Needs v Gots

The preamble:
Earlier this week, I discovered the calf machine at the gym. I wasn’t really looking for it, but there it was anyway, tucked into a corner next to a drinking fountain which I didn’t know existed either.

Of course, once you’ve found the calf machine at the gym, you need to use the calf machine at the gym. I did this, setting it to a arbitrary 55kg. This wasn’t a huge weight, but was “testing” (as it has to be to get any decent benefit). Certainly not ridiculous. Ridiculous would have been anything up or around the 180kg which was the top weight available. 55kg was very reasonable in my eyes*. And on my calves. Or so I thought.

Indeed, 55kg would probably have been fine if I hadn’t then gone and dug a big hole in my front garden the following day. One would think that the primary muscles utilised in big hole digging would be those of the back and upper body. And while I did use them, it was my calves which seemed to take an unequal amount of strain.

The outcome:
Today has brought a world of pain.

The problem:
See, what would be ideal would be a gentle, low-resistance, 30 minute spin on the static bike. No stress, limited effort, gentle mobilisation. And then a bit of sitting down.
What I’m actually doing is helping out at a school cake sale for 4 hours. 4 hours of standing, serving koeksisters to hungry students and teachers.

Still, at least it’s not digging another hole.

But tomorrow could be interesting.

 

* I’m actually very surprised and disappointed at the reaction of my muscles to this rather unsubstantial weight. Not sure what went wrong here. Apart from maybe the hole thing.