My physio has told me to stay away from anything involving my calves for a month, as they are very tight. I’m an off season sprinter, so it’s not too bad, but i’ll have to miss out all forms of running, and any weight room exercises that involve the calves, specifically the gastrocnemius.
That puts calf raises and ghrs out then, and I think squats and deads as well (at least with heavy weights). Can anyone think of en exercise that trains hip extension without stressing the gastroc?
Reverse Hypers if you’ve got the machine, 45 degree back extensions if you don’t.
[quote]el0gic wrote:
My physio has told me to stay away from anything involving my calves for a month, as they are very tight. I’m an off season sprinter, so it’s not too bad, but i’ll have to miss out all forms of running, and any weight room exercises that involve the calves, specifically the gastrocnemius.
That puts calf raises and ghrs out then, and I think squats and deads as well (at least with heavy weights). Can anyone think of en exercise that trains hip extension without stressing the gastroc?[/quote]
Rather than avoiding your problem, I suggest you solve it. For starters, go to Walmart, or Target, or Fred Meyers and pick up a hand held vibrational massager. Nothing fancy, $25-50 should cover it.
Now, to use this, stand on a step with only the ball of your foot making contact. Let your heel hang down as far as possible. This should put a good streth on your gastrocs. Then, set the vibrational massager to its highest setting and apply it to the calf. Move it slowly around the surface of the calf while it’s in the stretch.
Do this in sets of one minute per calf a few times per day. You should be back in working order in no time.