If you aren't showing your calves some love come leg day, you may want to think twice — these muscles bring more to the table than you probably realize.
"The calf works seamlessly in conjunction with the entire body to walk, run, and jump," Michelle Pualani Houston, a NASM-certified personal trainer, says — and that includes the ankle joints that mobilize the foot and toes and the knee to flex or bend.
Did you know that the calves are actually made of two muscles: the gastrocnemius and the soleus? Houston explains that each muscle functions differently while working cohesively, which is why stretching and strengthening are equally important during a workout.
"To prevent calf injuries, it's best to take a multidimensional approach to your training or exercise protocol," Houston says.
"Incorporate varied types of movement in different environments to avoid overtraining and to prepare the body for more dynamic ranges of movement that sometimes catch you off guard."
Another important takeaway from Houston is that calves are only as effective and strong as their supporting muscle groups. That's why her calf workout incorporates the quads, hamstrings, and glutes to boost stability, strength, and mobility.
Houston suggests resting for 10-15 seconds between sets, but feel free to take more breaks when needed.
Since stretching is equally as important as strengthening, Houston recommends warming up by walking, lateral stepping, and performing walking high knees with your toes pointed down for five minutes.
Follow that with a dynamic calf stretch at a wall: "Your hands will meet the wall at about shoulder height with one foot in front of the other, both heels planted, and your toes pointing forward. From there, find motion in the hips (forward and back or side to side) and take some bends in the knees."
Calf raises aim to strengthen the gastrocnemius — the fluttering element works to lengthen the muscle, too. The combination creates stability in the muscle rather than explosivity, Houston says.
First Position Parallel:
First Position Turned Out:
Here, make sure to maintain a bent knee while contracting and relaxing the calf muscles, Houston says. You'll be strengthening your quads, too, by targeting your soleus muscle.
By keeping the knee in a bent position, these bridge exercises emphasize building soleus strength while simultaneously targeting hamstrings and glutes, Houston says.
"These full-leg exercises strengthen and tone every aspect of your lower body," Houston notes.
By moving dynamically through your range of motion, the muscle will reach its full potential, Houston says.
If needed, modify this high-impact move with a low-impact variation that doesn't include jumping.
A major part of cooling down is relengthening the muscle fibers and tissues that were shortened throughout the workout, Houston says.
"While allowing the heart rate to come back to normal, take a short 2-3 minute walk or side-to-side steps," she explains.
Next, Houston suggests performing static stretches for 30-60 seconds: "You can find an L shape at the wall by planting the feet hip-distance, facing towards the wall and walking the hands down the wall as you tilt the pelvis forward. Stop walking the hands when you feel a stretch through the back of the hamstring and into the top of the calves and hold in a static position."
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