Understanding Achilles Injuries: Insights from the Recent NBA Incident

The Impact of Achillies Injuries on Athletes

A few weeks ago, I mentioned "He who should not be named" in a newsletter. You can read it here if you missed it.

In the wake of NBA player Tyrese Haliburton rupturing his Achilles during a recent game, the internet has been flooded with opinions. Let's delve into Achilles injuries, online opinions, and the impact of toxic personalities in fitness.

The Controversy Surrounding "He Who Should Not Be Named"

"He who should not be named" is the founder of Functional Patterns, a fitness brand with a devoted following. Unfortunately, this following often mirrors the toxic persona of its founder, Naudi Aguillar. Naudi gained notoriety by loudly labeling anyone who disagreed with him as "BETA MALES." Interestingly, he was embracing this bold approach long before figures like Andrew Tate popularized it.

Despite the controversy, Naudi does share some useful information about fitness. It's frustrating that he has taken this negative path. However, he possesses valuable insights alongside questionable content.

Recently, the Functional Patterns brand and a few others rushed to comment on Haliburton’s injury. They claimed his training was to blame for his misfortune. This is simply misleading.

A Closer Look at Haliburton's Training

Haliburton trains with Ben Bruno, an outstanding coach who has never spoken ill of anyone. I have followed Ben's work for years and can attest to his credibility. He provides quality coaching without resorting to negativity.

Understanding Achilles Injuries

Achilles strains, tears, and ruptures are serious concerns for athletes. I currently have a client recovering from a rupture and have guided others through similar situations. We observe these injuries most often in sports that involve rapid dorsiflexion under load, which is a fancy term for back ankle lengthening.

In earlier years, we primarily saw these injuries in basketball players and sprinters. However, CrossFit introduced repetitive box jumps, creating a significant increase in Achilles injuries across various sports.

The Theory Behind Injury Prevention

My theory is that we can reduce the risk of Achilles injuries. However, it's essential to recognize that we can never completely eliminate the risk of injury. Unlike the Functional Patterns group, I don’t believe the exercises Ben used with Haliburton are at fault. Deadlifts and Floating Heel Split Squats are valid exercises I would also implement in training.

Exploring Foot Mechanics

The potential issue that remains unaddressed is foot mechanics. This is where Anatomy in Motion comes into play, a concept developed by my mentor, Gary Ward. Foot mechanics are often misunderstood. After conversing with a physiotherapist who has a Master's degree, it became clear that many professionals agree this topic needs attention.

When the bones and joints in the foot fail to move correctly, the surrounding tissues endure more strain than strength training can alleviate. This is especially true for a 7-foot tall professional basketball player landing after a 32-inch jump.

Pronation and Supination Explained

Foot actions include pronation and supination. Pronation refers to the foot flattening, while supination involves arching. In simple terms, pronation is when the foot goes "Pancake," while supination reshapes it like a "Banana."

From my experience and that of many other professionals, most people tend to be prone to "Pancake" feet and struggle to "Banana" effectively. The Achilles tendon connects to the heel bone (calcaneus) and extends into the plantar fascia along the bottom of the foot. This connection can contribute to problems when functioning improperly.

The Rehab Process

A significant component of Achilles rehabilitation involves restoring the calcaneus's proper movement. For plantar fasciitis, the goal is to achieve better pronation while training the plantar fascia to spring back toward the supination position.

In essence, "Banana Pancakes" are essential!

Yum!

If I've ever asked you to perform exercises aimed at finding and utilizing the foot tripod, we were likely trying to train your foot to pronate (flatten). This action lengthens the muscles, enabling the return to supination.

Lateral lunges, especially when performed with a straight leg and flat foot, encourage that banana shape. Look at the popular Dragon to Lateral Lunge sequence, often found in my warm-up routines; the non-stepping leg is subtly guided toward a "Banana Pancake" position.

The Importance of Diverse Training Methods

While these methods help, they are not foolproof for injury prevention. We must still include plyometrics, floating heel exercises (like Hindu squats and toe walking), cleans, and deadlifts in training regimens.

It's crucial to recognize that no single person—be it myself, Naudi, or Ben Bruno—has all the answers. We all strive to do our best using the tools and knowledge available to us.

Before calling out individuals as "Beta" or claiming superiority in training methods, it's essential to consider the knowledge and experience we all bring to the table.

Regards,

Dave Hedges

www.davehedges.net

How to go from Powerlifting to Kettlebell Lifting

I've two points to open with before todays question..

Point 1: Joint Mobility Fundamentals has been live now for a week, and I

have the first bit of feedback:

"Brilliant course explaining why and how in good detail.

I do it every morning and am able to move better as a result.

It also allows me to explore tight areas and spend more time there if

needed"

This was from RB, a non WG-Fit client, which is great.

The WG-Fit crew have had this info rammed down their throats by me for

years, so to have feedback from outside my little gym in Dublin is great.

The course, like all my Online Courses is included in any and all online

training packages, or can be joined for a small fee.

The fee is so small both my wife and business advisor friend are losing

their mind at me, but I'm also making a larger joint mobility course,

which will be less of a Fundamental follow along and more of an

educational library, that I'll price "properly"

Click the link and have a look: https://www.davehedges.net/onlinecourses

Point 2: Social Media

I have a bone to pick with you about my SocMed posts.

I know you look at them.

How do I know?

I bump into people on the street who mention something about something I

posted, online clients mention stuff I post in their comms with me and

every now and then when one of the newsletter people (that's you

<<First Name>> by the way) replies with a question, often its regarding

something I have posted.

But, you're not pressing like, or share and in many cases, not even

following my account.

To be honest, I'm just happy people are seeing my content and find it

helpful in some way, but to help more people it would be helpful to me

if you lot would hit the like buttons, even share it the odd time.

I don't fully understand SocMed and reach and all these things, it bores

me (visualise my business advisor buddy here shaking her head and crying

into her coffee every time she tells me to do SocMed stuff....)

So give us a like, follow etc.

Now, todays question...

Hard to pick as there are some great q's coming in.

"Hi Dave,

Question re the ‘older’ lifter. Lately I’ve switched my training from

barbell to kettlebell/mace for a number of reasons.

Those being:

Time taken for a workout

Variation

Less taxing on the body

Injury

And boredom. There’s probably more but can’t think of them.

I trained for competitions for many years and the training was nothing

short of brutal. I remember having a 185kg squat and 250kg deadlift. Now

training was one thing but recovery was equally as important.

I suppose what I’m asking is why I find myself as ‘tired’ from the bell

work as I did from the powerlifting training!!!

Is it a mindset that I think it’s not as tough? Being a 50yr+ lifter is

my body taking its toll?

We often talk about training this or that but what about the older

lifter? Pitfalls? Is less more? Or should we just ‘drive on’ at our peril?

Kind regards

Paul"

Paul is an old buddy from the Waterford area who has some impressive

results in powerlifting.

And powerlifting is anerobic dominant when it comes to thinking about

the body's energy systems.

Anaerobic translates to "without oxygen", so it's good for short, sharp,

powerful efforts lasting just a few seconds.

And for a powerlifter, it is their super power.

You also have neural fatigue. Very high intensity efforts (as in at or

very close to your 1 rep max) place a huge load on the nervous system,

as it has to work very hard to contract every muscle as hard as possible

to move that load.

Kettlebells on the other hand are relatively light.

Yes, moving them fast, as in the Snatch and Jerk type movements can be

taxing, but they don't live in that anaerobic space most of the time.

Because kettlebells are lifted for reps, we're usually in that

Glycolytic - Lactate energy system. Which is the energy system that

gives us the term "Ball-Bagging"

Ball Bagging is a very northern english term for becoming very tired due

to very hard work.

And a lot of kettlebell work, and Bulgarian Bag work falls into that

category.

So our hero has gone from specialising in anaerobic excellence into now

needing an aerobic system to support his newer training exploration.

You simply cannot recover from Glycolytic type work if the aerobic

system isn't running well.

Building aerobic fitness isn't particularly difficult, but it can be

time consuming.

Of the three energy systems it's potentially the least intense, many

bodybuilders do "cardio" and say it helps them recover and feel less sore.

So here's what to do:

Walk/Cycle for 30+ minutes 2-5 times per week, ideally breathing

exclusively through the nose.

If you track your heart rate, aim to be in low Zone 2, this will feel

easy, but that is the point.

With the kettlebell, plan a circuit.

Be logical with the exercise layout, refer to the WMD ebook (available

from both davehedges.net and wg-fit.com) for circuit ideas, but there

are a few simple formats you can use:

Push - Pull - Legs - Core

Push - Hinge - Pull - Squat - Core

Upper - Lower - Core

If you use unilateral drills, decide weather the left and right sides

are 2 stations or you alternate them in a single station.

So a forward lunge will be a squat and either 1 or 2 stations. A reverse

lunge probably more hinge. Lateral Lunge, also more hinge.

Now with these circuits, if your goal is aerobic development, we want

the heart rate to average in the Zone 2 area. There are Training Zone

calculators online, but if you lose the ability to have a conversation

and start snatching at sentences, you're probably working too hard!

With aerobic circuits, have the rest periods shorter than the work

periods, 45:15 is a classic.

Now, the age question...

It is true we recover slower with age.

But, recovery is the role of the aerobic system, that "refuels" the

other systems.

Not forgetting calories and counting sheep of course.

So while "muscle is the organ of longevity" (Dr Gabrielle Lyon) it still

requires aerobic fitness.

And the image that goes around as proof of this concept is a side by

side comparison showing cross sectional image of the thigh, showing age

matched males, one who never trained and shows low muscle mass with fat

clearly present, and a triathlete, who's leg looks the same as a 20 yr olds.

Now, is triathlon more anaerobic or aerobic?

It's a bit of an unfair question, and loaded towards my personal biases

as a coach, but you get my point...

Keep the questions coming in

Have a look at the online courses

And interact with my SocMed posts that I know you've been looking at!!!

Chat soon

--

Regards

Dave Hedges

www.DaveHedges.net

Are the splits necessary for kicking high?

Hi <<First Name>> 

Before we get into todays question topic, I have some news for you.

I have finally got the Joint Mobility Fundamentals course done and up on davehedges.net 

This is the joint mobility set that I started every class with for years in WG-Fit, taught it at workshops and seminars and have a few follow along videos available on the socials.

But I had never put out a tutorial online.

Until now.

I’ve priced it at £4.99, which is dirt cheap, but if you are on any of the training packages it, and all the online courses, is included in that membership.

Head over now and take a look: https://www.davehedges.net/onlinecourses

I will have follow up mobility courses up soon, I’m just figuring out the most sensible way to present them. I think, as the “Fundamentals” course is so clean and easy to follow, once you have it, you have the baseline for pretty much everything else.

So the next course can explore variations on each drill, an “encyclopedia” rather than a follow along.

What do you think?

Is there something in particular you’d like a course on?

Something I’ve mentioned or taught in the past that you would like a course to learn more about?

Anyhow, today's question:

“Are the splits necessary for kicking high?” - Sarah

Short answer - No.

Longer answer - still no, but developing the splits can be useful for better kicks.

So let’s define a couple of terms, Mobility and Flexibility.

Flexibility is the total range of motion a joint, or series of joints can go through

Mobility is control of that range, or strength within that range.

So you can be flexible, but if you don’t have the strength to control that range, you may not be mobile.

And you may be mobile, but relatively inflexible.

I like to think of it as a picture in a colouring book, flexibility is the lines of a drawing, and mobility is the bit you’ve coloured in.

The better you colour it in, right up to the lines, the better an athlete you may be, and you may reduce your injury risk.

Splits, as most people develop them, is pretty passive.

It is a lot of flexibility, but little strength.

When we look at gymnasts and the acrobat community, we see how they develop flexibility using a mix of strength work and more passive stretching.

The strength work may be something like a Romanian Deadlift or Jefferson Curl, with hanging leg raises to work the opposite side, while the passive may be a seated toe touch.

For splits, it’s common to see the Horse Stance being used, which can be loaded into Sumo style squats and deadlifts.

And also things like end range lift offs, which is placing the body into the shape you wish to make with support, say a kick position with the foot on a bar or held by a partner, then using muscle strength, lift the leg a bit higher and lower it back down.

You can do this with pretty much any stretch within reason. Get into the stretch position, close to but not at the limit, then contract the shortening muscle to take you into the end using strength.

You can see how a hanging leg raise is the precise opposite loading pattern of a jefferson curl, the leg lift strengthens the muscles going short, the jefferson strengthens the muscles going long.

And that thought process is why training splits can be useful to martial artist, even if they never achieve the splits.

You should end up with an increase in flexibility with the lines well and truly coloured in.

You have strength throughout the range of motion you have built, the very definition of mobility.

All you have to make sure you do is make sure that mobility knows what is expected of it and you smash the pads with kicks that are now stronger, faster, higher and more devastating!

If you enjoy reading these newsletters, then please do hit reply to both let me know and also to send in your question.

All questions sent in go onto a list for future editions.

Chat soon

Regards

Dave Hedges

www.davehedges.net