Contents:
- Medical Video: Leg Workout Tips for Mass (SKINNY LEGS EDITION!)
- How to form a calf muscle
- 1. Tiptoe
- 2. Lifting the calves in a sitting position
- 3. Do cardio exercise
- 4. Lunge pulses
Medical Video: Leg Workout Tips for Mass (SKINNY LEGS EDITION!)
The calf muscle consists of two main muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus. The Soleus is a long and wide muscle that is under the smaller and rounder gastrocnemius. The two main muscles together with a number of smaller secondary muscles form your calf muscles.
Because your calf muscles contract to strengthen your feet and toes, a strong calf muscle is needed to move. Do exercises for your calves once or twice a week to keep them from getting fat and muscular. What are some exercises that can be done to form a calf muscle? Look at the answers below.
How to form a calf muscle
1. Tiptoe
Tiptoe is a classic exercise to strengthen calves. This exercise uses your body weight to strengthen and tighten the gastrocnemius and soleus.
Start by standing near the wall for balance. Open your feet shoulder width apart, and make sure your ankles, knees and hips are in a vertical line to prevent your joints from getting injured. Then press the foot ball (front foot) of both feet to lift your body up. Keep your body upright.
Other variations:
- Start standing on the stairs, let the foot ball on the stairs and your heels fall down the stairs. Then press the foot ball and lift your heels as high as you can.
- You can also add weights to increase the intensity. Hold it dumbell or other ballast in one hand and the other hand holding on to the wall for balance.
2. Lifting the calves in a sitting position
You can do this exercise at home or at the gym on the calf training machine. This exercise can function well in the gastrocnemius and soleus.
If you do it at home:
Start sitting in a strong and sturdy chair by placing your feet on the floor. Keep your knees from going forward or backward. Take a dumbbell, then hold it in your hand and place it on your thigh near your knee. Press the foot ball slowly to raise the heel as high as possible. Then lower it slowly and repeat.
If you do it at the gym:
Start putting yourself on a calf pressure machine with your foot ball on the platform. This will let your heels go down to the floor. Return the engine safety latch and release it to your calves. Drop your heels as far as you can to the floor to lose weight, and then press the foot ball to lift your heels as high as you can.
3. Do cardio exercise
Taking part of the following cardio exercise will also help you strengthen and tighten your calves:
- Run, walk and climb mountains is a very good calf strengthening exercise, especially when you are uphill. The steeper the charge, the more your calves work.
- Do sports like soccer, basketball and tennis, requires activities including running, jumping, and pushing the calf muscles to accelerate or change direction quickly. So, they are great for toning calves.
- Step class and other types of dance will make your calves work every time you step up and down or bend and push your knees from high to low.
- Swim make the calf muscles and other leg muscles work. This exercise is good for avoiding running or jumping movements. Because it has a low impact, it is a safe way to strengthen your calves when you are recovering from an injury.
- Jump rope build muscle while providing cardiovascular training. According to Muscle and Fitness magazine, the main muscle that plays a major role in jumping rope is the calf. Start jumping rope for 1-3 minutes.
4. Lunge pulses
Start by standing up straight and putting your arms next to you. Step forward right foot, then bend it to form a 90 degree angle. Extend your legs back by bending your head. Align the left leg so that the body rises to the top, then lower the body until the left leg bends again, repeat the motion 15 times on each side.
This movement will develop your soleus muscle, and will only contract fully when you lower your body down to at least form a 30 degree front leg angle.
