Are You Neglecting Your Calves?

Some people are born with naturally strong calves, while some aren’t at all. For those who aren’t naturally endowed in the calf area, avoiding the muscles and working on the rest of the body can result in some uneven results. But don’t assume that just because you weren’t born with them that they’re doomed for the small life, even though the muscle can be a little stubborn. If you’re neglecting your calves and feel like they could use some work, here are some exercises you can do to beef them up again.

One tip for building up your calves is that you should be working them out daily, so it take a commitment to change. Unlike other muscles groups that you might be alternating, you should work out your calves every single day for about two to four weeks before you get back to your normal workout schedule. You can use a different workout each day to approach the calf strengthening differently, and then you nor your body will get bored with the effort.

Some of the calf workouts can be done anywhere, so you don’t even need to add it in to your gym time. Before bed or while watching TV for example are great times to do some basic calf raises. Lightly hold onto a dresser or chair if you need to and slowly try to complete about 100 raises. Be sure and squeeze the muscle as you go to ensure that you’re working it out as much as possible. It will burn.

You can also do calf raises on a staircase by placing your toes on the edge of a stair. Doing this introduces the element of balance and really encourages a focus movement from your legs. If you have some stairs at your house great, if not you can use the ones at the gym before you head out each day. For the calf workouts that you can do at home, you should try to do some of them barefoot. It makes your calves work harder without the element of balance built in, which just means that you will reach your desired results that much faster.

Another trick that you can do is do walk around on your tiptoes when you’re at home. It’s a weird habit to get into, but once you do you won’t end up using any extra time in your day to work them out. The simple lifting motion will keep the muscles contracting, and therefore working harder.

In addition to doing these calf workouts each day without any added resistance, you should also be doing some weighted calf exercises twice a week. This will work the calves in a new way and keep them guessing. For this you will probably need to head to the gym and use a machine for safety reasons.