6 Calf Exercises Physical Therapists Want You To Do Every Week

If you’ve been spending a lot of time working out, chances are, you’ve become aware of your calf muscles. The muscles in the back of the bottom half of the leg put in work when you’re sprinting, running, doing CrossFit or participating in another sport that relies on jumping and other quick lower-body movements.

No matter your fitness goals, dedicating some time to calf muscle exercises during your strength and flexibility workouts will pay off in the long run. Here, physical therapists explain why the calf complex is so important and key exercises they wish everyone did each week.

“There are two main calf muscles on the backside of the leg: the gastrocnemius and beneath it, the soleus,” said Cameron Yuen, D.P.T., C.S.C.S. “Both of these come together at the bottom of the leg to form the Achilles tendon, and that attaches to the bottom of the heel.”

The gastrocnemius and soleus — aka, the calf muscles — are what propel you forward when you run, jump, or do any other movement that requires leg power, Yuen said.

“The gastrocnemius crosses two joints, the knee and ankle, and the soleus crosses over mostly just the ankle,” said Megan-Marie Delegas, D.P.T. and Russian Kettlebell Challenge-certified kettlebell coach. Which muscle gets used more primarily depends on the exact movement you’re doing, but “if you are a runner, specifically, the most force production is going to be needed from the soleus, because it actually absorbs most of the force,” she said.

It’s still important, though, to work both muscles regularly so that they can work in tandem.

The main calf muscles also work with the Achilles to involve the foot. “To excel at running or sprinting, you really need the calf muscles to be strong,” Melissa Prestipino, D.P.T, said. “When the calf is strong, it helps you to point your toes, push off, and accelerate.”

Beyond running, the calves play an integral role in any movement that requires triple extension, which refers to the combination of hip extension, knee extension and ankle plantarflexion, Prestipino said.

“In addition to the push-off phase of running, triple extension can also come into play with explosive movements such as during a dumbbell snatch or during Olympic lifting including a clean and jerk movement. Doing plyometric movements like squat jumps and box jumps also recruit triple extension exercises,” she said.

For optimal performance and injury prevention, you want to make sure your calves are strong and elastic. And regularly performing calf-specific strengthening exercises can help mitigate the risk or recurrence of calf muscle strain injuries.

“If you think about jumping rope, there’s a bounce to it that comes from the motion in the ankle. Or think of a diving board that allows for give, but can bounce back,” Delegas said.

This is what you want your calves to be able to do: Quickly produce force and then snap back to their original position to repeatedly fire. Yuen called it “plyometric capacity.” Stretching and strengthening are both required for this elastic function.

If you skimp on stretching and your calves get super tight, you may encounter serious issues.

“When the calves are tight, there’s a bigger risk of tearing the Achilles,” Prestipino said. “If you accelerate and try to run and your calves are tight, it could literally rupture, so that’s one of the most dangerous issues with tightness.”

At best, calf tightness can lead to some tendonitis and inflammation, she added.

Tight calves can also contribute to plantar fasciitis, a common source of heel pain in runners that’s caused by inflammation of the tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes.

“The Achilles wraps under the foot and connects to the plantar fascia, a fibrous tissue under the foot. Tight calves pull on the Achilles, which then pulls on this fascia,” Prestipino said. “Keeping the calves flexible loosens that fascia.”

On the flipside, strong and elastic calf muscles can improve walking or running speed, Delegas said.

“The more elasticity and force production the muscles are capable of, the less effort you have to put in, which is what we want. It shortens the turnover time of each step and makes you more efficient and faster,” she said.

Incorporating a combo of stretching and strengthening moves into your routine will ensure a healthy range of motion and the requisite calf strength and elasticity to power through runs and other lower-body movements.

You can perform the following calf exercises either at home or the gym. Delegas recommended incorporating them into your strength training workouts, about three times a week, if you can. If you do split workouts, do calf work on lower-body days, Yuen suggested.

“You definitely do want to train them once a week at a minimum,” he said. And if your calves tend to be super tight, consider stretching them a little every day.

And if you’re contemplating wearing shoes or not wearing shoes, both experts assure there is no harm in wearing shoes, but going barefoot could yield greater benefits.

“It's completely fine to stick with running shoes. However, there are benefits to going barefoot as well. Barefoot is a nice extra step that does make the foot work harder, can enhance feedback through the ground, and can mobilize the foot differently,” Yuen said. “So I would say, mix the training with shoes and without, with the majority in shoes if these are unfamiliar exercises.”