I’ve had some form of Achilles tendinitis for a couple years now. I had gotten to the point where I could do about 60 minutes of running pain free this year, but that darn pain came back out of the blue this past month.
I’m taking my volume way down and trying to do isometric exercises to build up my tendon, but I still need to do SOME type of cardio. I was hoping to do an Olympic triathlon next year and need to continue building my base to have any chance.
So with that being said, does anyone have any substitute exercises that can get as close to running as possible without putting too much stress on my Achilles? I’ve heard some people suggest the elliptical, but I’m curious if anyone has had success with anything else?
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Cycling worked for me.
I think the root cause was that the calf muscle was way too tight, transferring load to the the small Achilles. Adding regular calf stretches and foam rolling for the calves seemed to help.
I assume you already do some cycling and swimming if you want to do a triathlon? Those will help build your cardio base. Along with strength training specific for running that should help you get back faster.
For cycling, check the position of your cleats are good. I think having your feet a bit more to the front on the pedals (so cleats more towards the centre of the foot) can help spare your calve muscles and focus cycling more on the upper leg, which helps them stay fresh for running and avoiding tight calves.
Correct, I have been cycling (will add swimming shortly once I change gyms).
I just know that running uses slightly different muscles and you can’t just expect to hop off a bike and PR a 10k. So I was wondering what else is out there that translates even more.
Anything that translates more will put some strain on your calves and achilles, I suspect. Strength training is probably your best bet. Single leg work, squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and loads of calf raises. Then once you start running make sure to do stretching and massage/rollers on your rest days.
