Maintaining your legs’ workhorses will improve your overall performance.
Your calf muscles (also known as the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) simultaneously act as the gas and brake pedal on a run. Need to push up a steep hill? Those are your calf muscles called into action. Need to slow it up during the descent on the other side? These muscles makes sure you don’t face plant on the way down.
Strong calves give you better running form as you exercise, more power, and faster times. On the flip side, weak calves are often the leading cause of running’s most common maladies: Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, calf strains, hamstring or hip problems, and even plantar fasciitis. Because they take on such a critical role in running mechanics, your calves require a lot of maintenance—you should regularly stretch the muscles, as well as perform specific exercises to strengthen them.
Both calf stretches and calf workouts will prime your legs for stronger running and fewer injuries in your calves, as well as your hips and hamstrings.
Get Stronger:
Farmer’s Walk on Toes
This exercise builds calf muscle strength.
Hold a pair of heavy dumbbells straight down at your sides. Rise up on your toes and walk forward for 60 seconds. Be sure to stand tall as you perform this exercise. This move not only works your calves but also improves your cardiovascular fitness. Choose the heaviest pair of dumbbells that allows you to perform this exercise without breaking form for the whole minute. If you feel that could have gone longer, grab heavier weights on your next set. Do 3 sets daily.
Eccentric Calf Raise
This move will stretch and strengthen the calf muscles.
Stand on a step with your heels hanging off the edge. Holding on to a rail or wall for balance or add weights for an added challenge. First, rise up onto your toes (concentric movement), and then very slowly—to the count of 10 seconds—drop your heels below the level of the step (eccentric strengthening). Push back up and repeat. Do 3 sets of 15 reps daily.
Plyometric Jump Squat
This exercise builds the muscle by stretching it before a forceful contraction and helps to generate power.
Stand tall with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart and toes turned slightly outward. Clasp hands in front of chest. Send hips back and bend knees to squat down as low as possible while keeping your chest lifted. As you return to standing, explode back up as high as you can to jump and land softly. Maintain good anatomical position and keep the motion controlled, landing softly after each jump. Do three 3 of 15 daily.
Prevent Injury:
Downward Facing Dog
This move stretches the muscles and helps the gastrocnemius limber up after a strenuous workout.
Start on all fours, with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Step feet back to come into a high plank position. Send hips up and back so your body forms a triangle with the ground. Keep your spine straight, think about pointing your sit bones toward the ceiling and pressing chest to thighs, not placing too much weight on your hands and arms. Bend your right knee as you push your left heel into the ground, feeling the left calf stretch. Hold the position for 10 seconds then repeat with the other leg. Do 3 sets daily before or after your run.
Straight-Leg Calf Stretch
This stretch is excellent after exercise for reducing muscle pain.
Stand facing a wall with your arms straight in front of you and your hands flat against the wall. Step your left leg forward, knee bent, foot flat on the floor, and extend your right leg straight back, placing your heel flat on the floor. Keep right leg straight. Lean into the wall until you feel the stretch in the right calf. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs. Repeat twice for a total of 3 sets. Perform this stretch daily and up to 3 times a day if you are tight.
Calf Roll With Foam Roller
This move will release tight muscles after a workout, easing tension and increasing flexibility.
Seated on the floor, place a foam roller under your left ankle. Place right foot on the floor or cross your right leg over your left for extra pressure. Place your hands flat on the floor for support and keep your back naturally arched. Roll your body forward until the roller reaches the back of your right knee; then slowly roll back and forth from below the knee to ankle 15 times. Repeat on the right leg. Do 3 sets daily. If this is too difficult or painful, you can perform the movement with both legs on the roller.
