3 Calf Exercise Routines for Stronger and Flexible Calf Muscles

One of the leg muscles that you need to pay attention to is the calf muscles. This is particularly true if you are into gymnastics and sports such as cycling and soccer.  The calves are found on the front portion of your legs which are linked to your foot through the tendon. The calf muscle or scientifically known as the sura refers to a pair of muscles which is called the soleus and the astorcnemius. 

The calves are important as they provide mobility to your body, thus it is important to keep them strong, in shape and flexible.  Here are 3 calf exercise routines for stronger and flexible calf muscles.

1. The Single Leg Calf Raise – In this routine, the focus is on one leg at a time and thus making the routine for a single leg more intense and more controlled. It is more difficult because the routine requires a single leg to work on the calf on its own without the assistance of the other leg. To start with, stand on a step or more appropriately a calf block while holding a weight or a dumbbell on either the left or the right hand depending on which leg you want to work on.  The weight should be held on the same side that you want to work out.  Then simply extend the ankle to the highest that your flexibility can allow and then lower it again.

2. The Calf Raise – This is the more traditional and more commonly used routine in exercising your calf muscles. The motion is the same but there are variations to change the level of difficulty. To start off, get a barbell which is of light weight and rest it on top of the back of the shoulders.  If you have a power rack, it is more convenient to use it and at the same time much safer. Then step on a calf block or the platform while maintaining the position with your toes and ball of the feet positioned on the block and with arches and heels extended.  Then raise your heels with the use of the muscles in your calves and lower it again.  As you will notice, you will have a stretching feeling on your calves.  Then you can make a variation by doing a 45-degree calf raise.

3.  The Calf Press – another variation of the calf raise routine is the calf press. The main difference here is that you use a press machine in order to do the lift. To start, position your self on the seat of the machine and position your back on the support of the machine and your legs placed straight on the platform.  You push your weight up and then extend the ankles at the same time.  Then keep your legs slightly bent as you return to the relaxed position. 

It is noteworthy that by doing the calf raise, you are also able to exercise your other muscles such as your legs and quadriceps muscles.