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Exercise of the Month - March 2008: “Calf Stretch”
I’ve decided to shake things up this month and focus on flexibility rather than strength. Specifically, I’m recommending a calf stretch for you to try. If I had to pick an area where I find people are chronically tight it’s probably the calves. Hamstrings are a close second, but tight calf muscles are high on my list of areas to stretch out with clients. Tight calves can result from excess heel elevation via over usage of high heels or even sneakers with an excessive heel lift. Basically what happens is the back of the lower leg (calf muscles) become overworked and the muscles in the front of the lower leg (i.e. tibialis anterior) alongside the tibia (shin bone) become weakened. Try standing up with your legs straight and pushing off your toes 25 times- not too bad, right? Now try the same thing but flex your toes toward your shins 25 times and you’ll realize how much harder the latter exercise is. We need to create more of a balance in the lower leg and one way (beyond strengthening the muscles in the front of the lower leg) is to stretch our calves more.
The calf muscles are basically two muscles: gastrocnemius and soleus. They are activated when you push your toes into the ground and elevate your heel (basically every time you walk when you push off your toes to go into the next step these muscles are engaged). To stretch these muscles, simply face a wall in a staggered stance (see picture above). Make sure your hips and shoulders are squared facing the wall. Make sure there is a good distance between your two feet. Next, lunge forward by bending your front leg while keeping the back leg straight. Most importantly, make sure the back heel stays down. Stretch to a point of mild discomfort for 15-30 seconds a couple times on each leg to limit muscular cramping and to minimize post-workout muscle soreness.