Which Calf Exercises Will Help You Run Faster? Read this article

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Personal/Fitness Training Blog

For runners, the hamstrings, quads as well as the core get most of the attention. While your calf muscles aren’t as large as the other muscle groups, these lower leg muscles play a significant role in developing speed, enhancing your form and helping you stay injury free.

Which Muscles Make Up The Calf Muscle Group?

The calf muscles are made up of the gastrocnemius and soleus. Collectively, these two muscles are responsible for pushing off during the toe phase of your foot strike, propelling you up and forward. How strong these muscles are plays a significant role in the pace you are able to maintain over long distances as well as how long or short your stride is.

Through developing these muscles, you are able to improve your power on hills, maintain a quicker cadence for improved running form as well as boost your speed by improving the efficiency of your stride.

Conversely, when these muscles are weak or tight, more stress is placed on the Achilles, leading to injuries like tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, calf strains and even hip and hamstring injuries due to poor form or associated changes in your normal running mechanics.

Toe Jumps

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
  • Rise onto the balls of your feet.
  • Keeping knees stiff (however not locked), quickly hop up and then down again. Perform 3 sets of 20 jumps.

If you would like to make this move more advanced:

  • Stand on your right leg with your left leg bent behind you.
  • Hop on your right leg.
  • Perform five jumps and switch legs for one set.
  • Perform three sets.

Skipping

As you stay on your toes, skipping is an excellent way to build sport-specific muscular endurance in your calf muscles. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it — if you really do want to get better at skipping, you have to practice:

  • Begin by keeping both feet together. Make sure that you stay on your toes as you jump.
  • As you get better and are able to do it for a number of minutes try switching feet so that you jump over the rope with only one foot at a time. This can closely resemble the running motion.

Double-Leg Box Jumps

  • Stand with feet hip-distance apart and rise to the balls of your feet.
  • Jump clockwise in a box shape. First about a foot forward and then to the right, then backward, then to the left.
  • Repeat five times.
  • Reverse the 0direction and repeat for one set. Do three sets.

Dumbbell Tip-Toe Walk

Adding weight assists with building power, which helps sustain proper form during long runs:

  • Take hold of a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells by your side.
  • Walk for between 40 and 60 seconds on your toes (heels off the ground), keeping your back straight, shoulders back as well as your head up.
  • Rest for one minute and repeat 3–4 times. Increase weight as necessary.

Lunges With Calf Raises

  • Stand with feet hip-distance apart.
  • Step forward with your right leg and then lower into a lunge.
  • Lift and lower your right heel for between 10 and 12 reps, keeping your spine straight and weight over your big toe.
  • Push off your front foot in order to return to standing. Switch legs and repeat for one set. Do three or four sets.

There’s nothing which can deter even the most disciplined training plan and running goals more than an injury that may have been prevented. Resolving those injuries comprises far more than drinking enough water in addition to light stretching.

Make sure that you listen to your body. Invest the necessary time into proper stretching, ice baths as well as strength training activities. It may not be the most enjoyable period of your training routine – but it’s worth it! Your whole body and personal records will thrive as a consequence!

Don’t wait for an injury to begin doing these calf exercises for runners. Make calf-strengthening a priority—not an afterthought.

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