Calves

longhaul · Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:17 am Post subject: Calves

Yesterday was leg day. I always do it on a saturday so that i have at least two days to recover before i go back to work Laughing

Well, i had already done some heavy seated leg presses 900 @ 8 reps, immediately followed by hack squats 300 @ 8 reps, so i was having trouble walking as it was Crying or Very sad

I then moved onto a cable machine my gym has to do some warm ups and pryamid up for my first calf exercize. They went just fine. THEN, i went onto seated calf raises. I only had 225 on the machine, it was my first set, and i had gotten about 10 reps in, doing fine, when all of a sudden, a SHARP pain shot into my upper right calf. First, it was a real bitch (along with a LITTLE bit of panic) to reset the weight. You probably all know the plate loaded seated calf, you have to raise the weight back up to be able to slide the catch bar back under the plates. It was pretty early so there were really no others in the gym. So, i had to support the weight on my left knee while i gave the right one a bit of a rest to be able to give it one quick push/rep up so that it could put the bar back. Needless to say...OUCH!! Crying or Very sad

I did some light stretching with it and then proceeded to go back to the locker room. By the way, did i forget to mention that in my new gym, the free weight room is UPSTAIRS??!! Sad

I TRIED to take the stairs, went for the first step down and on came the pain. Well, if you all know me, i don't look at pain as all so bad, i switch it onto something else. So, by this time, i was starting to find it funny that a grown man would shudder at the thought of walking down 2 flights of stairs. But also the irony that it wasn't SO bad that i had pulled a calf muscle (i think) but that i had to put the weight on the other leg that was ALSO ALREADY SORE AND TIGHT from the heavy presses and squats Laughing

Well, i looked to my right and remembered that (thank god) they had an elevator Very Happy

So i decided to sit in the hot tub for a while and put my calf under one of the jets and try to massage it a bit. It provided some temp relief. Unfortunately, my house has three flights of stairs..ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, you're gonna have to use em'! Crying or Very sad

I'm not even gonna try to explain how i look nursing and limping my big butt up and down the steps! Laughing

Well, as of now, it still hurts, but not quite as much. I've been taking tylenol and using bengay. Also, i usually train hard on sunday as well and then rest on monday, but this morning i thought it best to switch that. Also, it's fortunate that i know tomorrow is a light day at work.
Well, enuf of this novel for now. Laughing

I'm just glad it seems the injury wasn't more severe.
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It don't feel good till it hurts!!

Newfiechick · Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:41 am Post subject:

Oh, Longhaul....sounds painful. Take it easy big guy!

I injured my ab muscles a while ago.....and it's funny how you never know how much you really use a muscle until you injure it and can't use it properly. Sad

Hope you feel better soon. Smile

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Discipline is the bridge between goals & accomplishments.

longhaul · Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:56 am Post subject:

Thanks Newfie Smile

and you definetely got that right about taking the muscle for granted. You just don't realize just how much the calf muscle is used in basic, everyday tasks. Even just driving, using the accelerator and brake. Was in bumper to bumper traffic last night on the interstate due to a huge accident, and the calf really started tightening up on me Sad

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It don't feel good till it hurts!!

fire23 · Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:31 am Post subject:

i know waht u mean.. i too sometimes pull my calves... sometimes when u flex it.. u know u are going to pull it .. so u start to relax it... and the pain slowly goes down... it is werid...

longhaul · Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:33 pm Post subject:

It's doing better today at work. A pretty light day and it hasn't really been much of a problem. A LITTLE soreness when i frst started driving my truck this morning, but it loosened up. And i had a great chest workout too Smile

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It don't feel good till it hurts!!

Emma · Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject:

I've injured my calve before but not too bad. It was tough when I was trying to drive my standard car though. That's when you really notice it.

I hope it gets better soon Longhaul! Injuries are no fun. Sad

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Love many, trust few, do harm to none - Yau man

fire23 · Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:03 am Post subject:

I did calves today and they are really tight right now

longhaul · Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:50 pm Post subject:

It's doing much better now, thanks all. Would probably be 100% a day or so ago, but my job keeps me actively walking, so it's hard to let it rest.
_________________
It don't feel good till it hurts!!

fire23 · Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:24 am Post subject:

ya... if only we have wheel chairs... than we dont have to walk the day after we work our legs.. lol

Nicko · Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:08 pm Post subject:

actually it afer sustaining an injury it is better to maintain mobility then it is to sit and rest, if you are walking around it gets your heart pumping more which pushes more blood through the injured area which allows it to heal faster. Walking around after an injury also keeps the swelling down allowing more movement of the limb. Also after you exercise it is a really good idea to walk around when you are done, as your muscles have to work that much harder to run, walk, or cycle because of the stress they have already been through from the weightlifting.

When you are injured you should move around as much as possible, and if you are bed-ridden the best thing to do is keep it elevated and move your limb as much as possible, or else it with cease up and be even more of a pain