Floss Your Calf Muscles!!

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Staying Muscularly Young calls for small acts of PREVENTION Everyday!! – Just as we care for our teeth!!

The most important MUSCLES need some consistent work each day…(See PowerWire #25) - Muscular  “Flossing”…
No muscle needs daily Treatment more than the CALF!!
 
Your beleaguered Calves never get a break because they participate in nearly every action we perform…:
 
Sink Your Teeth into Anatomy:
 
The “Calf’ is actually a family of 5 muscles in the rear lower leg, the most prominent being the Belly-Shaped “Gastrocnemius” (literally Greek for “Belly of the Shank Bone”)
THE CALF emerges from behind our upper knee, tapers into the Powerful Achilles Tendon and inserts into the bottom of the foot!!
  • On the Move, the calves form our foot arches, manipulate the toes, absorb shock and steer the pelvis (via the Hamstrings – See PowerWire #15)
  • Sitting, The Calves twitch away keeping blood from pooling in (and swelling) our feet
  • Sleeping – normally with toes pointed – the Calves are tensed– a big reason calves can cramp at night!!

Your daily calve care takes about a minute –
 
SEQUENCE 30 seconds of Whooping Calve deep tissue work (See PowerWire #38) with a 30 second calve “Posture” (See PowerWire #35) and you’re all done!!
 
-          My favorite Posture for Calves is Downward Facing Dog – it might be the world’s greatest stretch…(more on that later…)
 
I always sequence deep tissue work with traditional postures. I call this Flexibility Philosophy the “Stretch Small, Stretch Big, Stretch Small Method”- it works quite well!!!
 
You can learn all about it at the RanksAcademy Older Athlete Flexibility Workshop
 

So avoid the in between meal sweets and Floss Your Calves twice daily!! (morning and night) – Because your calves are meant to last a lifetime!!