I don’t know about you, but I often forget to train my calves. So far, they haven’t been something I’ve been overly concerned about when doing squats, lunges, and deadlifts. That said, a recent conversation with a running coach forced me to stop and think about my calf strength: Your calf muscles absorb shock when you run or walk and propel you forward. They are an essential component when it comes to strengthening your lower body, so why did I neglect them?
Since I never shied away from a challenge, I decided to add 100 calf raises a day to my routine for a week to see what would happen. As a marathon runner, my schedule includes about five runs a week, as well as a couple of strength training sessions, and the occasional pilates or yoga class.
Before you start calf raises, it’s important to note that what works for me might not work for you and your body, and if you’re a beginner or returning to exercise after an injury, it’s a good idea to check. with a personal trainer to make sure you’re getting your form right.
Read on to find out what happened when I did 100 calf raises a day for a week. Inspired? Look what happened when I did 100 dead insects a day for a week, 30 sit-ups a day for 30 daysand when I added flutter kicks to my morning routine..
How to do calf raises
Let’s start with how to get the technique right. To do a calf raise, start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your back straight and your core engaged throughout the movement (here’s how to engage core muscles). Raise up on your toes slowly, keeping your legs straight, without locking the knee joint. Pause at the top, then lower back to the ground, returning to your starting position.
The benefits of calf raises are that they affect both calf muscles. Your calf has two main muscles: the soleus, which is the deepest muscle in the calf that starts just below the knee and runs down the leg, connecting to the Achilles tendon above the heel, and the gastrocnemius, which is the muscle outer part that forms the bulge of your calf. Strengthening your calf muscles is important when it comes to injury prevention, as calf muscle strains are a common injury among athletes. When the soleus is weak, for example, studies (opens in a new tab)have shown that the calf muscle can be strained and torn more easily.
I Did 100 Calf Raises A Day For A Week – Here’s What Happened
On day one of this challenge, I started with regular bodyweight calf raises. I opted for four sets of 25 raises, with a 30-second rest between each set. I did the raises after the race, no shoes on, and went slow enough to really focus on my form. My challenge was to think about my posture: keeping your back straight and your abs tight is essential in this exercise.
On day two, I added calf raises to my strength training routine, since it was leg day, after all. This time, I added some weights to the mix to up the ante a bit. I grabbed a set of 6kg dumbbells and again did four sets of 25 calf raises. This definitely increased the challenge, and after the first 25 raises, I could feel my calf muscles working. Once again, I had to focus on slowing down: While going through the exercise fast can be tempting, it makes it much less effective.
On day three, I opted to increase the range of motion on the calf raises by performing them in one step. Once again, I finished my run and stood at the bottom of the stairs to do the calf raises; this allows your heels to lower even further, increasing the intensity. With just the balls of my feet on the stairs, I definitely felt a greater stretch in my calves as I went through the reps.
On day four, you guessed it, I added weights to my calf raises at the bottom of the stairs. This definitely felt a bit sketchy, as I don’t live in a huge house with a wide open staircase, and in the future, I’d do weighted calf raises on a step in the gym. Still, I got them, lived to tell about it, and didn’t fall down the stairs or crash a dumbbell against the wall. Result.
By day five, my calves were taking notice, so I went back to regular bodyweight calf raises. It is definitely not recommended to do many repetitions of the same exercise day after day (this is why the experts say that I shouldn’t do a squat challenge) but for the sake of journalism, I continued.
On day six, I again decided to mix things up, this time opting to do my calf raises on the leg press machine at the gym. To do this, I placed the balls of my feet on the platform with my legs straight and went up on my toes, just like you would in a standing calf raise. Doing calf raises on a leg press is a great way to increase the load, without worrying about your balance.
Finally, day seven. By now, he was fed up with calf raises, but he wanted to try one more challenge: single-leg calf raises. I haven’t added them to my workouts since I hurt my soleus years ago, and I hated them as much now as I did then. As the name suggests, to do a single-leg calf raise, stand on one leg and lift onto the balls of one foot. I opted to do 100 on each leg but found I needed to do it close to a wall as I was definitely more balanced on my right leg (I’m right handed).
So what did I learn after 800 calf raises? I need to do more calf raises. Granted, I’m not going to see huge gains in a week – the human body doesn’t work like that – but I can definitely see how adding calf exercises into my workouts could help me run faster and (hopefully) leg problems that could keep me away. from the starting line.
