Injury; This Time There Is No Denial!

Well if you have followed this blog over the last several years and especially over the last several months, you will see that I had upped my run mileage substantially; from a few miles a week to well over 20 miles a week. All of this and more helps when you’re chasing that Last 10 Pounds.

And of course I have been careful not to overdo. However, the mileage finally caught up with me and I ended up with a Grade 1 Calf Sprain. I can still walk but the calf; she lets me know with every step that I did something bad back there. No warning, in the middle of a run, an uphill segment, I felt several snaps in my left leg lower gastrocnemius, the short fat muscle that makes up the upper half of the calf. Directly after the ‘snap, crackle and pop’, it felt like someone wacked me in the back of the leg with a stick. I even have a lovely yellowish, light green bruise in the area; Pretty gnarly. And the cause of this bad boy; without a doubt, overuse.

So what did I do? I listened to my own advice for a change; stopped the run, hobble back to the ranch and iced the hell out of it. Looked up the symptoms and gaged the seriousness from the website physioworks.com.au/injuries-conditions-1/calf-muscle-tears. Basically if you can still walk on it, it’s a Grade 1, no doctor visits. And because it was a fairly minor sprain, I’ll refrain from any running over the next week or maybe two. And when I start out again, it may only be 2 miles at a time. However, I will get back on that horse.

The good news; I can still lift heavy things off of the floor or out of a rack. And as long as I stay away from standing or seated calf raises and isolate the quads and hams when working legs, I should still be able to meet my twice a week schedule for deads and squats. So I guess I’m in a bulking phase for a while; little to no cardio, lots of lifting and not changing my diet.  

More on Isometrics………..

Since I am out of action for morning cardio, over the next week(s) or so, I will work on perfecting an Isometric Circuit Routine. During my last blog entry I said that I would put out a Static Isometric Workout Plan. Well here it is, pretty basic;

Exercise	Description	100% Target Time	60% Target Time
All exercises completed in Circuit fashion, minimize rest between stations. Complete the 2 sets at 100%, rest for 2 to 3 minutes complete 2 sets at 60%. Sets to be completed after short run or walk (Warm Up).
Seated Shrug	Sit on chair and pull on seat. Contract Traps.	7 Sec	30 Sec
Seated Quad (Right and Left)	Sit on chair legs extended one over other, push down with one leg and up with the other. Contract Quads.	7 Sec/Side	30 Sec/Side
Standing Oblique (Right and Left)	Stand at wall and with opposite arm over your head pushing against wall. Contract Oblique next to wall.	7 Sec/Side	30 Sec/Side
Standing Row (position A,B)	Stand arms out arms Low, pull back (A). Arms out High, pull back (B).Contract Lats throughout range.	7 Sec/Pos	30 Sec/ Pos
Bent Ab	Bend at hips, blow out air in lungs (navel to spine), hold and stand, lean back. As you stand, should feel slight pull in Abs.	7 Sec	N/A
Standing Atlas	Stand in door, hands pushing against door header. Contract Back, Delts. Some arm and leg involved.	7 Sec	30 Sec
Laying Back	Lay on stomach hands behind head, lift chest from floor. Contract Erector.	7 Sec	30 Sec
Laying Back Oblique (Right and Left)	As above, to the right and then to the left. Contract left/right Erector.	7 Sec/Side	30 Sec/Side
Laying Ham (Right and Left)	Lay on stomach, bend legs at knee, cross legs push down with one leg and up with the other. Contract Hams.	7 Sec/Side	30 Sec/Side
Laying Pec	Lay on stomach, arms out in cross, push down. Contract Anterior Delts and upper Pecs.	7 Sec	30 Sec
Kneeling Pec (Position A,B,C,D) (Right and Left)	On knees, palm to palm at navel push (A). Fist in Palm at navel push (B). Fist in Palm at nipples push (C). Fist in palm at forehead push (D). Contract Pecs throughout range.	7 Sec/Pos/Side	30 Sec/Pos/Sec

So over the next several weeks I’ll update everyone with my progress. Yep, sometimes it’s a painful when chasing that Last 10 Pounds.

Lift, squat, run, jump………….just keep moving.

MMJennings