bring out the gimp…oh, wait – that’s me!

i didn’t know this was possible…

…but i actually pushed my calves too far in the gym.

the reason i didn’t know this was possible was because i have monstrous calves. i won’t brag about myself physically as a general rule, as i don’t really see anything to brag about – but i do have some pretty ginormous calves. as a result it’s not uncommon for me to be able to max out any calf machine in a gym (to the 450-500lb range) and be fine. no sweat. and i mean that last part literally.

then came thursday.

i went to the gym and did legs, but finished a good bit earlier than normal so i decided to do SEATED calf raises. i never do these. why? because unlike every other calf exercise you can do in the gym, the seated ones target the soleus, which you probably didn’t even know it was a calf muscle, ’cause it’s actually that inverted triangle looking part of your calves BELOW what you think of as your calf muscle and your ankle (see below):

this muscle is ONLY used when your leg is at a right angle…but when it gets assaulted and decides to fuck with you (as mine did after i pushed a whopping 115lbs with it – less than one third of what i do on other calf machines) and all of a sudden you can’t walk right. you can’t get up from a seated position easily. you are, essentially, crippled – and that was my world for friday and saturday. saturday night (after a fourteen hour plus day at the shop) i’d had enough and decided to attack back, so i used a wooden roller foot massager and rolled the back of my calves back and forth over it. then i lathered them up with icy hot, threw on some flannel pants, and went to bed. woke up feeling stiff and sore as i had the two previous days, but within ten minutes i was at about 80% normal use of my legs (whereas the highest i would give myself friday or saturday would be around 60% or so) and up around 90% by the time i’m writing this (6:30pm sunday). so i think i might be good…

…but i’m skipping the gym and going drinking with harold tonight…JUST to be safe, of course.