses as to what this problem is?



Lots of Barefooters do CrossFit and I was getting into that, liking the idea of Box Jumps but obviously those are out now right?



Please and THANK YOU for all your help!

 

[Abide]

Hey Peg, I started crossfit

Hey Peg, I started crossfit around the same time I started barefoot running and I think doing box jumps, tuck jumps and double unders caused more issues than running barefoot.

Here is what I would recommend. Keep doing your box jumps but don't jump down, step down, it causes way less stress. It slows you down some but being able to workout the next day is way more important than your time in a workout.

I think active recovery is more important in this situation than rest. If there is strong pain, then by all means rest, but if the pain is mild keep going for walks and doing crossfit. Just make sure you are doing it safely. Also grab a jump rope every day and jump rope for a couple of minutes a day in your warm up. This will help condition your feet for rapid rebound and also build strength in your muscles and tendons. Just remember that it will likely take a good year of continuous excercise to get your feet and lower legs ready to handle whatever you want to throw at them.

 

[saypay45]

We learned in MovNat that the

We learned in MovNat that the end of a jump should essentially be like a falling squat. You land with the balls of your feet, but you need to quickly transfer your weight to your heels and squat down to absorb the impact. Otherwise, you're putting too much stress on your calves and ankles. It doesn't have to be a big squat, just enough to feel like you've landed solidly. That's what I do on the end of my box jumps.

Of course that's not really possible for jump roping. For that, I try to stick to single unders instead of the more explosive double under. Otherwise with all my running I worry about blowing out a calf muscle.

But I totally agree with Abide. Lots of jumping plus barefoot running equals lots of stress on your calfs and ankles.