How Do I Get Strong Calves? | POPSUGAR Fitness UK

Skip Nav

For Calves That Are Strong, Defined, and Hard as a Rock, Do These 6 Muscle-Building Moves

How Do I Get Strong Calves? — The secret to strong calves is in the science. To tone and build this important muscle group, you need to target both the gastrocnemius — the big ball of a muscle on your calf — and the soleus, which runs beneath it from your heel up to the back of your knee. "Both of these muscles make up the calves," explained Ashley Kelly, NASM, a personal trainer with Bach in New York City and a 2016 Olympian in track and field.

Strong calf muscles, Ashley told POPSUGAR, help to stabilize your knees, feet, and ankles. That stability, in turn, can help prevent injuries from overpronation, when your ankle rolls too far inward during a stride, and excessive supination, when your ankle bows outwards. And if you're a runner, Ashley added, strong calves can help you dominate. These muscles are important in short sprints, and building them will increase the power in your legs overall.

You can build calf muscles through both running and strength training, Ashley said. "Runners normally have tighter calves because of the constant impact and contractions," she explained. Strength training can help isolate those muscles without the pounding impact that can make running hard on your joints and other muscles.

If you're looking for calf strength exercises in particular, you're in the right place. Ashley recommended adding a few calf moves as a superset in your regular lower-body workout if you're especially focussed on strengthening and building those muscles. You can also mix in a few throughout a full-body workout. Start with simple bodyweight exercises (here are our favourites for strengthening calves), then try out a few of these weighted moves that Ashley recommended.

Related:

I'm a Trainer, and These Are the 20 Lower-Body Exercises You Need to Do More of in 2019

Calf Exercises With Weights

To make these calf exercises a superset, do 10 reps of each and repeat the full circuit three times, taking a 30 second to one minute rest after each circuit.

Double leg calf raise with a barbell

Elevated double leg calf raise

Seated calf raise

Calf raise with leg press machine

Jump rope

Box jump

Keep reading to see how to do each move, and when you're done, don't forget to stretch out with these eight effective calf stretches.

Double Leg Calf Raise With Barbell

Use a barbell with light weights or without any weights. (Here's a guide to choosing the right weight.)

Place a barbell across the back of your shoulders, holding it in an overhand grip with your hands just wider than your shoulders.
Lift onto your tiptoes and hold for a second.
Lower back down slowly to complete one rep.

1 / 7

Elevated Double Leg Calf Raise

Stand on a stable, elevated surface, like a box or a curb, with your heels hanging off the edge.
Raise your heels until you are on your tiptoes and hold for a second.
Slowly lower your heels back down to complete one rep.

2 / 7

Seated Calf Raises

Sit on a bench with both feet on the ground.
Rest light to medium dumbbells upright on both knees, holding them with your hands.
Raise onto your toes, then lower back down to complete one rep.

3 / 7

Calf Raise With Leg Press Machine

If you're a beginner, read our tips on using the leg press machine before you try this move.

Load the leg press machine with weights you can handle (25-35-pound plates on either side is a good place to start).
Sit and place your feet on the footplate, hips-distance apart, with your heels hanging off the edge.
Press the footplate as you release the safety catches with your hands.
Once your legs are extended, let the plate push back on your feet so your ankles are flexed putting your calves in a lengthen positions (it should feel like a stretch).
Using your toes, push the weight back up a few inches. This completes one rep.

4 / 7

Jump Rope

Box Jumps

Stretch: Downward Dog

Latest Health & Fitness