Hey everybody it's Doctor Jo, and today I'm going to show you some calf
stretches. so let's get started.
Before we get started, if
you haven't subscribed already, make sure you click down here.
so for each stretch we're gonna do 30 seconds, and we're gonna do three on each
side. so I've got my timer set where it's 30 seconds and we're going to take a
little 10-second break in between. I like to alternate back and forth just to give
the other side a break, so I'm gonna go ahead and start it, and I'll kind of talk
you through it as we go. so here's the first 30 seconds. this one you're gonna
stand up, excuse me, and make sure you use a chair or a
counter top to just have something to support yourself in balance. on the side
you're gonna stretch, put back behind you and then keep your toes facing forward.
the back leg stays down. keep that heel down, and keep that leg straight, and then
push the front one forward holding it for 30 seconds. you want to feel good
stretch, nothing painful, and make sure that heel stays down. these are great
stretches. the calves, when they get tired, they get tight and sometimes it makes it
hard to walk if you're sitting for a long time. they get really tight and you
want to keep the calves moving and stretching. so make sure again, keep that
back heel down, and then just lean forward into it. so if you're sitting at
your desk working this is easy to do, you can get up, use your desk to hold on to,
and just stretch. so it's really nice you don't have to have a whole lot of
equipment. you don't really have to have anything because you can stretch without
holding on if you want to, but if you just need a little balance, you can hold
on to it and just really hold that stretch right there.
especially if you're sitting for long periods ,the blood gets down to your feet
you're not moving, sometimes if it's really long periods you can be at risk
for DVTs which are really scary, so you want to make sure you keep those legs
stretched out and moving, especially the calves because they work as natural
pumps, and so that's really good because that helps keep that circulation going
when you're moving those calf muscles. so really important to stretch them. really
important to keep your feet facing forward, not turned out like this.
so this is a part of an office series stretching that I'm doing, so make sure
you stay till the end to find the link for that. it is a whole bunch of
different stretches from head to toe. all right, and then take that little break. if
you need to shake it out, you can, and then switch back over to the other side.
and this is also really good because even though you have to stand up to do
the stretch, if you're sitting for long periods either at work or if you're
doing something at home, if you're doing a marathon of some TV series, you want to
get up and move around a little bit because sometimes, especially if you're
at work you get focused on doing something, and then before you know it
you've been sitting in the same spot for two or three hours, and that's just
really really bad for your body. so even though this might take some time away
from your work, it's really getting good to get up and move around usually about
every hour if you can. I know that's sometimes hard to do while you're at
work, but it's it's a really good idea to make sure that you're doing all that. all
right, and then heel back again. the more you
put your leg back, the better stretch you can get. so if your calves are really
really tight, you can bring it up just a little bit more because you really want
to keep that heel down. if you can't keep your heel down, bring it up, but if you're
not feeling a really big stretch you can put your your foot back even further, and
then really lean into it, and you should feel that stretch for that calf area
there. so again this is really good not just for the calves and the legs in
general, but even if you have some knee pain, the calf muscles come and cross
that knee joint, so if you're having some knee pain, this
is a great stretch to do because you think the calves kind of, a lot of times
people associate that with your feet and your ankles, but it really comes up and
crosses that knee as well. so if you're having some knee pain - knee tightness
in there, you definitely want to stretch these as well. so kind of it's a great
stretch for a little bit of everything. it's really leaning into it,
keeping that heel down, getting that good stretch. the stretching should never be
painful, just a good kind of good hurt. so there were the stretches for the
calves. if you'd like to check out that office series where I do stretches from
head to toe, make sure you click on the link up here. and if you'd like to help
support my channel find out how about clicking on the link
up here. and don't forget to subscribe by clicking down here. so remember be
safe (stretch yourself out), have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.