This Calf Workout Can Make Your Lower Legs Way Stronger
When you think of the muscles in your lower body, it’s easy to forget about your calves—so a dedicated calf workout might not be in your regular strength training routine. But there is a whole host of benefits that can come from focusing on those muscles in the back of your lower leg.
Your calves—made up of your gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris muscles—help you with a type of movement called plantar flexion, when you point your toes or rise up on your tiptoes, ACE-certified personal trainer Sivan Fagan, owner of Strong with Sivan in Baltimore, tells SELF. Strong calves are important in the development of explosive power, which you need for movements like running and jumping.
“You also want to make sure your calves are strong for injury prevention, especially if you’re a runner or do other high-impact activities,” she says. “You have to have strong calf muscles in order to stabilize your feet and your ankles.”
Your calf muscles work to some extent during lower-body exercises like squats and deadlifts, but really focusing on them with specific calf exercises can be a helpful way to give them some isolated attention. But because your calves are small muscles, you don’t need to devote a whole lot of time to working them. In fact, to get the biggest bang for your exercise buck, you may want to spend the majority of your time on workouts with compound moves, (like this lower-body workout), says Fagan.
She created this calf workout below to serve as a finisher, something you can do at the end of a leg-focused routine to add some specific calf exercises into the mix. If you really feel like your calf strength is lagging, you can move this calf workout to the beginning of your leg routine, Fagan says. By working them first, you’ll be hitting them when your muscles are still fresh. Of course, if you're just looking to get some movement into your day, you can perform these calf exercises as a standalone workout, too.
Ready to get started? Here’s what you need to build strength in your lower leg muscles.
The Workout
What you need: A light and moderate-to-heavy set of dumbbells.
The Exercises
- Plié squat with shoulder raise
- Standing calf raise
- Single-leg standing calf raise
- Isometric plié squat with alternating heel raise
Directions
- Perform 15-20 reps of each exercise (for the unilateral moves, perform 15-20 reps per side). Try not to rest between exercises. At the end of the circuit, rest for 1-2 minutes. Complete two rounds total.
Demoing the moves below are Courtney Celeste Spears (GIF 1), a former dancer with Ailey 2, junior company of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Erica Gibbons (GIF 2), a California-based personal trainer and graduate student becoming licensed as a marriage and family therapist; model Helen Pries (GIF 3); and Nikki Pebbles (GIF 4), a New York City–based fitness instructor and an AFAA- and NCCPT-certified personal trainer and group fitness trainer.
Katie ThompsonPlié Squat with Shoulder Raise
- Start in a wide plié position, holding a light dumbbell in each hand, arms in front of your body and slightly bent. Keep your toes turned out, and don't let your knees bend past your toes. This is starting position.
- Straighten your legs and lift onto your toes as you bring your arms up overhead. Keep your arms extended as you lift the weights overhead.
- Pause, then return to a deep plié, or squat. This is 1 rep.
- Continue for 15-20 reps.
In this compound move, you'll be hitting your quads and glutes as well as your calves. Plus, with the shoulder raise, you'll be getting in some upper-body work, too.
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Kelsey McClellanStanding Calf Raise
- Stand on a flat surface with your toes pointing straight forward, feet hip-width apart. Hold a moderate to heavy dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in.
- Rise up your toes, feeling your calf muscle contract, before bringing your heels down to the floor. This is 1 rep.
- Continue for 15-20 reps.
When you do calf raises, imagine there is a string pulling your head up to the ceiling—you should be rising vertically, not going forward, says Fagan.
Brianne WillsSingle-Leg Standing Calf Raise
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Raise your left knee to hip level, toes pointed, hands on hips or behind your head (whatever keeps you stable). This is starting position.
- Keep your core tight as you lift your right heel as high as you can off the floor, balancing on the ball of your foot.
- Hold briefly, then lower your heel back down. Complete 15-20 reps, then switch sides.
If you struggle with your balance, you can perform the exercise with your fingers lightly grazing a wall to keep steady.
Katie ThompsonIsometric Plié Squat with Alternating Heel Raise
- Stand in a wide squat with your toes slightly turned out. Bend your knees and drop into a wide, plié squat, keeping your hips tucked under (don't stick your butt out), with your toes and knees turned out. This is starting position.
- Lift your right heel off the floor, keeping your hips steady and core engaged.
- Lower your right heel to the floor, and immediately lift your left heel off the floor.
- Continue to alternate heel lifts, keeping your hips steady and core engaged.
- Complete 15-20 reps.
Because of this isometric hold in the squat position, this move will challenge your quads and glutes as you move dynamically to work your calves, says Fagan.
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