WODdoc Episode 115 Project365: Anchored Heel Cord Masher
Two comp weeks in a row…. my butt is getting kicked in. Had a great time at CrossFit West Essex today hitting up their partner competition “Rock the WOD2.” Another lucky podium week. Had a ton of help from my man Shaun so we ended up alright. Thanks buddy.
During the course of the comp our calves started barking a bit due to the amount of explosive exercises. Generalize rolling is great. I use it all the time. There are certain places it works better….the best places are where you can use your body weight to add pressure to the mobilization. The problem we have when rolling the calves and heel cords is that we are limited to how much pressure we can add. Our calves are all the way down at the end of our body. Not much weight to throw on top. So, what do we do…? We can go to a skinner mobility tool … become more focal and, create more pressure that way or, we can devise a way to anchor our foot and add more pressure via a fulcrum system. That is what we did today. Check it out!
Don’t Mash Blind… Know Your Anatomy!
Pictured above: Calf muscles comprised of the Gastrocnemius and Soleus. Pay particular attention of the area that goes from red to white. This represents the myotendinous junction and correlates with the location marked (B) in the picture below. It is today’s area of concern. The myotendinous junction is the location where the meaty part of your muscle transitions to the more rigid tendon portion of the tissue. Not surprising, it is also the area where tearing injuries commonly occur.
Today’s WODdocket:
1. Test calve stretch against curb or wall.
2. Perform 2-4 of anchored calf mob / side.
3. Re-test calve stretch.
