150 | Stay Active in Midlife with Better Ankle Movement: Movement Snack

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Imagine you're walking confidently through your golden years, free from the fear of falls and injuries. That's not just a dream; it's a reality you can achieve by focusing on one crucial area: your ankles. Join me, Courtney, on this episode of Moving Through Midlife, as I share a deeply personal story about a family member's fall that underscores the undeniable value of ankle mobility and strength. We'll dive into a practical, step-by-step exercise you can start right from your chair, designed to improve your ankle health and enhance your stability. By prioritizing safety and going barefoot, you'll fully engage your foot's range of motion and start your journey toward better mobility and injury prevention.

Incorporating simple movement snacks into your daily routine can make a world of difference in your overall well-being. Listen along as I guide you through an easy-to-follow exercise that aims to boost your ankle mobility and keep you active as you age gracefully. Don't hesitate to text us with any questions or feedback—we'll address them in an upcoming call. And, of course, share this episode with friends or leave a review to help us reach more moms like you. For more support and resources, join our Moving Through Midlife community and take the next step in your journey to better health and stability. Enjoy the benefits of this movement snack and embrace the joys of staying active through midlife and beyond.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Moving Through Midlife.
I am your host, courtney, apersonal trainer and movement
specialist who wants to help youmove through midlife with more
grace.
Each week, we will discuss wayswe can show up better for
ourselves and our childrenwithout the burnout, children

(00:26):
without the burnout.
We will focus on overall healththrough habit stacking to help
increase energy, providemovement snacks to help you move
more throughout the day, whilealso moving your body more, and
learn from professionals onmoving through midlife with ease
so that you can feel confidentwith aging.
Gracefully, grab your earbudsand join me on a leisurely walk
while we discuss moving throughmidlife.

(00:48):
It is the first Monday of themonth, which means we are
working on a movement snack.
So I have had a situation wherea family member has been
falling recently and it made methink about how our feet are

(01:11):
moving and what we can do towork on ensuring that our feet
are not only strong, but thatour ankles are able to support
us through the fall to wherewe're not twisting or breaking
an ankle.
So what I'd like to have you dotoday is work on this mobility

(01:34):
of the ankle to see what yourpersonal range of motion is, and
then work through that movementto see if you can increase your
mobility within your ankle.
Because what happens is, if ourtendons and ligaments are not

(01:56):
put into a position, they willlock up.
If, say, you're walking and youtrip over something, you fall
into a slight hole or you're,you know, moving up onto a
different part of the sidewalkwhere your ankle twists.

(02:18):
If your ankle starts to twistand it is familiar with that
position, it will move throughthat position and then move on.
If, on the other hand, you doit and it's not a position that
your foot has ever been in or iscomfortable in, it will lock up

(02:41):
, and then that's when strainsand sprains occur.
So what we're going to do is,when you are in an area where
you can stand or sit still, youare going to place your feet on
the floor, preferably barefoot,just so that you can work
through the full range ofmovement within your whole foot

(03:05):
itself.
You're going to lift the heelup.
So when I recommend you liftthe heel up, some people will
pull from the heel, but I wantyou to instead think about
pushing through that forefoot,so your midfoot and your toes.
You're pressing down and by youpressing down it creates this

(03:30):
counter pressure or thislever-type thing where the heel
lifts up.
In this position it's almostlike you're in, say, a relevé or
on tippy toes, that type ofposition.
But you can be sitting down.
And now what we're going to dois we're going to imagine our

(03:52):
heel in our ankle, pushing outto the side, and you just want
to notice what is your range ofmotion in that position and then
bring it back to neutral, towhere the heel is directly over
top of that midfoot area, andthen drop the ankle in a little

(04:14):
bit and see what that feels like.
So the foot is still on thefloor, the midfoot and the toes
are still on the floor.
You're not trying to roll.
You still want weight on thatarea.
Hopefully this makes sense.
Obviously, if you're strugglingwith this, you can always go to
our Moving Through Midlifecommunity, where I will have a

(04:35):
video posted for you.
So you're just going to movethrough that position.
Usually, you'll have moremovement out than you will in.
That is okay.
What you are looking for iswhat is your mobility on one
side compared to the other?
Are they similar?
Is one tighter?
Do you notice when you'removing through the position,

(04:57):
something feels tight in yourfoot or in your ankle and then
just work with that, just workon seeing can I get into that
position comfortably?
Now, if you're seated and you'relike this feels good, this
feels fine, why not try to standup?
Do the same thing by going upinto a releve or tippy toes and

(05:23):
make sure you're holding on tosomething, because we don't want
to put too much weight on ourankle as it moves out like that
if it's not something you'recomfortable with.
So if you're feeling strainwhen you're seated, do not try
to do this standing up.
We don't want to cause a strainor a sprain while we're
practicing this movement.
So once you stand up and you dothat as well, you may notice

(05:47):
that you feel tension, tightness.
You might feel like, oh mygoodness, my body is kind of
locking up to protect that area.
If that's something that you'renoticing, I would recommend
trying to move through thatposition a little bit more.
Usually, what I would say isjust bring one foot up while

(06:11):
you're standing so that you'renot fully on releve.
Bring one foot up and then moveit side to side, see what that
feels like.
Then try it on the other side,back and forth, and then just
notice this is going to increasethe mobility in that area.
This will take time.
This is going to be somethingyou might want to work on, you
know, and that's why I'm tryingto give movement snacks once a

(06:32):
month now, to where you can kindof just move through these
positions, notice what they feellike, cry them, you know, once
or twice a day, and then move onand do the rest of your life.
These are not meant to beexercises, so to speak.
These are movement patternsthat you can add into your
everyday life and just see whatthings feel like.

(06:54):
And then the point of them isto obviously help you to where,
as you're getting older, yourbody is moving into these new
and different positions, to helpyou with longevity, to help you
with mobility throughout yourlifetime, because as we get

(07:17):
older, we tend to move theseparts less, which increases our
chance of injuries.
If you continue to work throughthese different exercises as
you get older, you may notice adecrease in injuries because
your body knows it's safe to gointo those positions.
So that is your movement snack.

(07:40):
If you are enjoying these things, make sure to head over to our
Moving Through Midlife communityon Facebook.
I share movement snacks inthere.
I can help answer any questionsyou may have as well, and then
we also do have our Move Betterbundle that you can always go

(08:01):
access as well.
I do want to let you know thatthere is a new feature on our
podcast where, if you click onthe episode notes, you'll see
the very first thing it says issend us a text message If you

(08:23):
would like, if you have aquestion for me, you can click
on that.
It will send me a message.
Unfortunately, it's notsomething where I can get back
to you, but if I have questions,I am happy to answer them for
you on an upcoming call.
So definitely feel free to sendme a text message so I know how

(08:47):
you're enjoying this or if youhave any questions for me.
So that is all for today.
I hope you enjoy this movementsnack and I hope it helps you
work on your range of motion oryour mobility within your ankle.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand found something to take
away to help you practicehealthier habits, move more or

(09:11):
handle the midlife and agingwith grace.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend or
leave us a review to help usreach more moms just like you.
Head to movingthroughmidlifecomto join the free community or
learn how you can move more andfeel better in your daily life.