Tib raises strengthen the tibialis anterior, the muscle on the front of your shin that lifts your toes every time you take a step. Strong tibs help absorb shock when you walk, run and jump, help protect your knees, and can help with shin splints. Almost nobody trains them. Here's why you should, and exactly how to do them.
What your tibialis does
Your tibialis anterior pulls your toes up toward your shin. It keeps your toes from dragging and catching when you walk, and it controls your foot as it lands. That makes it one of your body's shock absorbers. When your foot hits the ground, your feet take the load first and your tibs are next, before your knees, quads and hamstrings.
So if your tibs and shins are strong, your knees take less of a beating, whether you're chasing the kids around Disneyland, playing a round of golf, hiking with friends, or walking all day through Italy, Spain or Portugal.
Tib raises and shin splints
If you walk or run to keep your heart healthy, especially as you get older, you've probably felt shin pain at some point. Shin splints are linked to overloaded, irritated muscles along the shin.
Here's what I've seen in 15 years of training: a tight muscle is often a weak muscle. Stretching gives you a little more range of motion for a while, but it doesn't fix the root problem. The muscle gets tight, overworked and inflamed because it isn't strong enough for the amount of walking, running or jumping you're asking it to do. Make it stronger and it can handle the load.
The research on shin splints is still mixed, and shin pain has more than one cause. If you have sharp pain in one spot, pain that gets worse every time you run, or pain at night, see a doctor to rule out a stress fracture.
How to do a wall tib raise
- Stand with your back and hips against a wall.
- Walk your feet out about a foot in front of you, keeping your legs straight.
- Keep your heels on the ground and lift your toes as high as you can toward your shins.
- Lower them slowly, without letting them slap the floor.
The farther your feet are from the wall, the harder it gets.
Tib raise variations
- Wall tib raise: the easiest place to start. No equipment.
- Kettlebell toe raise: my favorite. Sit on a bench, hook a light kettlebell over the toes of one foot, and pull your toes up toward your shin. It's very effective.
- Kettlebell tib raise: sit on a box with a kettlebell hanging from your feet and lift it by pulling your toes up.
- Tib bar: a bar that straps onto your feet so you can load the movement with weight plates.
- The tib machine: at Fig Performance we have a machine that trains both tibs at the same time. It's fantastic.
Sets and reps
The tibialis is a muscle like any other, so train it with a range of reps:
- Heavy: 5 to 10 reps, with a kettlebell, tib bar or the tib machine.
- Most sets: 12 to 20 reps.
- Endurance: 25 to 30 reps, great with wall tib raises.
Do 2 or 3 sets, 2 or 3 times a week. Start with wall tib raises, then add weight as they get easy. You'll feel the burn fast. That's normal.
Where tib raises fit in your training
Add them at the end of a leg day, or as part of your warm-up before walking or running. They're built into the beginner workout plan for men, and you can add them to the women's plan too.
Dealing with knee or shin pain? At Fig Performance in Placentia, every plan starts with a free consult and an assessment of your knees, hips, ankles and how you walk, so we can find the root cause.
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