Powerful Calves

I may seem counter intuitive and yes it is true. If your calves are strong your balance will be better. When your calves are weak you are more likely to have ankle sprains, back pain, foot pain and poor gait mechanics. 

How strong are your calves? 

How many single leg calf raises can you do?

Did you fall within your age range?

No worries. 

Here are a few exercises you can do to improve your calf strength. Click title of exercise for a quick youtube demo. 

Seated Calf Raise:  Sit on a chair, elevate your foot on a yoga block or stack of books. If you have a heavy dumb bell 10+ pounds, rest it on your knee. Lift and lower your knee trying to get a FULL range of motion. 15-30 reps

Standing Calf Raise: Stand facing your kitchen counter. Place a small ball or rolled up towel between your heels. This prevents you from rolling to the outside edges of your feet. Lift and lower your heels off the ground. 15-30 reps

Eccentric Single Leg: Stand facing the counter or wall. Rise up on two legs, shift weight to the left side, lift right foot off the floor and slowly lower on L. Complete 15-30 reps

Soleus Balance: The soleus is a strong postural muscle yet it gets very little attention and therefore even less training. Stand next to a wall for balance. Bring left leg in front, right stays in back resting only on right big toe. Bend into left knee and put a credit card space under left heel. Balance here for 30-60 seconds. Repeat both sides.

These will get you started. Remember do not lean into pain, if it hurts stop. 

Questions, concerns??

Reach out to me for a one on one session to get you started on building powerful calves.