Cankle Awareness Month?

by Katherine Tweed (Subscribe to Katherine Tweed's posts)
Jul 1st 2009 5:00PM

Categories: Fitness

Photo: Mychele Daniau, AFP / Getty Images

Apparently July is Cankle Awareness Month. Or, at least it is at Gold's Gym (it's also National Ice Cream Month, by the way). Hoping that everyone is more interested in the former rather than the latter, Gold's Gym has launched a very tongue-in-cheek campaign to encourage people to hit the gym for a 'cankle-busting workout.'

It's all pretty ridiculous, mostly because as Gold's Gym celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza acknowledged, "Cankles are just like anything else -- you can't spot reduce."

Since spot reduction is a myth, pray tell, what are you meant to do if your calves blend right into your ankles? Plenty of people were cursed with unshapely legs from their gene pool, so there isn't much that can be changed through exercise. But just like muffin tops, cankles are often due to extra weight. Lose the extra pounds, and you're going to lose fat everywhere, including your ankles.

And who, exactly, is clamoring for cankle-reduction? Braganza also admits she has never had a client specifically asked to get rid of cankles, but she swears it's a common concern.

So what is this all about? Braganza's workout is actually centered around defining leg muscles, especially calves, to reduce the appearance of cankles. She tells everyone to start with some walking most days. But don't go for just a 10-minute stroll. Hit the road for closer to 40 minutes, and jog if you can. She recommends a pedometer to work towards 10,000 steps daily.

The second part of her workout (more of a plan than single workout really) is jumping plyometrics. Braganza, a former LA Raiders cheerleader, recommends a variety of these intensive exercises that are used by athletes to build agility and speed. Start with three sets of 10 reps of squat jumps, lateral jumps or split squats (doing a lunge and jumping and landing in a lunge with the opposite foot forward).

She also recommends adding in stretching, especially yoga or pilates to lengthen leg muscles. Lastly, there's strength training. While she recommends machines at the gym, she also says anyone can get on a stair at home and do calf raises by dipping all the way down and then coming back up onto the balls of your feet.

So will some plyometrics and pilates get rid of your undefined ankles? Probably not. But adding in a few new exercises is never a bad idea. Ironically, you don't need to join a gym to do any of these moves.

Comments (6)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Wolfster 7-02-2009 @ 7:09AM

This is very funny and we should all focus on this every day. We should embarrass and shame people with this problem. Of course, many of those who do have "cankles" have lymphedema from cancer and chemotherapy. It will be nice to make fun of people who are sick and maybe dying, won't it? Won't it, you shallow cretins?

AllisonS 7-02-2009 @ 12:03PM

There is actually another reason people get cankles that I think is important to distinguish. Perhaps they're not really cankles since they aren't fat deposits, but they're caused by swelling of the feet and ankles. This is usually a product of poor circulation as far as I know, and is treated by walking (or other forms of cardio if the patient is able), elevating the feet, using ice packs on the feet, and taking ibuprofen or acetominophen when necessary.

So people with this problem could look like they have cankles, but instead of excess fat they have swelling in the ankle area. If you think you have this problem you should see your doctor! It is usually treatable by the above methods but its important to get checked out for high blood pressure and other circulatory issues.

BrynnR 7-08-2009 @ 12:03AM

OK, maybe it's me....I think it's hilarious. Edgy and maybe missing the mark a little, but seriously, just the word cankle is funny. I've had "cankles" and I doubt this campaign was meant to make fun of people with them. No company would be dumb enough to do that.(lets hope) Seems to me they are poking fun of the name itself. BTW in most cases you can "treat" cankles if you workout your legs and build more definition (usually part of the problem.) I think we need to lighten up...just a bit.

Michelle2454 7-08-2009 @ 2:44PM

Seriously, people need to lighten up people. This a funny, well deserved break from the normal "eat right and exercise" BS that's obviously not working in this country. As a woman who has, ehem, chubby ankles...I saw this and had a good laugh. People need to stop taking everything so seriously. Good for Gold's Gym for having a little edge.

KarlaS89 7-08-2009 @ 3:55PM

Checked out the website; seems like they're making fun of words like cankles, not the actual people...

bluesky 7-22-2009 @ 6:59PM

I have cankles. My younger sister has always delighted in that fact. She has lovely slender ankles. My mother always said to ignore her, because when God called out "legs" to the human assembly line, angel #1 didn't hear Him and said "Eh? What did He say?" And angel #2 beside him replaced "He said kegs." And that explains why I have two --- cankles.