Calf raises are a great way to strengthen and tone your calf muscles. They can be done anywhere with no equipment.
How to do a calf raise:
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart
- Slowly raise your heels as high as you can.
- Hold briefly at the top.
- Then slowly lower your heels again.
That's all there is to it, simple and effective. You should really be able to feel it in your calf muscles.
If you're finding that too easy there are a couple of ways to make this exercise harder.
One Legged Calf Raises
Just like it sounds. You stand on one leg and do the calf raise with one leg only. This makes it a lot harder. If you're finding balance to be a problem you can use a wall or other object for support. However you should try to work towards doing it without the support as it is good for your balance and helps to strengthen the muscles that support the ankle.
Using a Step
Stand with the ball of your foot on the edge of a step and allow the heels to drop below the level of the step. Then perform the calf raise as normal but lower your feet below the level of the step each time. This allows a greater range of motion and works the muscle more thorughly.
Using Weights
Just like a normal calf raise but holding weights in your hands. This can be a good way to transition to one legged raises or two make the one legged ones harder. Many gyms have "smith machines" which can be used to help with the exercise, they make it easier to balance and thereby allow you to push heavier weights.
