According to Juan Carlos Santana, director of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, Florida, to grow any muscle definition--including your calf muscles--you must give them a stimulus to grow, such as strength and power training. If you want to see the muscle, you must also have a low percentage of body fat by exercising your entire body and having a balanced diet regularly. Fat loss occurs when you expend more calories than you consume.
Anatomy
Your calf is made up of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, which inserts into the calcaneus (heel bone). The Achilles tendon attaches from ends of both muscles and also inserts into the calcaneus. The gastrocnemius is the largest of the two, and the soleus lies beneath the gastrocnemius.
Function
According to Justin Price, owner of The BioMechanics in San Diego, your calves help move your foot up and down, and help accelerate and decelerate your body when you run or climb a flight of stairs. They also maintain ankle and knee alignment when you land from a jump and make impact on the ground when you sprint.
Expert Insight
Most people believe that training the calves alone will help increase muscle definition, function, and strength. According to Santana, doing traditional, isolated exercises--such as calf raises--will stimulate hypertrophy and strengthen muscles, however, they do not transfer the results to daily activities and sports where your calves work with your legs, hip, and torso to produce movement. When training, integrate your calves with the rest of your body to produce fluid movements in different directions and burn more calories. The latter will give you the muscle definition you need.
Sample Exercises
According to physical therapist and strength coach, Gray Cook, founder of Functional Movement Systems in Danville, Va., when you do lower-body training, you are also training your calves with the rest of your lower body muscles. There are three basic strength exercises, and you can do them with just your own body weight.
To do the squat, stand with legs hip-width apart and your toes pointing forward. Place your arms in front of your chest and lower hips down to the ground without lifting your heels off the ground or rounding your back. Brace your abdominals to maintain balance. Inhale as you go down; exhale when you go up.
The step-up is an exercise in which you raise your body to a higher elevation on one leg. The movement is similar to climbing stairs. Use a sturdy platform or a set of stackable steps. Start with a step that reaches just below your kneecap before adding more height. Step onto the platform with your left leg and extend your right leg behind you. Hold the top position for one second and lower yourself back down. Keep your spine tall throughout the exercise.
The lunge is where you lower your body to the ground by stepping in front of you. Step forward with your left leg and bend both legs and hip until your right knee barely touches the ground. Keep your spine tall as you do this.
Prevention
Most people strain their calves or develop stiff ankles from training. Always stretch your calves and move your ankles in different directions after your workout to prevent muscle and joint injuries. You can also do self-massage by using a foam roller to alleviate the tension in your calves.
References
- "PTontheNet"; Corrective Exercise-Part 1: Foot, Ankle, and Knee; Justin Price, MA; May 2008
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
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