THE KEY TO achieving a perfectly symmetrical physique and peak performance can come down to giving focused training attention to body parts most people often neglect. You might skip out on exercises that train muscles like your forearms or rear delts, but there's one spot that is more typically overlooked (and improperly trained) than others: the calf muscles. If you have aspirations of a well-shaped lower half—and even if you want to boost your athleticism and resilience—it's time to get reacquainted with calf training.
But there are misconceptions about how to go about training your calf muscles. A dozen sets of squats won’t give you the stimulus you're looking for on leg day if you're not giving your calves any focused attention. Similarly, you won't make much progress doing endless rounds of bodyweight calf raises; like other muscle groups, you won't get very far without challenging yourself with a load.
Training your calf muscles—which are comprised of the gastrocnemius (the muscle that flexes the knee and foot) and the soleus (attaches the knee and heel and responsible for standing and walking)—isn’t just for showing off your lower half in shorts or for other vanity-driven purposes. Calf training can be important for everyone, including athletes, for improving ankle mobility to help develop more lower-body fluidity and explosiveness. This is essential for running, jumping—everything you need to do during sports. And best of all, you can squeeze calf training into your routine more often than other muscle groups. No more excuses. It's time to give your calf muscles the attention they need to grow.
Calves take a lot of time and effort to strengthen and build. There's no getting around it. But there is a way to build stronger calves. Let's break it down for you right now.
What Are Your Calf Muscles?
To some extent, you’re always training your calves when you train legs. When you look at your most popular leg moves (squats, lunges, deadlifts) it’s important to understand that they work from the ground up. In the same way you need your forearms to grip implements when you train pulling and pressing motions, you need assistance from your calves to create the base for your lower-body moves.
This means the most with regards to the musculature of the feet and the ankle complex. The ankle is made up of two joints, the talocrural joint and the subtalar joint. The talocrural joint is your upper ankle joint, driving both the flexing and extension of your foot. The subtalar joint lets you shift on the base of your feet toward the center or the outside. Both joints don’t just need strength in the surrounding muscles, but mobility, too.
The calf muscles have three main parts. The largest and outermost muscle is the gastrocnemius. When you think of the calves, this is the baseball-sized muscle. There are two heads to the muscle, the lateral head which sits on the outside of the lower leg and the medial head that sits on the inside of the leg. The two heads can both work together. The gastrocnemius oversees the pointing of your toes. Easy rule: When the heel is above the toes, and your muscle is being flexed, that’s the gastroc.
The soleus is the other muscle, and it has similar responsibilities, with one key difference. The gastroc attaches above the knee, and the soleus below the knee. So whenever the knee is bent, the soleus is doing the work. When the knee is straight, the gastroc is doing the heavy lifting.
How to Approach Calf Muscle Training
Because of the mobility of the ankle joint, foot positioning is a big key to how you’re training your calves. Small differences in positioning, from inversion to eversion or even just how you’re driving through the balls of your feet, will affect how you attack your calves.
To build three-dimensional calves, you need a multitude of approaches. That’s why hikers often have well-developed calves: They’re constantly working the concentric and eccentric contractions of those muscles from variable angles as they clamber over ledges, rocks and steps of different shapes and sizes. They’re also doing hundreds of reps at a time.
Varying rep schemes are also critical. Think of doing reps between 10 and 25, alternating between volume and strength days. That also means that you shouldn't be afraid to load up the weight on those strength days, either.
Calf training isn’t all muscle moves, either. Plyometric movements are how athletes set themselves apart in competition.
The force you can produce using your calves might be the difference in your strength, your power, and your overall athletic ability. It also means the best calf exercises and workouts won’t just be mere muscle-building moves.
Must-Do Exercises for Your Calf Muscles
MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., and celebrity trainer Don Saladino share their four best calf exercises that you should incorporate into your routine as often as possible. “If you focus on these four, we believe you're going to achieve well-rounded calves, but also most importantly, functionality," Samuel says. "You’ll be more resilient in your lower body… and you're able to live a long healthy, and functional life.”
Single-Leg Calf Raise on Leg Press
3 sets of 12 to 20 reps
This exercise is ideal for athletes, especially basketball players who may have some calf mobility issues. The great thing about incorporating unilateral work like this into your training routine is that you’ll be able at times to uncover some imbalances you may not have previously been aware of, and be able to begin working on making improvements sooner than later. For the single-legs, focus on a full range of motion throughout the entire exercise—this requires no cheating. Opt for lighter weight to help maintain a greater range of motion —you’ll be quickly humbled by the difficulty of this exercise. Try for a two-second hold at both the top and bottom of the movement.
Jump Rope
Four sets of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off
You probably never saw this one coming, but not only does a little rope jumping hit your cardio, burn fat and help build explosive lower-body plyometric power—the repetitive movement is also helping grow your calves in the process. It’s an ideal exercise that you can throw in anytime—as a warmup or finisher, or even as a standalone cardio workout. A few sets of jumping rope can help you build aesthetically acceptable calves.
Seated Calf Raise
3 sets of 8 to 15 reps
Finally, we can begin to add some serious load to our calf training. The seated calf raise is unique from most calf exercises is that it’s one of the few in which you’re training from a bent-leg position—which will help target the soleus muscles more than other moves. You’re also able to play around with foot positioning a little more freely with this machine. Again, continue focusing on getting a full range of motion with each rep—a two-second hold on both top and bottom portions of the movement work best.
Safety Squat Bar Squat Raise
3 sets of 10 to 15 reps
By using the safety bar while holding onto the squat rack for support, you're not only able to take the muscle through a full range of motion, it allows you to go heavy and hard. But even here, don’t overdo the weight for the sake of sacrificing range of motion.
Other Great Calf Muscle Exercises
Standing Calf Raise
The top move when it comes to calf work. Either set up in a Smith machine, with the weight on your shoulders and the balls of your feet on a slightly elevated platform. Tighten your core and glutes and keep your knees straight. Lower your feet until your heels nearly hit the ground, then press back up, trying to point your toes. That’s 1 rep; aim for 10 to 25 reps depending on the day.
Seated Band Pushes
These are great for working through progressive resistance and using resistance band.
Sit down with your legs straight out in front of you, one end of a looped resistance band around the balls of your feet, the other gripped in your hands, band taut. Bend at the ankle to press the resistance band away, pause and flex your calves, then return to the start position. That’s 1 rep; aim for 10 to 25 reps depending on the day.
Explosive Calf Step-up
Plyos are a great way to train the calves with respect to the ankle complex, and you’ll do that here. Set up with one foot on a box or bench. Explosively drive off that foot, jumping upwards off the bench; try to switch feet as you come down. Repeat on the other side. That’s 1 rep; aim for 10 to 25 reps depending on the day.
Static Neutral Hold
Isometrics are a great test for both your calves and your ankle mobility.
Stand with the balls of your feet on a block a few inches off the ground, holding onto something for support, but keeping the majority of your weight in the balls of your feet. Straighten your ankles as much as possible, flexing your calves. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Do 3 to 4 30-to-60-second sets.
Bunny Hop
This one’s all about plyometrics and explosion, and it’s as simple as it sounds.
Simply bend your knees and waist ever-so-slightly. Then jump up and down focusing on quick, small hops. Work to land and then take off quickly. Do reps continuously for 30 to 60 seconds. Do 3 to 4 sets.
Speed Ladder
The speed ladder is as much about speed and agility as it is your calves. You can work through a variety of speed ladder drills, everything from running through the ladder boxes one at a time with each foot to hopping through them, to more complicated drills like the Ickey shuffle. Do 3 to 4 sets of each.
Stadium Stairs
Yes, a stair run is one of the best way to train your calves, forcing you to flex and extend your foot constantly and repeatedly. Remember those hikers.
Don’t skip steps, though—this is different than running stairs to build up your cardio endurance. Aim to place a foot on each stair and run on the balls of your feet. Think of doing 20-second sets (depending on how many rows you have wherever you're able to run stairs). Aim for 3 to 4 sets to start.
Sprints
Much like stair runs, sprints will hone your calves by forcing you to repeatedly go through a full calf range of motion.
Think of running five to six 50 or 100-yard sprints to start. Aim to be as explosive as possible, and get plenty of rest between rounds.
Hill Runs
Hill runs won’t just smoke your calves; they’ll crush your hamstrings, glutes, and quads, too.
Think of doing 20-second dashes up the hill, then walking or jogging back down to start; repeat this 5 or 6 times.
David Otey, CSCS is a fitness writer, NYC-based strength coach, and Men's Health Advisory Board member who specializes in strength and hypertrophy protocols as well as athletic performance. For more on Otey check out www.oteyfitness.com.
