Tacx trainers….any good? Trying to build up ankle and leg strength

Broke my ankle 8 weeks ago and am trying to build strength back up.

Looking at either the Sirius or Satori.

Anyone used either or both?

Cheers

Just got a Sirius that I'm using for winter training over here. Pleased with it so far. Reasonably quiet, reasonable range of resistance. Folds away nicely.

not used those models but Tacx stuff is damn good. Apart from the 'assemble it yourself with the aid of 2 extra arms' bit 😉

(Antares, Grand Excel and Flow here btw)

Climbing the stairs / lots of lifts (feet flat, lift your heels) got me up and running quickly. As for the trainer, the Satori blue is good and comes with a bag and a trainer DVD which is pretty good. Fairly quiet as well.

Cheers fellas, I'm edging more toward the Satori… I'd rther just get out and ride, but with all the ice about at the moment I dont want to slip and set my right foot down and myself back.

Do some standing on one leg to build the small muscles back up.

Yeah, as Goan has suggested it will probably be worth doing balancing on one leg type exercises to strengthen all the muscles in your lower leg/ankle that provide stability (keep knee slightly bent).

You can do one legged squats at the same time to make it more difficult.

Perhaps look at getting a wobble board as well from a physio supplier to stand on. Might be a bit too intense to start with, but should help balance and stabilise your ankle.
I find the simple wooden boards are the trickiest to use, so it might be better to use one of the Reebok-style inflatable ones.

Oh, and I use a cheap Tacx turbo trainer and it seems fine. Not used any others to compare to though. My one was self build and if you get one that is too, just make sure you use the right bits for the wheel size you'll be using on it. I didn't and had to re-build it.

I would be inclined to speak to a physio to get a targetted excercise, the turbo may not be the correct tool for the job.

Bear in mind if you are weak you may not want to use spd's either. Good luck getting better though.

I't not all about strength, due to the trauma your ankle doesn't quite know where it is itself and can't respond quick enough to save it again in the future

you need to re-teach it

wobble board/cussion to improve Proprioception
+ stand on one leg doing stuff like washing the dishes/brushing your teeth

self massage and stretching too as you may have lost some flexibility

btw not an expert, but have broken (once) and torn both ankles
just me experiance take what you want leave what you don't
best of luck

Crell – fortunately I am blessed with lots of stairs in my building and have been trying what you said.

Goan – I have been trying single-leg-toe-push-up style things as I've noticed that a lot of strength is missing.

Fellas – Will a Wii fit+ balance board be as effective as a "wobble board"?

Fellas – Will a Wii fit+ balance board be as effective as a "wobble board"?
most definitely not!

The Wii fit balance board, is just a flat board so no it won't help (although Wii fit does have balance exercises, but there's no point forking out for one just to get those).

A proper balance board has a curved lower surface so you have to make constant minor adjustments to keep it level.

Daffy after breaking my ankle/tibia i used my minoura trainer, started with very light resistance and gradually built up, speak to your physio though i was lucky enough to get onto a sports injury clinic which was great!at home get some thera-band and put one end around your ankle and the other round the leg of a chair then just sit and lift your leg and feel the burn!!!(keep the band fairly short so you are not lifting the leg very high).

wobble cussions are ok much cheaper and smaller then most wobble boards
+ doesn't kill carpet like boards do

http://www.physioroom.com/product.php?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cost-per-click&pid=38382&cid=2029&affid=25&utm_campaign=Gymnic_Disc_o_Sit_Wobble_Cushion

Definately talk to a physio as suggested. I did use the Wii Fit – the yoga balancing was really good – but NOT to begin with. I tried it and it was far too painful until I'd got some control and strength back…but balancing is just as good.

I imagine a wobble board would be even more painful to begin with, but I suppose it's dependant on the amount of damage you've done. The Physio gave me some good "lunge" type excercises where you rotate (obviously a small amount initially. That helped get some movement back quite quickly.

I began to feel like a bear in a zoo as I was constantly doing those heel lifts. The other thing to bear in mind is don't overdo it. I had a couple of very painful days where I'd gone overboard with the excercises and my ankle just swelled back up like a melon.

Overall though I found the bike a really good form of excercise, particularly low load / high cadence., but you do need more orbit type excercises as well as the pedal stroke is pretty limited in its range.

When you do go outside you'll be suprised how painful stopping and putting your foot down can be early on. In this weather I wouldn't risk it until you have some strength back.

I have a Sartori, had it about 18 months. Not over impressed with the build quality. You use the front wheel support as a carrying handle, but it is not all that secure. Some of the plastic bits at the hinges of the trainer are fairly stressed and cracked in under 6 months of fairly light use, this did not effect it operationally but still, its not impressive. When it arrived, with the resistance cable assembled and ready to roll it would not go into the full range of resistance levels, as the control cable inner seemed just a bit too short. I had to screw everything really really tight before it would go into the last resistance, and only just! The lever to change resistance levels is made entirely of plastic and I am careful to give its lever a lot of support when changing levels, as it looks somewhat fragile and likely to crack like the other plastic bits. I dont want the hassle of trying to get a replacement from a company that sends out kit that won't even go into the full range of resistance without a fight!

Oh, also if you want to change wheel sizes (700c, 26", or just different depths of tyres) you have to take the whole thing apart and fit alternative bits.

The resistance levels/magnet system is excellent though.

I also own a Kurt Kenetic Road Machine trainer – very good build, changing wheel size is simple and does not involve taking the whole thing apart and finding the spare bits. Solid well made construction but downside is automatic resistance levels. In an ideal world, I would move the resistance ability of the Sartori to the structure of the Road Machine.