Spotlight On Calves
ANATOMY
The calf muscle, on the back of the lower leg, is made up of two muscles:
1. The gastrocnemius is the larger calf muscle, forming the bulge visible beneath the skin. The gastrocnemius has two parts or “heads,” which together create its diamond shape.
2. The soleus is a smaller, flat muscle that lies underneath the gastrocnemius muscle.
The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles taper and merge at the base into tough connective tissue and then the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon inserts into the heel bone.
During walking, running, or jumping, the calf muscle pulls the heel up and toes down to allow movement (plantarflexion).
EXERCISE PLAN TIPS
1. Your calves are an important muscle group. For a split, focused plan (meaning calves would be an exercise focus that day), I would normally do at least 2 exercises with one also including the shin muscles (Tibialis Anterior).
2. For a push-pull workout plan, calves are considered a push exercise.
3. Additionally, change up the exercises each time you work your calves (for example, each week) so that you are targeting your muscle group in different ways. This may be the positioning of your foot (toes in vs. toes out) or the angle of your knee (seated vs. standing calf raises) or 1-legged vs. 2-legged calf exercises.
View more Spotlight posts here: https://innerathlete.us/spotlight-series/
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Sources: WebMD, Openfit, Foot Pain Explored