Calf raises for the calf muscles - performed standing and sitting. Muscles of the Russian Federation - online fitness training: programs and exercises Exercise for legs on toes

Standing calf raise

In bodybuilding, standing calf raises with weights are used to work the calves and give them an aesthetic appearance. Movement is present in one way or another in most sports, and even in such “distant” disciplines as running and dancing. There, it is used to increase the mobility of the ankle joint.

Purpose of the exercise and working muscles

The main movers are the calf muscles. The muscles of the front thigh, abs, and back work as stabilizers. The goal is to lift up onto your toes as much as possible and lower down smoothly. To increase the amplitude, various supports are used, such as a steppe, a bar, and a step. Socks are placed on them, the heel goes down and a full stretch of the calf muscles is achieved.

The movement is considered classic and replaces calf raises in the simulator and complicated exercises for the calves.

Workout Features

Standing calf raise

Calves are usually worked at the end of a leg workout, or on the day of working on lagging muscles. It is convenient for athletes who run a lot to train calves immediately after cardio, if they do not plan to train their legs that day.

Calf raises are one of the first movements a beginner will learn and are considered simple. It's often said that low-rep calf workouts don't make sense. Unlike other similar statements, this is not without some truth. When walking, running and jumping, we use our calves to the fullest, because they have more “endurance” slow-twitch muscle fibers. If you train them more, you can get a significant response.

The exercise is often recommended to be done to failure, which eliminates the use of significant weights and an overextended amplitude.

The exercise is isolating. A basic exercise that uses the calves is the snatch row with a toe-out, but almost no one does it in bodybuilding because of its technical complexity. It is usually advised to use calf raises as a finishing exercise and do it in a volumetric style, performing at least 20 repetitions per set and about 4-5 sets per workout.

To begin with, perform a couple of sets of calf raises without weights to warm up and warm up. At this time, choose a foot width that prevents body skewing from side to side and swaying.

There are variations for almost every case:

lifting onto a low support or block is carried out due to rapid extension and extreme contraction of the muscle. Recommended only for those who can maintain balance. An option without weights is allowed, with hands holding the support. In this case, it is better to stand facing the support and rise with both legs at once, symmetrically;
lifting in a hook-car. The good thing about this option is that it allows you to take significant weight even for those who do not have the ability to hold a barbell of such weight on their back. One of the most stable lifts, with low weight can be performed even by beginners;
lifting with a barbell or Smith machine. In the Smith machine, you need to stand so that the bar is projected onto the middle of the arch of the foot, and not onto the toes,
lifting on one leg with one dumbbell, the second leg bends at the knee and rises by weight in a comfortable position. When lifting with a barbell, you should pay attention to the position of the apparatus and stick to one that will not allow the body to swing along the axis of the spine;
One variation of this exercise is considered to be the leg press machine, although technically it is performed from a seated position rather than a standing position.

Technical errors include hyperextension in the joint, as well as attempts to reach out onto the fingertips. You should not do the exercise on a steppe or other support that can be moved with the force of your legs. It is better to choose steps, or move the step towards the wall.

Standing calf raises are an exercise for working the calf muscles. This exercise can be performed with dumbbells, barbells and various machines. In this article we will talk about the technique of performing the exercise, consider an effective method of training the calf muscles and explain all the technical nuances and common mistakes of novice athletes when performing this exercise.
Standing calf raises are best performed in machines. When working with dumbbells or a barbell, you have to make a lot of effort to maintain balance and this greatly interferes with effectively working your calves. When training on a special machine or Smith machine, you can fully concentrate on working your calves, work through the full range of motion with heavy weights without problems, and easily control the working weights.

During the exercise, you need to move through the maximum amplitude. With parallel positioning of the socks, all areas of the calf muscles are worked out evenly. If you bring your heels together and spread your toes to the sides, the outer part of the calf muscles will be emphasized. If, on the contrary, the heels are spread out and the toes are brought inward, then the emphasis will shift to the inside of the calves.
To train your calves effectively, you need to use heavy weights. And as weight increases, the load on the spine also increases. To minimize the likelihood of injury, you should use a special powerlifting belt.

To work all areas of the calf muscles, perform exercises with different directions of the toes and heels.

To protect your back, keep your head slightly elevated while performing calf raises. Do not turn your head or lower it down.

Load your calves after training the large leg muscles - hamstrings and quadriceps.

When training your lower legs, not only perform calf raises while standing, but also work your lower legs in a seated position to emphasize the load on the soleus muscle.

Don't do any cardio after training your calves.

One of the most effective methods for increasing the size of the calf muscles is the post-activation method. It consists of the following - you need to thoroughly warm up the quadriceps and calf muscles, then perform several sets of heavy squats with partial amplitude (1/2 or 1/4 of the full amplitude), and then move on to calf raises. The point of this technique is that heavy squats use all the reserves of your nervous system and involve many muscle groups in work, and after such a load, doing calf raises will seem like a trifle to you. You will be able to work with even greater working weights, which means working your calves will be more effective.
Another popular technique for working out the calf muscles is. What does this look like in practice? First, you take maximum working weights and perform about 6-8 repetitions. After muscle failure occurs, you will need to reduce the weight on the apparatus and do one more approach until failure. There may be 2-4 such refusal approaches. After there are no weights left on the machine or apparatus, you will need to perform the last approach with your own weight. This method of working the calves is used by many professional athletes, but it is worth noting that the drop set method greatly depletes the muscle group and it is impossible to train this way every time, as this can lead to overtraining.
To build bigger calves, you need to alternate heavy workouts with light ones. Therefore, we recommend performing regular standing calf raises in the first workout, using the post-activation method in the second, and moving on to drop sets in the third. With this training regimen, your calves simply cannot help but grow.
Features of the technique of performing calf raises while standing

Video Standing calf raise without apparatus

Video Standing One Toe Raise

Analysis of the exercise

We consider standing calf raises as a basic exercise, since in the case of using weights, several muscle groups are involved in the work in addition to the target calves. This includes the erector spinae, the quadratus lumborum muscle, the abdominal muscles, hips, and buttocks. For the most part this is a static load.

Calf muscles

Many people think that our lower leg consists mainly of the calf muscles, but this is not so, although it makes up the bulk and determines all the beauty. But it can be affected by the soleus, tibial and peroneal muscles located behind the gastrocnemius. However, you shouldn’t think about them, since it is impossible to isolate these muscles during training, just pump your lower leg and that’s it.

Final goal

As a rule, people think about the need to pump up their calves only when they begin to show disharmony in body proportions. You've probably noticed the thugs in the gym with thin legs. It looks funny and sad, and all because the person did not pay due attention to leg training.

Girls want to emphasize the grace of their calf muscles with a beautiful curve, as this is no less sexy than firm buttocks.

Most ordinary people do not suffer from fatty calves, since they are used every day when walking and running. But if this is not enough for you, then standing calf raises in a machine or with apparatus will give the necessary impetus to the growth of the calf muscle group.

Workout Features

Many people are accustomed to thinking that calf exercises should be left for the end of leg training. But it all depends on your goals. If your body and legs are proportionately developed, then this may be a viable option, but if your calves are in the lagging category, then give them a separate workout and put them at the beginning.

Due to the fact that the range of motion of the foot is small, and only with it we can stretch the calf muscles, it is considered normal to do multi-repetition approaches from 15 to 30 times. You are allowed to do more if you cannot make standing calf raises more difficult with additional weight, the main thing is to feel the burning in your calves. Some trainers also justify this by saying that the muscles must be under load for a certain time to trigger the growth signal.

Things to remember when doing standing calf raises:

Contraindications

People with problems with the spine and knee joints are not recommended to use heavy weights in a machine or on a barbell. Replace standing calf raises with a seated version. But it is better to consult a specialist based on your indicators.

Girls are concerned about the shape of their buttocks and cubic abs. It is clear that everyone knows their own problem areas, but against the background of developed shins, pumped buttocks or massive shoulders look better, and the figure becomes proportional.

One of the best isolation practices is standing calf raises in a machine. For this purpose, there is a special design that fixes the feet in one plane and sets the vector of movement. Classes on it help:

develop flexibility in the feet;
strengthen plantar flexion;
increase the instep of the feet and the volume of the legs;
improve balance.

The process involves: soleus, dorsal tibialis, plantar, digital flexors.

Exercise technique

Take a straight position in the machine, place your shoulders up under the rollers.
Place your feet on the platform so that your heels hang slightly over the edges. Leave your toes straight or turn them slightly to the sides.
Stretch your body in a line so that your crown and heels are in line.
Extend your ankles and lower your heels until you feel a full stretch in the tendons and calf muscles.
Take a deep breath and push your calves up onto your toes.
Linger in the climax 2 seconds and as you exhale, return to IP.

If your goal is to improve ankle flexibility and Achilles tendon flexibility, pause at the lowest point.

To pump up volumes, work without rest. If the gym doesn't have a machine, use Smith. The principle is the same, only to sag the heel, build a platform, for example, from 5 kg pancakes.

The exercise is done standing and sitting. The first option is more difficult. Since it involves other muscle groups, it is classified as. The second trains deep-lying muscles such as the soleus well.

note to the position of the feet.

If your heels are spread apart and your toes are “looking” at each other, you are pumping the outer zones.
In the opposite position and symmetrical positioning of the legs, the shins are pumped evenly.

Calf raises while sitting in the machine

In order to fully load the long soleus muscles, there is nothing better than seated calf raises. It is they who, when increasing in volume, lift the calf legs and make the shins larger.

Sit on the leg platform machine.
Take a lot of weight - there is no other way to pump up powerful leg muscles.
At the top, perform a peak contraction, at the bottom, stretch your calves to the limit.
After a strong burning sensation appears, reduce the amplitude and finish off the soleus with short movements in partial amplitude.

Only with repeated repetitions can they be loaded to the maximum.

Standing calf raises with dumbbells

They work here: gastrocnemius, long fibular, tibial. It is usually performed at home.

Place your feet on a platform made of a block or disk up to 8 cm high.
Stand with your left foot on a support, with your arch and heel hanging down.
Take the projectile in your left hand, and with the other hand grab the support - the door frame.
Bend your right limb and press it to your left. It is in this position that the body is relatively balanced.
As you inhale, rise up onto your toes.
Hold for a moment and exhale as you return to the starting position. Go as deep as possible and take your time.
After a series of repetitions, change limbs.

Important little things

Perform the last exercise immediately after the previous one or. Place sit-ups third.

Master your lifting technique "donkey"- Arnold's favorite exercise. Its peculiarity is that by bending at the waist, resting your hands on a high bench and placing a plate on your back, you can build up massive “pillars”.

Exercise “donkey” in video format:

Never stand on the stand with bare feet. For high-quality shock absorption, you need shoes with thick, springy soles.
Don't bend your knees - this will relieve tension from the target muscles.
Keep your back straight - otherwise you may fall.

Don't forget about. Sit on the floor and stretch forward with your back straight. Grab your socks and pull them towards you 30 seconds.

Surprisingly, the simplest movements, such as walking on toes, which entertained us in childhood, for example, are basic exercises in bodybuilding, and can miraculously transform a person’s figure.

In fitness complexes, various variations of calf raises are used to strengthen and increase the volume of the calves and correct the silhouette of the lower leg; this exercise mainly trains the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles that frame it.

The initial position of the feet from which the lift is performed can correct the impact on the muscles: if the toes are spread out to the sides, the load falls on the outer side of the muscles, if the toes are brought inward and are closer to each other than the heels, the inner side of the calf muscle is trained.

To ensure an even load in the starting position, the feet should be placed parallel. To train the soleus muscles of the lower leg, calf raises are performed from a sitting position.

To increase efficiency, the calf raise exercise is performed with dumbbells. It can also be complicated by increasing the range of motion of the foot when lifting using low steps and elevations.

Contraindications for calf raises

Raising on your toes with a transition to your heels and alternating walking in these two positions is one of the traditional exercises for strengthening the muscles of the foot, for the prevention of varicose veins, arthritis and other pathologies of the ankle joint.

But such exercises must be used with great caution in the strength training regime with many repetitions and weights. This exercise can aggravate Achilles tendon and ankle injuries.

With caution and only after consultation with specialists, you can practice this movement in the presence of even weak signs of varicose veins. Methods for performing calf raises in the simulator are shown in the photo.

The degree of difficulty of this exercise can vary as the area of contact of the sole of the foot changes during the lift. So, to maintain the highest possible lift with a narrow area of contact between the toe and the support, special training is needed.

Lifting technique

To practice calf raise techniques, exercise equipment, barbells, and dumbbells are used.

Various exercise machines allow you to fix the body, removing the weight from the legs and increasing the effectiveness of muscle stretching. Special pedestals are also used to increase the range of motion.

At home, you can do lifts with the toes supported by a block, discs from a barbell, or adapt any other small stable elevation for this.

When performing calf raises using a pedestal, you need to comfortably fix your hands. The legs can be slightly bent at the knees, the back is straight and slightly tilted forward.

With dumbbells

When making the exercise heavier, lifting onto your toes from a standing position, dumbbells should be held in your arms down along your body.

You can vary the exercise by performing it for each leg separately, while you can take heavy weights, leaning your free hand on the back of a chair or wall. You can simply perform the exercise on one leg, placing the entire weight of your body on it.

Weightening calf raises in a seated position is done by placing dumbbells, a container of water or sand, or a barbell disc on the knees.

With a barbell

The barbell exercise is one of the most difficult and only experienced athletes can do it. Not only the lower leg works here, but also the muscles of the entire body.

The feet are positioned shoulder-width apart, the athlete grabs the bar and lifts the barbell by weight, beginning a movement called a “dead snatch.” Then you need to slowly rise on your toes and fix this position.

Weighting and smooth, measured exercises with fixation on the rise for several seconds helps to increase muscle volume. To increase strength and tone, faster and longer repetitions are needed.

Lifts performed for training purposes are done in 3-4 approaches, 20 or 10 multiple sets. They are usually part of strength training and are performed after warming up.

Advice when performing calf raises at home: If the goal is to increase the volume of your calves, you need to perform calf raises in equal proportions from a sitting and standing position.