Top 6 Workouts to Shape Your Calves Fast

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Top 6 Workouts to Shape Your Calves Fast

Calf muscle strengthening is crucial to all athletes. Along with the quads, your calves serve an equal role in absorbing most of the impact as you land. The whole functional stability of your kinetic chain depends on your agile base. Still, this base is usually neglected in training sessions. Ankle mobility is equally important as calf strength. The whole complex is supposed to be worked on together.

Calf Muscles

Calves are made up of two muscle groups. Working out makes you target both of them.

* The Gastrocnemius muscle - Gives calves its rounded shape.

* The Soleus - A comparatively flatter, elongated muscle lies below the gastrocnemius & lower down of your leg.

The calves help you in bending your knees & are responsible for lifting your heels.

Calf-Strengthening Workout

Here are the workouts strengthening your calves.

Single-Leg Heel Raise

After putting on your workout clothes stand barefoot by putting your whole weight on the feet balls while your heels hang off a step. You can hold on to some support for balance if required but refrain from using your hands for any sort of upward assistance. Then Lift one leg from the ground, and do single-leg heel raises (calf lifts) with the other leg. Perform a whole range of motion, from going as low as possible to as high as you can. Repeat with the other leg too.

Double-Leg Heel Raise

Calf raise is one of the classic calf-strengthening workouts. it uses your body weight for strengthening and toning gastrocnemius & soleus. This exercise will help in Building concentric calf strength. You can do it by standing barefoot on your feet while your heels hang off a step. Try performing a full-range-of-motion with both of your heels raising. Do this in four or five sets of 6-10 repetitions, consider taking a minute rest before performing the next set. The sole purpose of this workout is not to enhance the size of this muscle but to boost its strength.

3) Heel-Raise Progression

It's a workout that continues heel raises, by using both of your calves. Start this workout by rising, and lifting one leg from the floor, and lowering the other leg gradually for 3-4 seconds. Do four or five cycles of 6-10 repetitions on each of your legs, consider taking a minute rest before moving to the next set. Once you get a hold of this exercise begins, retest yourself by performing single-leg heel raises. If you can do 10-12 or more single-leg heel raises within a full motion range, you are ready to move on to your sport-specific workout. Continue with the same workout in other cases.

4) Weight-Bearing Lunge

Start doing this workout by placing your toes towards the wall, and one foot roughly at a distance of hand width. While your heel lay flat on the floor, start bending your knee as if you are lunging towards the wall. Move your knee closer to the wall if you cannot touch it but without lifting your heel. And if your knee is easily touching the wall, move your foot away & repeat the cycle. The purpose of this workout is to find the exact distance where your knee is capable of touching the wall without you lifting your heel. Repeat the same exercise with your other leg too. Check the Symmetry across your ankles, it's another key in enhancing your range of motion.

5) Jump Rope

Jumping ropes loads your calves eccentrically & increases goal-specific muscular endurance. This exercise is as simple as jumping the rope. After putting on your workout tank top. You can begin with 4 sets of 15 seconds, and increase the time and number of sets daily. But make sure you take a break before starting a new set. You do not necessarily need a rope for this workout you can just jump up & down on your toes at one place, adding a rope adds discipline & and balances your jumping pace.

6) Seated Band Pushes

This calf workout helps in building explosive power by progressive resistance. You can perform this exercise by sitting on the ground while your feet are straight out at the front. Put one end of the looped resistance band around your feet & hold the other end in your hands. Then bend your ankle for pushing against the resistance band.

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