Having lean and toned calves is desirable among women because they make the legs look longer and sleeker. Along with the general look, strong calves provide better ankle and knee support for the lower leg, preventing possible injuries. They make activities of daily living such as walking, doing chores and climbing stairs easier. Exercise your calves once or twice per week on non-consecutive days for optimal results.
Elevated
Do standing calf raises with your toes on an elevated surface. On the downward movement, drop your heels below the surface level as low as they can comfortably go. Feel the stretch of the calf muscles, push through the balls of your feet and lift your heels back up as high as you can. Keep the movement slow and controlled. For added intensity, hold a weight if available to maximize muscle activation.
Single Leg
Standing up against a wall for support, stand on one leg and do calf raises. Doing these on one leg isolates the muscles of the calf, as well as the stabilizer muscles in the ankles and knees. As you get stronger, try supporting yourself less with the wall until eventually you do single leg calf raises freestanding. To progress, do these on an elevated surface.
Foot Variation
Change the position of your feet to place emphasis on the different calf muscles. Try doing elevated calf raises with your toes pointing inward towards each other about 45 degrees to emphasize the outer part of the muscle. Point them away from each other to emphasis the inner calf muscle. To work the anterior, or front part of the calf, stand with your heels on an elevated surface and lift your toes as high as you can.
Seated
Seated calf raises target the lower part of the calf, the soleus, more effectively than standing calf raises do. Sit on a chair so that your knees bend at a 90-degree angle and place a weight on your knees. The weight can be books, a jug of water, weight plates or anything else weighing more than 5 to 10 lbs. Lift your heels against the weight as you remain seated.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics are repetitive jumping and bounding exercises that primarily involve power in the lower legs to rebound quickly off the floor. These include tuck jumps, side jumps, hurdles and one-legged hops. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends doing plyometrics once per week. If you are a beginner, only do a maximum of 60 to 80 jumps. Only attempt plyometrics jumps if you are free of lower body injury.
Techniques
There are ways to change up these exercises to make them more challenging. Bodybuilding.com suggests doing negative contractions during the calf raises. Go very slowly on the downward phase of the movement. These are eccentric contractions and are very effective at muscle toning. Another method is to do repetitions until failure. If you cannot add weight but the movement is too easy, just burn the muscles out and do the exercise until you cannot do another repetition.
References
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Association; Baechel, Thomas R. and Earle, Roger W; 2008
- American Council on Exercise: Lower Leg Exercises
- Bodybuilding.com: A Calf Training Routine for the Genetically Ungifted
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