Ankle weights are dangerous?

Question

I do martial arts and i just bought 20 pounds ankles weights yesterday to make my kicks fast, but i keep hearing stuff that it aint good for the joins and ligaments and etc.

well i have been training my legs with hard cardio running and weights for more then a year and my tighs and legs are very strong.

Did anybody here ever used ankle weights and had any bad or good experiences with it? and is it bad for evrybody or for just the people who dont have strong enough legs?

Answer 1

Light ankle weights have a history of use resistance for kicking in swimming, and of forward flexion in kicking, walking, jogging, and sprinting exercises. Concern has been expressed regarding this type of training. It may put too much stress on the joints, similar to the shearing forces found in leg extension and leg curl exercises.

Practicing weighted movements at high speeds also causes the nervous system to fire at larger intensities. If an individual loses the weight without being trained to adapt to the transition, he may overexert himself without checking at the end of the movement and overextend a tendon. This is more of a risk when people fully extend their limbs in such movements and do not come to a controlled stop at the end, limiting muscle flexion. Generally, the muscle being extended is more at risk, not one held statically. For example, the quadriceps muscle could overexert in a snap kick trained with ankle weights, but in a rising kick, it is the hip flexor muscle more likely to overextend. In either case, the hamstring and associated ligaments would be at risk for a tear.

Answer 2

Yeah they do cause problems, I used ankle weights for a month or so when working out ( leg works usually) and basketball and after a few week my knees were killing me.  My knees hurt me still to this day and I also have ankle and foot problems and I'm sure it is because of the ankle weights.  But hey it might have different results and you might not have the same problems.

Answer 3

if ur not careful u could hyper extend ur knee when kicking with them. 20 pounds might be to much weight to be throwing kicks with. I use ankle weight for pull ups. I wouldnt suggest running with them because that seems like it would do some damage.