gear review 1 - sidekick axisboard

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AFTER HEAVY USE.

WHAT IS IS? WHERE CAN I GET IT?

IN GEAR REVIEW 1 WE WILL REVIEW THE SIDEKICK AXISBOARD STABILITY AND TRAINING BOARD FOR FOOT AND ANKLE MOBILITY. THE SIDEKICK BOARD HAS OVER 30 EXERCISES FOR 10+ FOOT AND ANKLE INJURIES. SIDEKICK INCLUDES A MANUAL THAT EXPLAINS EACH VARIATION FOR YOUR INJURY AND WHICH VARIATIONS WILL TARGET YOUR ISSUES.

THE AXISBOARD RETAILS FOR $89.99 WITH FREE USA SHIPPING, A 60 DAY FREE RETURN POLICY, AND 1 YEAR WARRANTY.

WHAT WILL THIS REVIEW DISCUSS?

PLEASE NOTE: IN THIS REVIEW WE WILL NOT COVER EVERY SINGLE VARIATION BUT WILL FOLLOW THE ORIENTATIONS THAT WILL TARGET ACHILLES TENDONITIS. THE FOLLOWING ORIENTATIONS WERE USED AT LEAST ONCE A DAY FOR 3-4 MINUTES PER FOOT.

DIAGNOSIS / ISSUE TO TREAT: LEFT ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE WITH PROTOCOL

A PAIN OF 6/10 WOULD BEGIN AT THE START OF EACH RUN AND WOULD REDUCE TO A 3/10 AFTER THE BODY WARMED UP AND RUNNING A FEW MILES. DURING THIS TIME, STRETCHES WERE DONE DAILY TO THE ACHILLES AND CALF. EVEN WITH INCREASED STRETCHING, THE PAIN PERSISTED AND REMAINED. GYM PROTOCOL INCLUDED TARGETED CALF AND LOWER LEG EXERCISE MACHINES. GYM MACHINES PROVIDED LITTLE TO NO BENEFIT.

TODAY WE ARE GOING TO GO OVER THE TWO MAIN ORIENTATIONS THAT WORKED THE BEST FOR MY LEFT ACHILLES TENDINOPAHTY. PLEASE NOTE THAT OTHER ORIENTATIONS WITH THE SIDEKICK TOOL FOR ACHILLES ISSUES MAY WORK BETTER FOR YOUR INJURY.

HOW IS THE GEAR SCORED?

ALL FUEL BY FRANK GEAR REVIEWS ARE RATED ON A SCALE FROM 0-100.

ORIENTATION 1 : ANGLED AGILITY (LEFT FOOT)

LEFT FOOT ORIENTATION.

HOW TO SET IT UP

USE THE LONG VELCROW STRIP AND ONE OF THE SHORT STRIPS AS SHOWN. THIS WILL SETUP FOR YOUR LEFT FOOT. CHOOSE A HARD SURFACE TO PLACE THE BOARD ON. USING CARPET OR ASTROTURF CAN BE ALSO BE USED BUT WILL NOT BE AS EFFECTIVE AS HARDWOOD OR CONCRETE DUE TO LESS SURFACE AREA FOR THE WOOD STRIPS WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BALANCE. MAKE SURE THE FRONT BOARD AND BACK SMALLER BOARD SECTION ARE STRAIGHT WHEN STARTING THE EXERCISE. TRY AND KEEP THE BACK LEG OFF THE GROUND BUT USE IT TO HELP STABILIZE UNTIL YOU OBTAIN ENOUGH STRENGTH MOVING FORWARD.

COMMENTS

THE ACHILLES REALLY HAS TO WORK HARD IN THIS ORIENTATION TO KEEP THE BOARD BALANCED. YOU WILL FEEL IT IMMEDIATELY. TRY AND KEEP THE BOARD BALANCED AND FLAT FOR 3-4 MINUTES. IN THE VIDEO BELOW AN ADVANCED VARIATION IS TO INCLUDE A 5-15 LB WEIGHT THAT IS HELD BY BOTH HANDS. YOUR ARMS SHOULD HANG FREELY AND STRAIGHT. ALLOW YOUR OWN CENTER OF GRAVITY TO ALLOW THE WEIGHT TO HANG FREELY. THIS CAN ALSO BE DONE WITHOUT ANY WEIGHTS.

THIS ORIENTATION BY FAR WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR THE LOWER LEFT LEG ACHILLES STRENGTHENING. BY PERFORMING THIS EXERCISE (DEPENDING ON HOW YOU SHIFT YOUR WEIGHT OVER THE BOARD), THE HIP, CALF, QUAD, CAN ALSO BE WORKED VERY WELL.

OPTIONAL WEIGHT ADDED. PLEASE USE AT OWN DISCRETION, SIDEKICK DOES NOT INCLUDE WEIGHTS IN THE MANUAL.

ORIENTATION 2 : rearfoot reinforcement (both feet)

BOTH FEET ORIENTATION.

BOTH FEET ORIENTATION. OPTIONAL WEIGHT CAN BE ADDED BUT IT NOT SHOWN IN THE SIDEKICK MANUAL. USE WEIGHT AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

HOW TO SET IT UP

YOU WILL NEED ALL THREE WOOD STRIPS FOR THIS EXERCISE. THIS ORIENTATION WILL WORK FOR BOTH FEET. AS WILL ORIENTATION #1, CHOOSE A HARD SURFACE TO PLACE THE BOARD ON. USING CARPET OR ASTROTURF CAN BE ALSO BE USED BUT WILL NOT BE AS EFFECTIVE AS HARDWOOD OR CONCRETE DUE TO LESS SURFACE AREA FOR THE WOOD STRIPS WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BALANCE. MAKE SURE THE FRONT BOARD AND BACK SMALLER BOARD SECTION ARE STRAIGHT WHEN STARTING THE EXERCISE. TRY AND KEEP THE BACK LEG OFF THE GROUND BUT USE IT TO HELP STABILIZE UNTIL YOU OBTAIN ENOUGH STRENGTH MOVING FORWARD.

COMMENTS

THIS EXERCISE PUTS ALL THE CONTROL IN THE ACHILLES BECAUSE ONCE YOU BEGIN TO PUT WEIGHT ON THE BOARD, YOU WILL FIND THAT THE FRONT HALF OF YOUR FOOT IS STABLE BUT THE BACK HALF IS REALLY WORKING TO KEEP THE BOARD FROM WOBBLING. TRY AND KEEP THE BOARD BALANCED AND FLAT FOR 3-4 MINUTES. AN ADVANCED VARIATION IS TO USE A 5 TO 15 LB WEIGHT AS USED IN ORIENTATION #1.

GEAR REVIEW DISCUSSION

GOING FROM 6/10 ACHILLES PAIN AT THE BEGINNING OF RUNS WAS SOMETHING I WAS WORRIED ABOUT AND REALLY DOVE DEEP IN TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE. I WAS AT THE END OF A TRAINING BLOCK FOR THE NEW YORK MARATHON 2025 AND REALLY WANTED TO DO WELL AND ARRIVE IN NEW YORK READY TO SEND IT ON THE COURSE. THE LEFT ACHILLES WAS SOMETHING THAT I NEVER HAD AN ISSUE WITH BEFORE WHERE I HAD TRIED EVERYTHING IN THE GYM, DID LONG STRETCH SESSIONS, AND ALSO KEPT A LOG OF WHICH SHOES AND GEAR WORKED BETTER WITH THIS PROBLEM.

GEAR REVIEW VERDICT

85 / 100

AFTER ONE DAY OF USE, THE SIDEKICK TOOL BEGAN TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO MY LEFT ACHILLES. AFTER 7 DAYS OF USE, I BEGAN TO FEEL MORE STRENGTH NOT ONLY IN MY ENTIRE FOOT BUT MY ENTIRE LEG UP TO MY HIPS ON BOTH LEGS. AS MENTIONED, THE FOCUS WAS MY LEFT SIDE ACHILLES, BUT DURING THIS REVIEW, MY RIGHT SIDE WAS WORKED THE SAME TO KEEP THE STRENGTH EVEN AND TO FIND ANY OTHER STABILITY PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT MY BODY. AFTER 1 MONTH OF USE, I DO FEEL MORE POWER IN BOTH LEGS AND HAVE LESS ACHES AND PAINS THROUGHOUT BOTH OF MY LEGS. DUE TO HEAVY USE, SOME DISCOLORATION HAS SHOWN ON THE WOOD ITSELF, BUT THE VELCROW STRIPS AND MATERIAL STILL HAVE PERFORMED WELL WITHOUT ANY FUNCTIONALITY PROBLEMS. THERE ARE SOME DURABILITY CONCERNS WITH THE WOOD STRIP VELCROW AND GRIP MATERIAL, BUT OVERALL THE MATERIALS ARE WELL PUT TOGETHER. ADDING WEIGHTED EXERCISES NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE MANUAL FOR ADVANCED STRENGTH GAINS. AFTER A MONTH OF USE, SOME MUSCLE AND STABILITY GAINS DID BEGIN TO PLATEAU. MOST ATHLETES WILL BENEFIT WITHOUT USING ADDED WEIGHTS, BUT SOME MAY NEED MORE DUE TO INTENSE LOADING ON A DAILY BASIS.

I RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT NOT ONLY FOR RUNNERS, BUT FOR ANYONE WANTING TO INCREASE FOUNDATIONAL FOOT AND LEG STRENGTH IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE.