Hi Sporty people, don't you just love performing your favorite activity only to find that 5 minutes in your Calves feel like they are made of stone and about to explode? No not your baby cows, the muscles on the back of your legs....
For years, going on 20 actually, I've found these muscles to be the weakest, most injury prone, and generally just the main limiter to getting the best out of my aerobic workouts.
Footballing brain but lower legs no good?
Heart and lungs got the treadmill covered but calves have had enough after 10 minutes?
Having read countless guides which discuss warm up routines, warm down routines, frequent stretching, ice packs, heat packs, cold baths, massages, drinking plenty of water, protein shakes, potassium supplements, etc, I've tried the lot, and most more than a few times. And while all of the above have their place, i still had trouble with these muscles to the point it was making me angry.
Why the pain? Listed as **common causes are the following:
- A lack of flexibility in general
- Fatigued calf muscles
- Inappropriate footwear
- Wearing high heels daily
- Running too much, too soon
- Inadequate warm-up / cool-down
- Muscle imbalances elsewhere
- Running form
While i'm not discounting these (apart from wearing the heels i have to add!), i'd like to add one more to this list:
- Your calf muscle isn't ready to take the force (= mass x acceleration) imposed on it by your activity
Look at the size of the muscle, and the size of you - no offence meant here. I'm around 83 kg and 186 cm and my Calves look looked like a couple of chicken drumsticks that wouldn't fill the stomach of a small child. Seems totally illogical that they can support me at all.
So what level of force taken by your foot?
3.5 x body weight... 7 x body weight... 1000 pounds of force!? My poor legs!
Ok Asher, what have you found that works for you?
Meet, the toe balance....
This girl makes it look easy, i recommend standing next to something for balance!
Working my Calf muscles either together, or one by one has made a huge difference to thier overall resiliance. I've been performing these exersises frequently for the past 5/6 months and i beleive they have made a huge impact. Not only do my Calfs look stronger, they don't start hurting 5 minutes into exersizing.
After a short warm up jog, when the calves start turning stone-like, i'll start on both feet, using a wall as balance. Then after a 10 seconds up, 10 seconds down, i'll alternate feet - the wall is pretty essential here! 4/5 sets on each foot and my calves are actually burning less than they were when i started the exercise. I'll continue jogging and do the same again should they start to tighten up.
Try it and let me know how you get on, i'd be interested to know.
Cheers
Asher
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