Calf raises - why so effective?!
Alright, I’ve been on this journey for about 7 months and through good meds (no insulin), good diet, and lots of exercise, I’ve taught my body how to process food better. However, my coffee with Fairlife milk and 2TBS maple syrup can still send my numbers high (155mg/dl) if I drink it on an empty stomach in the morning.
I’m wearing a CGM this week because of travel and vacation, and I watched my numbers climb after a couple sips of coffee. The arrow pointed up, and the numbers jumped swiftly. Headed from 80 to over 120 and on up.
So I did the thing that some folks swear by (but, as a powerlifter I stupidly scorned, thinking it wasn’t as effective as they said):
Calf raises.
I did a set of 30, then waited 5 minutes. Did 30 more and waited again. Numbers back in the low 100s, which seems wild.
Now, I understand that the CGM does a lot of fiddly estimating in the moment, so it’s not as reliable for hard numbers, but the turnaround in the arrow’s direction was pretty obvious.
So, here’s my musing/nerd curiosity: if my calves are not the largest muscle group by a long shot, why so effective? I’ve got spectacular leg muscles from genetics and training, but it still makes me chuckle. Is it a low-cortisol-inducing exercise, as opposed to something like running, which is also combating stress at the same time? Is this solution likely only temporary? Is this exercise less effective for skinny people, because they’re moving less body weight?
Fascinating stuff!