ACL tears and knee surgeries have come up to epidemic levels for teens in the United States. We don’t have definite causes for this, but we can assume that these young athletes are NOT structurally balanced, and NOT built from the ground up.
To truly bulletproof this area, and protect the best that we can, exercises that directly focus on the knee itself (like the Nordic and the ATG Split Squat) will eventually be more crucial.
However, in the early years (think tweens) we can start that process of building from the ground up with some simple exercises. This will at the very least start building strength and protection below the knee, in the foot, ankle, tibialis, and calf, therefore collecting much of the impact before it gets to the knee.
The 80’s mix is an easy to remember, kid-friendly set of 4 exercises, 20 repetitions each…that are recommended for use before practice, before game, before the trampoline park. Really, they can be used effectively to activate those lower legs before participating in any activity. Hopefully, 80s mix will help your kid stay more protected!
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