Modified program with ankle sprain

testtech05

Hey Guys,

Been following a powerlifting style program for the last 6-8 months (Massive thanks to Hanley who provided it) and have seen huge strength gains all year with it.

Unfortunately I sprained my ankle pretty badly last week playing soccer and am just coming off crutches now. The question I have is I am looking for a modified program I could use to try and limit the loss of all the strength gains I have made this year, or failing that maybe an already existing program which I could follow for a few weeks while rehabbing my ankle. (Maybe it would be a good time to change up the training a bit from the S/B/DL and look at dropping some BF with a more bodybuilding style routine - I know this would be more to do with diet than training but happy to hear any suggestions)

At the minute due to reduced mobility of the ankle it seems squats and DL variations will be out for me but I would welcome any suggestions from the more knowledgeable folks here. Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.

Thanks guys,

Brian?

Honestly, I would concentrate on getting better and forget about any squats or dears for a while. I wouldn't even bench, if you're doing it right you'll put plenty of pressure on the ankle.

I'd do some pull-ups and dips, seated DB military press and basically anything you can do sitting.

I know it's frustrating, but if you make the ankle worse it'll be much much more frustrating.

testtech05

Brian? wrote: »

Honestly, I would concentrate on getting better and forget about any squats or dears for a while. I wouldn't even bench, if you're doing it right you'll put plenty of pressure on the ankle.

I'd do some pull-ups and dips, seated DB military press and basically anything you can do sitting.

I know it's frustrating, but if you make the ankle worse it'll be much much more frustrating.

Thanks Brian?

To be honest I was kind of thinking the same way but think I needed someone else to tell me so I could convince myself I wasn't just making excuses
I'd like to try and keep up my routine of going to the gym though so will definitely look into different stuff I can keep doing/do while seated. Cardio also seems like it is going to be an issue for a while haha.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Irishcrx

I'd be focusing on lifting anything without weight on the ankle for a while , so for your upper body pull ups, chin ups , chest and tri dips should keep you going and keep your strangth up.

I'd eat maintenance level until I was training normally again and then start building the strength in my ankle back with cardio and slowly/lightly reintroducing lower body movements.
Sucks I know , but it happens to us all injuries are part of it especially when your training and playing. There was a point last year where I had a shoulder injury , lower back strain and groin pull... couldn't do a damn thing for weeks and was panicking...reality was I watched my diet and my strength was back to normal within 2 weeks training.

testtech05

Irishcrx wrote: »

I'd be focusing on lifting anything without weight on the ankle for a while , so for your upper body pull ups, chin ups , chest and tri dips should keep you going and keep your strangth up.

I'd eat maintenance level until I was training normally again and then start building the strength in my ankle back with cardio and slowly/lightly reintroducing lower body movements.
Sucks I know , but it happens to us all injuries are part of it especially when your training and playing. There was a point last year where I had a shoulder injury , lower back strain and groin pull... couldn't do a damn thing for weeks and was panicking...reality was I watched my diet and my strength was back to normal within 2 weeks training.

Great info Irishcrx thanks. Must get using MyFitnessPal again for a while find it good for keeping on track when I am not training much. Have a trip to chicago next week for the Ireland vs All Blacks game though so maintenance could go out the window there

Hanley

Have you tried squatting / deadlifting on it?

THe normal ankle sprain most people get (where you roll it laterally) won't always keep you out of squatting / deadlifting for too long.

But professional advice and all that jazz

testtech05

Hanley wrote: »

Have you tried squatting / deadlifting on it?

THe normal ankle sprain most people get (where you roll it laterally) won't always keep you out of squatting / deadlifting for too long.

But professional advice and all that jazz

Thanks Hanley,

Waiting to hear back from Physio for an appointment just now but seems squat is definitely out as for a while at least cant get into the position even just with bodyweight at the min, similar with the DL as I cant seem to carry a lot of pressure on the foot so don't think I would try them yet. Definitely planning to ask physio about it though. Just wanted to see what all the knowledge on here had to say 1st.

Irishcrx

Defo listen to the Physio for his advise, the ankle is a tough one especially if your playing football, a bit like a groin injury it's hard to gauage when exactly it is back at 100%... very easy for a re-occurance injury if not managed correctly.

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Irishcrx wrote: »

Defo listen to the Physio for his advise, the ankle is a tough one especially if your playing football, a bit like a groin injury it's hard to gauage when exactly it is back at 100%... very easy for a re-occurance injury if not managed correctly.

One of the best pieces of advise I received was to never ignore a 'simple' ankle sprain ''because there's no such thing as a simple ankle sprain".

This was months after spraining it in the Irish Judo Open 2009.

I initially sprained it with a rolling sprain as Hanley described, an inversion ankle sprain and never rehab'd it properly.

Then in training one night, BAM ~ straight to hospital, then physio ~ I had a grade III tear to my ATFL which was weakened by the original 'simple' sprain.

So yes OP, rehab that. Its very important, and btw my second sprain kept me out of competition for almost 18 months!.. They're not to be ignored.