When building an exercise regime, we usually forget to train our calves, even though calf raise can be an easy and effective way to develop leg and ankle strength, and just maintain the body’s overall stability. It is an important part of our body that requires the same attention as any other body part.
Building a regime which works on developing your calf muscles can be a bit intimidating at first. Calf raises can be one of the must-have exercises in your routine, specifically to train your calf muscles. They are a great way to train and strengthen your muscles in the area (gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles), making it easier to use your ankle for jogging, running, and even standing on the tip of your toes, reducing injury risks. Now, if the term seems new to you, don’t worry; we’ll answer all your queries about calf raise.
Different Variations of Calf Raises
Calf exercises are beneficial in helping you maintain your lower body stability and strengthen your legs too. Calf raises play a major role in doing so. To understand this exercise better, let’s first understand how it is done. The exercise is quite simple and the main movement that you’ll have to do is stand on your toe tips and lift your body up.
1. Standing Calf Raise
The easiest form of calf raise is the standing calf raise. It is done while you are standing on a solid surface. You set the balls of your feet on an upper surface, either use a sturdy block that won’t shift with your weight or you can opt to buy a calf raise machine to provide you with that balance. Next, you must let your heels drop and stay in this position.
Now, pull your body up and stand on your tip toes while stretching your calf upwards. You should be feeling the tension in your muscles at this point. Now, all you have to do is hold this position for a few seconds and then let your heels drop to the floor.
2. Seated Calf Raise
Just like its name, these kinds of stretches are done while you’re sitting down on a solid surface. With this one you can use a seated calf raise machine where the bench and footrest are in-built for support. The overall process is similar to the standing calf raise, once you are seated, the process remains the same. The calf machine gym has a built-in weight set that sits on top of your knees. When you stretch your feet upwards, you end up lifting the weight as well, ensuring that your calf muscles are contracting.
Calf Exercises: What is the Proper Form?
Doing calf exercises in a proper form is an essential part of ensuring that the exercise works for you. Oftentimes, we tend to forget that there’s a certain way to do things because if you don’t, sometimes you can end up with injuries and that can set your progress backwards.
For the seated calf raise, you have to see that you maintain a 90-degree angle with your knees and that your back is resting against the backrest properly. To ensure that the head of your gastroc muscle is targeted, you need to point your feet the correct way. To hit the medial head, point them out, target the lateral head, and go inwards. To target both at once, simply set your feet forward
Common Mistakes You May Make
To ensure that you reap all the benefits of calf raise, it’s important that you don’t make the following mistakes:
1. Quick Bounces
Moving quickly and bouncing on the balls of your feet instead of stretching and constricting your calf muscles is a huge mistake a lot of people make. These quick bounces do not help in any way and even increase the chances of injuries.
2. Partial Movements
Ensuring that you stretch your legs and feeling the strain in your calf muscles is important in a calf raise. Quickly moving through the movements and only doing it partially may not activate muscles properly and may not help you in building muscle strength.
3. Heavy Weights
Weights help in contracting muscles and putting much-needed pressure but often people aren’t aware of their limits and end up using excessive weight. This can do more harm to your body, as the body needs to be trained over a long period to manage the strain.
Conclusion
Focusing a part of your exercise routine towards calf stretches can be an essential way to build up your overall lower body strength. After a long time, your calf muscles will become stronger and you will have a better quality of life regarding your everyday routine, such as the risk of ankle injuries decreasing. All you need to do is try out the different variations, identify which works the best for you, and make sure you maintain a proper form throughout the whole workout.
