Race Against Atrophy

Six weeks of Achilles recovery: pick the exercises that keep your muscle

Week 1 of 6 Non-weight-bearing. Bed or chair only.

Muscle meter

100%

Your leg is in a cast. The clock is running.

Diabetes Fit and Injury Recovery · Game

Six weeks, one leg down: keep as much muscle as you can

An Achilles repair takes your leg out of action for weeks, and immobilized muscle starts shrinking fast. With type 1, that muscle is also where much of your glucose goes, so losing it shows up on your CGM.

By day two

An immobilized leg is measurably smaller within two days, losing close to 1% a day in healthy adults.

Source: Kilroe et al. (2020), Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Short-term leg immobilization in healthy adults, not people with diabetes.

1Watch the meter drain. Each week starts with a loss from immobility. The early weeks hit hardest.
2Tap exercises to add them. Each one pushes the meter back up, and its blood sugar impact opens here.
3Finish all six weeks. You'll get your final score and a week-by-week exercise plan to keep.