Calf Raises

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1b_tKeq3Us&t=1s

At one time calf raises were my favorite exercise because my right ankle had had an injury and when I did calf raises there would be a pop in the joint.  Then my ankle wouldn't by achy for about a week, at which time I did the exercises again.  But, one sad day I injured my right knee and was not able to do the calf raises.  Eventually I had knee surgery, but I was never able to cause my ankle to pop back in place anymore, so I gave up on calf raises.  

Usually I had done this exercise one leg at a time, since I was trying to exercise to muscle failure, and it was hard to make that happen using both legs.  It was too easy.  

I folded a towel into a little roll and put the balls of my feet on it for lift.  Then I did the exercise ever so slowly to make it harder to do, and managed to go to muscle failure, and also the great pop as my ankle went back in joint.  

So,  after a long break, having heard the news about exercising the soleus muscle, I decided to try calf raises again, for the purpose mainly of reducing blood glucose.  While I haven't become diabetic yet, I would say that I'm pre diabetic and nothing I've done as far as diet and exercise has turned things around.  So I took my blood glucose with my meter, and then did calf raises as close as I could to the way I used to.  I was surprised that it wasn't as easy as it used to be, so I used both legs and I didn't exercise to muscle failure.  Just a nice calf raise for about 25 reps.  Then I took my blood glucose again.  In that short amount of time I was down 15 points.   Yay!  This is great.  

My ankle doesn't hurt like it used to, having eventually healed, so the loss of the joint pop wasn't too upsetting.  I felt discouraged with the soleus exercise idea because I had read that in the study people were doing 270 minutes a day - 4 1/2 hours.  While it was not a lot of exertion, I still think I'd have to find some way of making it happen by electrical stimulation to make that happen, just because I don't think I have that much desire to focus on some exercise that much.  I felt the calf raises did a good job.