Supertraining

Sorry Bill, but it certainly does. After two major reconstruction
surgeries on my right ankle I can assure you that's exactly what a
board is for. It's also why the traditional competition weightlifting
shoes have a mild heel raise. Lack of ankle flexibility is why I can
no longer compete in Weightlifting, hips and knees work great, but
with bad ankle joints I can not get deep enough in the squat, without
coming up on my toes, (an obviously dangerous position), to receive
maximum weight in the snatch or C&J. Look at the degree of flexion of
the ankle when one is in an ATG squat and you'll see how critical it
is for Weightlifting. For any activity requiring running and jumping,
you need to have full range of motion in the ankle joint to do it well. 

W.G. Johnson
Ubermensch Sports Consultancy
San Diego, CA 



--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bill Ryan
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Placing a board under your heels has nothing to do with ankle
flexibility. 
>    
>   Bill Ryan
>   Haveretown, Pa
> 
> =============================
> 
> John Cowell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>           In my opinion, if you need boards under your heels to get
adequately 
> deep in the overhead squat, you likely have ankle flexibility issues. 
> Second, what we've seen also as an obstacle is inadequate thoracic 
> mobility rather than shoulder inflexibility. The more kyphotic the 
> posture, the harder overhead movements become on the shoulder. 
> Interestingly, Chad Waterbury just wrote on this subject today on t- 
> nation.com
(http://www.t-nation.com/article/most_recent/first_person_waterbury 
> ). Good luck.
> 
> John Cowell
> Raleigh, NC
>