Do not overlook your calves for they deserve as much love and care.
Calves are usually the most ignored part of your body during any workout session. However, calves strength and health are what keeps you going, literally! The calf muscles control the ankle joint movements and having strong calves could help you stay away from issues with mobility or ankle injuries. Moreover, strong calve muscles could also protect you lower leg from heavy damage in the future as well as rehabilitate any existing injuries. Here are a few exercises that you can try to strengthen your calve muscles.
Single Leg Heel Raise
This exercise would assess the concentric strength of you calve muscles. It is simple and you need nothing more than step to this exercise. You can your house stairs, any slightly raised platform or even spare wooden boxes for this exercise. Stand barefoot and on the toes or the ball of your feet as your heels hang out off the step you are using. You can even hold on to a wall for support. Now, lift one leg up and raise your heel up to your calf in the back while maintaining your balance on the other. Repeat with each leg for at least 10 laps.
Jump Rope
We all know about this one and usually consider this one as one of the best cardio workouts out there. While that is true, jumping or skipping ropes are also a great way to strengthen your calve muscles. Moreover, jumping ropes also increases the endurance levels of the calve muscles. DO about 500 jumps in 5 sets at the start of your routine and gradually increase that up into a 1000 jumps in 10 sets in your future sessions.
Wall Sit Calf Raise
This one is mainly an isometric exercise where you are expected to hold on to the contraction entirely while doing calf raises repeatedly. This helps in building up the strength and the endurance of your calve muscles. Stand with your back against the wall and with your feel apart at the shoulder’s length. Engage the core and slide down your back against the wall until your legs are bent at 90 degrees and parallel to the floor. Push through your toes and the balls of your feet and lift your heels off the ground. Hold this position for a minute and repeat with the other leg.
