How to increase calf muscles

Calf muscle training is the basis of leg strength training. Walking, standing, and running in daily life cannot be separated from strong calf muscles. Therefore, calf muscle training is very important. How can we have strong calf muscles like track and field athletes? Most people cannot match the training intensity of athletes, so it is difficult for them to have muscles like them. However, scientific exercise in daily life can also help us have beautiful calf muscles.

1. Standing Calf Raise

One of the preferred exercises for training the calf triceps (soleus and gastrocnemius), it is suitable for beginners as well as intermediate and advanced level players. Key points of the action: Stand on the incline squat machine (for safety, two stacked weight barbell plates, about 10 cm thick, can be placed on the footboard of the incline squat machine), place the forefoot of both feet on the weight plates, with the heels suspended in the air, the shoulders supporting the pads, the legs straight, and the heels hanging as much as possible to stretch the calf muscles to the maximum extent. Keep your knees slightly bent (to keep your weight on your calves). Then, use the contraction force of the calf muscles to lift the heel to the highest position, so that the gastrocnemius muscle is in the "peak contraction" state, and pause for a moment. Then control it with the tension of your calf muscles and slowly descend to the original position.

2. Seated Calf Raise

It mainly exercises the soleus muscle of the calf and the lateral gastrocnemius muscle, and is the best choice for intermediate and advanced level players. Action essentials: Sit on the calf raise machine, place the forefoot on the mat, press the weight firmly against your knees, and let your heels hang in the air. Use your calf muscles to lift your heels upward to the "peak contraction" position of the calf muscles, pause for a moment, and return to the original position in a controlled manner. During the movement, your heels should always be vertically up and down to ensure that the force on the calf muscles is concentrated. To ensure the quality of the movement, the torso should not lean back to gain leverage when raising the heels.

In addition to the above two methods, there are also methods such as reverse heel raises and standing single-leg heel raises to exercise the calf muscles. In daily exercise, you can rotate these movements to better train your calf muscles in an all-round way. In addition, thigh muscle training is often combined with calf muscle training, so you can exercise your thigh muscles while exercising your calf muscles.