How to train your calves

The calf muscles are one of the core muscle groups of the human body. People need to use the calf muscles when performing various movements, such as standing, running, or jumping, etc. The calf muscles are even more important for athletes who play basketball, football, etc. In daily life, many people want to exercise their calf muscles, so here we will introduce how to better exercise your calf muscles.

Better ways to exercise:

1. Jumping Jack

Stand with your feet together and your arms folded at your sides. As you clap your hands overhead, jump and spread your legs beyond shoulder width. Jump and return your hands and feet to the starting position.

2. Seated Calf Raise (Toes Out)

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench and hold dumbbells across your thighs for added resistance. Bend your knees 90 degrees and your toes about 15 degrees. Let your heel drift toward the ground until you feel a stretch in your calf. Now drive the ball of your foot into the platform and lift your heel as high as possible.

3. Seal Jump

As you jump up your feet, perform jumping jacks, but extend your arms out to your sides. As you jump back, clap your hands together in front of your body.

4. Seated Calf Raise (Neutral Toes)

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench with the balls of your feet resting on a block or step (and holding dumbbells across your thighs for resistance). Your knees should be bent 90 degrees and your toes pointed forward. Let your heel drift toward the ground until you feel a stretch in your calf.

5. Single-leg calf raise

Stand on a block or a small step, centered on your feet. Let your body sink into the floor and stretch your calves. Hold for one second, then push the ball of your foot into the surface as you lift your heel. Hold the top position for two seconds.

6. Walking on tiptoes

Walk on your tiptoes. Don't let your heels touch the floor. If you can, do these barefoot for greater muscle activation.

7. Jumping Calf Improvement

Stand with your feet flat on the floor and jump using only your calves. Land softly and drop into a half squat, absorbing the force. Try to land quietly.

8. Agility Ladder

Stand at one end of an agility ladder, flat on the floor. If you don't have an agility ladder, creating lines on the floor with tape or chalk is a good alternative. Run (or jump) from one end of the agility ladder to the other. This is a representation.

Benefits of exercising your calf muscles:

1. Leg training can promote muscle growth

Compared with other parts of the body, the leg muscles have a higher muscle mass, which means that if you want to gain muscle, you cannot ignore leg exercises. In addition, having a high muscle mass is relatively beneficial in stimulating the body to produce hormones that promote muscle growth. Past studies have also shown that compound movements that require extensive use of the legs, such as deadlifts and squats, can affect the secretion of testosterone and help increase overall muscle mass.

2. Leg training can help you burn more calories

Leg training not only involves the exercise of the muscles of the two legs, but often requires the hips to exert force and core stability, and more than one muscle group is involved; this is good news for people who want to lose weight and burn calories. The more muscles an action requires, the more energy it consumes. In addition, weight training can bring about an "afterburn effect", allowing you to maintain a high calorie expenditure even when resting. If you want to maintain the afterburn effect for a period of time, just lock your legs.