Many women are dissatisfied with the size of their legs or legs in general and dream of reducing their calves even through surgery. But is this really the only way?
Simple rules for every day
In fact, there are less expensive and dangerous methods that you can use:
Move your legs even while sitting! To quickly lengthen your shin, stretch it at any moment. Sitting on a chair with your back straight and pressed against the back, rotate your left leg clockwise and counterclockwise 6-10 times. Repeat the movement with the other leg.
Burning excess fat in the lower leg area
Removing the calves on the legs like folds on the stomach or riding breeches will not work, since the lower leg rarely accumulates fat, and its shape is determined by the calf muscle. An increase in body fat occurs, especially in winter time, but with regular walking, the calves regain their slender state quite easily. Thus, regular aerobic physical activity helps to remove fat - walking long distances will be ideal for any level of fitness.
Losing fat on your legs and calves in a week is real, but difficult. Working for speed involves increasing the intensity of the load - using jumps. Of course, fat will burn, and leg muscles will strengthen in response to tension in them. Since a person uses a muscle often, the body receives a signal - it needs to be grown.
A set of exercises will help you quickly burn fat and avoid getting too inflated calves if it combines three types of loads:
Each exercise is performed for a minute without a break. First, we perform calf raises without using dumbbells. Then we jump from side to side, you can pause if your breathing becomes difficult.
We perform side jumps in the “skater” style - we jump from foot to foot, tilting the body and moving the bent leg back.
At the fourth minute, we get into the plie position - with our feet wider than our shoulders, squat down and begin to lift our heels off the floor one by one.
Fifth minute - stretching against the wall: we put one leg back, rest our hands on the wall and lean forward, bending our left leg at the knee, and touching the floor with our right heel - 30 seconds for each leg.
Sixth minute – bent over stretch: put one leg forward on the heel, bend your body forward, keeping your back straight, and pull your toes towards you.
Too inflated calves - how to remove volume?
“Bottles” is a popular name for legs with developed calf muscles. Most likely, a girl with voluminous calves has an enviable rounded butt and arms without sagging - heredity determines the shape of the muscles.
- To correct it, you need to support physical activity at the level of 2-3 aerobic workouts per week, as well as actively engage in stretching, for example, power yoga.
- Downward-facing dog pose gives a good stretch to the calf muscles. Get into a plank position on your palms. Lift your pelvis up, squeezing your abs, stretching the backs of your legs, and arching your upper back.
- The heels tend to the floor, and then a tension is felt in the calves. In this position, try to walk forward on straight legs. Do 10-20 steps in three approaches, improving stretching.
How to remove volume if your calves are inflated?
Perform the reverse “procedure”. Instead of building muscle mass in the lower leg area, burn it with cardio exercises. But remember that the muscles go away evenly on all legs. To save muscle mass the rest of the legs, back and arms will have to be loaded even more intensely, and simply forget about the calves for a while, add a slow run for 40-60 minutes.
Pumped up calf muscles look beautiful. It takes quite a lot of effort to pump them up. The difficulty of working out this muscle group is that they are involved in everyday life, and, therefore, are accustomed to the constant loads that fall on the legs while walking. Therefore, it is very important to select the most effective and efficient exercises.
Of course, it is best to train in gym , where there is all the necessary equipment and sports equipment. However, there are no less effective exercises that allow, with patience, achieve your goal at home. The main thing is to devote enough time and attention to training, but within reasonable limits, avoiding overtraining and overload. If the load is too heavy, the calves begin to hurt. This signals the need to reduce the intensity. The correctness of training is indicated by a feeling of fatigue and burning. There shouldn't be any pain.
There is no need to question the fact that weak and thin legs do not make a man look good, especially if he has a pumped and powerful torso. Such a disproportion looks quite comical. An athlete’s figure looks completely different if the legs are well designed and have an attractive relief. And to achieve this, you need to properly and competently organize the training of the calf muscles. This can be done by having a clear understanding of how this muscle works.
The gastrocnemius is called the one located on the back biceps muscle. At first glance it may seem like there is only one muscle, but in fact there are two muscles. This misconception is due to the fact that you can see and touch only the upper one, under which is located the second one, called the soleus. It is the muscle “invisible” to the eye that is responsible for volume. Increasing, it affects and, as it were, inflates the upper one.
When running and walking, both muscles are used at once. Constant load does not always give the desired result. The main reasons for this may be the following:
- choosing workouts with too low an intensity;
- a similar effect, that is, the absence of volume gain, is achieved by an excess of loads;
- incorrectly selected training.
To correctly compile a set of training, it should be taken into account that the lower one (soleus) is worked out in a sitting position, and the one located above it (superficial) - in a standing position. To get maximum results, you need to use both the lower and upper muscles in the training.
The key to success is not the constant repetition of the same exercises, but hard training with weights. The regularity of classes should be moderate. It is recommended to train once or twice a week, but no more. Otherwise, it will cause overload and the result will be the opposite of the desired one.
The frequency of training should be such that the cardio loads present in the schedule, if any, are carried out before working with iron. It is best to work the calf muscles at the end of a leg workout, and start with the soleus, since it is stronger than the superficial one.
How to start calf training correctly
You should proceed to the actual exercises after warming up. A massage would be an excellent solution; you can do it yourself. There is no difficulty in kneading and massaging your calves yourself. In addition, you need to stretch your fingers and ankles. These “measures” are the prevention of sprains.
You need to start with the most simple exercises, which are warm-up exercises, can be performed at home.
Calf exercises at home
Starting position
Stand up, keep your back straight.
Execution
Rise up slowly onto your toes. Try to do this so that your heels are as high as possible. Next, take dumbbells. When it is difficult to maintain balance, you can hold on to the support with one hand and take only one weight.
To complicate the exercise, you can alternately perform it first on one and then on the other leg. The main thing is to do it with weights.
Perform the spring 3-4 approaches, 30 in each.
You need to do the exercise slowly.
Simple but effective exercise, the essence of which boils down to walking on toes for some time. The main thing is to try not to bend your knees.
Go up and down the steps until your muscles feel tired. You can just walk or step over the steps. It is better to alternate both approaches.
These exercises are very simple, do not require the use of exercise equipment, and can be easily performed at home.
Instead of a platform, you can use ladder degrees.
Starting position
Keeping your back straight, stand on the edge of the platform or on the step with your toes.
Execution
First rise on your tiptoes as high as possible, and then lower your heels all the way so that you can clearly feel the stretch of your ankle. You can lean against the wall with one hand and take a dumbbell in the other hand.
Change the position of your legs. Keep your feet parallel, then move your heels or spread your toes. A combined approach to the exercise will allow you to work different parts of your calves. The parallel position of the feet is aimed at developing the middle part, the shifted heels are on the inside, and the toes are on the outside.
A very complex and difficult exercise with a high load.
Starting position
Sit down, pick up dumbbells.
Execution
Jump as high as possible from the accepted position.
Gym complex
The exercises below are specific. They are aimed at separately pumping up both the superficial and soleus muscles, and are performed using simulators.
They are similar to those done using dumbbells at home, but are performed on a machine.
Starting position
Stand with your toes on the support step, and place your shoulders under the supports. At the same time, your heels should be lowered and tension should be felt in your calves.
Performance technique
Rise as high as possible on your toes.
Hold for a few seconds in the extreme position.
Toe press
They are done on a leg press machine, which is an extremely effective sports device that perfectly copes with working out all the muscles in the legs and pumping up the calves.
Starting position
Lying on the machine, straighten your legs, squeezing the platforms, fix the stops.
Performance technique
Remove the platform from the supports, squeeze it out with your toes, and return to its original position.
To avoid injury, use restraints.
Weights should be selected in the same way as plates when performing squats using a barbell. The optimal weight is one that allows you to perform a maximum of eight repetitions and no more than three or four sets.
The question of how to pump up calves mainly worries experienced athletes. In the beginning, everyone wants chest and biceps. But the time comes when the athlete begins to understand that a bodybuilder does not live by a single bit of punch)))
The biceps gastrocnemius muscle is located on the back of the lower leg and forms the top of the calf. With good relief, both of its heads are clearly separated. The soleus muscle is slightly wider than the gastrocnemius and is located directly below it.
A well-developed soleus can be seen on the sides and just below the gastrocnemius. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles together form the so-called group. ankle extensors. At the top, the gastrocnemius is attached to the femur, and the soleus is attached to the tibia and fibula. Below they “merge” into a single Achilles tendon, which is attached to the heel bone.
How to pump up your calves?
The calves are a very interesting muscle, and I would even say that they are just as sneaky as the forearm) The fact is that it is a muscle of genetics! I won’t lie to you like some modern publications and say that genetics doesn’t have much influence, and if you work hard, you’ll catch up with Mike Matarazzo or Dorian Yatz. This is a lie!
To be convinced of this, it is enough to take a closer look, for example, at everyone’s favorite women’s legs. If you look closely, you will see that the calf muscles, like all others, have a different structure, but unlike larger muscles, in the case of the calves this is actually a death sentence.
I once read an interview about Matarazzo, where they asked him how he achieved such calves. He replied that his father had even more (!) and he didn’t pump them at all...
In another interview, a bodybuilder with amazing calves was approached by a representative of a fitness equipment company and asked to advertise a calf machine. The exercise machine was the most ordinary one, like standing calf raises. What a surprise this man was when the girl approached the exercise machine, twirled around and asked: “How to use it?” He was shocked and immediately asked: How did you pump up such amazing calves if you don’t even know how to use this exercise machine? She replied that she just likes to run and doesn’t work out her calves at all!
The third example is from my practice. A thin, sweet girl came to my hall. When she changed into training shorts, I saw that her calves were almost bigger than her thighs! I asked her: How did you achieve this? How did you pump up your calves? She said that she had never played sports before!
This is me to confirm what I said about genetics. You must learn to set adequate goals, otherwise you will be disappointed!
But let's get back to the topic of calves. I understand that I upset you a little with my truth about the importance of genetics for calves, but, nevertheless, this is not a reason to completely abandon calf training. After all, anyone can make them look sporty!
How to pump up your calves - a little theory
One of the problems with calves is that they are one hell of a muscle! It works throughout the day and is therefore perfectly adapted to the load! Therefore, to pump it up, you need to use at least 4 sets and at least 20 repetitions! I warn you right away that the question of how to pump up your calves is a very painful one! The fact is that the calves, when you really load them hard, burn very badly! Therefore, you will have to endure it with tears in your eyes.
Extreme scheme for pumping up calves
In general, articles from the series: “How to pump up...?” my bodybuilding blog will be updated periodically and information will be added! It will not just be some typical schemes, but techniques that really work and that are difficult to find on the Internet!
If you answer the question “how to pump up your calves at home?”, then we can recommend one long-forgotten exercise, which will be described below.
Here is the first, in my opinion, very interesting scheme that I want to tell you about. There is such an interesting exercise as bent-over calf raises or, in common parlance, “Donkey.” Anyone who watched the famous film “Pump Iron” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, after which the whole of America began to become passionate about bodybuilding, probably remembers this moment:
This is the same donkey. The scheme is as follows: You need to do a “donkey” 8*20, with a weight (the weight in this case is a partner, who, if you don’t have enough, can take a couple of pancakes with him), which will make it unbearably hard for you already on the 4-5th set! When 8*20 comes “easy” to you (I don’t know how appropriate this word is for this exercise), work on quality. Try doing it more slowly. Then, immediately after the 8th approach, you can use SMS (maximum contraction system). This means that on the 8th approach, your partner sits on you with a stopwatch, and after 20 repetitions, you stand on your tiptoes (this is a shortened position for calves), as high as possible and hold in this position for 40 seconds! Very creepy scheme! Did you think it’s easy to pump up your calves?!
This exercise is where all the salt lies! After you have survived the 8*20 donkey, you can proceed to your regular program. In addition, I recommend doing seated calf raises using the same pattern (8*20) or so.
I will say again that the exercise is very difficult and painful, so take your time. To begin with, you can master 4 high-quality sets of 20 repetitions. Then add one set at a time. Cheating at the end is acceptable, but this does not mean that you should toss your partner throughout the entire exercise! This is an extreme technique and I do not recommend sitting on it for a long time. It is necessary in order to move things forward.
Many people also ask about how to pump up calves by running... The fact is that aerobic exercise mainly trains fast muscle fibers, which will not give you large volume. You can pump up big calves only with heavy weights.
As I already said, this article will be updated as soon as other effective and non-trivial approaches to pumping up muscles are noticed and tested! In the meantime, I wish you productive training!
Pump up your calves possible only if the person hyper-tro-fi-ro-valed all other muscle groups quite strongly. In general, if the calves are genetically good, then you don’t have to train them separately; they grow from squats and other basic leg exercises. If the calves have high attachment points, or if they have few muscle cells, then their hypertrophy is possible only together with the rest of the muscle groups. pa-mi, when using heavy approaches for 4-6 reps in special exercises. The specificity of the calf muscles is that they initially have more slow motor units than fast ones, which affects the difficulty of the nose -tyah with their hypertrophy.
It is not possible to pump up your calves by running, jumping rope, or multi-repetition approaches in exercise machines, although very often you can find recommendations for training the calf muscles in exactly this style. Yes, on athletes with well-defined calf muscles, this method of training will work, but their calves would already be hyper-tro-fi-ro-va-ny, even if -wouldn't they train them separately? In the case when small muscle groups are genetically well defined, the indirect load that they receive in basic exercises, and their special work is reduced to pumping, which makes it possible to improve their relief and increase the capillary new set. If you are wondering how to pump up your calves, then, obviously, you have problems with this, and in this case, pumping is not enough!
Exercises to train your calves
Basic exercises: We are talking, first of all, about squats with a barbell and deadlifts, but also about other types of squats and deadlifts, and about other strength exercises. The fact is that the lagging muscles always remain lagging, no matter what you do, no matter how you pump them, the lagging muscles will lag behind. You can look at professional bodybuilders to see this. People are already up to date, have tried all the methodological instructions, but even they have muscles that “you-go.” The only thing that can be done is to hypertrophy muscle volumes as much as possible, so that genetically poorly defined muscles become larger, and their -nie” has become less noticeable.
Calf raises: This large group exercises for the soleus muscle and the biceps muscle of the leg, which can be performed sitting, standing, bending over, shifting the load to one or another muscle, but the essence of all these exercises is one thing - stand on your toes . If you want to pump up your calves, then you need to perform these exercises for 4-6 reps with heavy weight until failure. It goes without saying that the technique of performing the exercise differs quite a bit from the classical one, which is recommended for beginners and used for pumping. You should not lower your heel below your toe, because in such a technique you will not be able to work “from top to bottom.” You need to stand on your toes from parallel with a powerful force, then lower your heel to parallel and repeat the exercise as many times as possible, for 4 times. 6 repetitions you have reached “failure”.
Toe pushes: They are also represented by a fairly large group of exercises, but the most effective of them is the platform toe press. In this case, you will also exercise in a strength style, if your task is to pump up your calves, since you can really hypertrophy the slow ones. motor units in such a way that they would affect muscle volumes is impossible. Yes, if there are no problems with the calves, then we re-co-men-du-em train them in large quantities repetitions, but if the goal is to turn inter-precise muscle cells into fast ones, namely, this is not about de-ho-di-mo de- When any muscle lags behind, they need to be trained in a high-tension style, reaching “failure” in 4-6 repetitions.
There are several ways to reduce calves in girls: liposuction, drying, weight loss. The best option is selected individually, based on the woman’s desires. To achieve a quick result in the fight against calf muscle volume, it is recommended to use several methods at once.
How to remove fat from calves
Many women who are impressed by thinness want to always be slim, fit and beautiful.
To achieve this result, they go on diets, exhaust themselves with long daily workouts, intense physical activity, and actively play sports several days a week.
At the same time overweight goes away, but the problem of thick calf areas, which cannot be reduced instantly, remains unresolved. What to do in this case?
Attention!
The lower leg is always under heavy load; subcutaneous fat acts as a protective barrier, so the female body uses it up very slowly.
How to reduce calves in this case? Experts recommend doing gymnastics, practicing several times a month fast run, perform jumps, stop eating carbohydrates and limit vegetable fats in your diet.
Walking, regular walks, squats, and their comprehensive strengthening will help reduce large shins.
The main ways to make your calves thinner:
- sports, a set of specially designed exercises;
- drying, stretching;
- liposuction;
- massage.
Before choosing the appropriate method that will allow you to achieve thin calves, it is necessary to establish the cause of the fullness. These could be:
- regular swelling of the limbs;
- genetic predisposition;
- gait;
- accumulated fat.
Over-pumped calf muscles are an equally serious problem that arises from excessive stress on the legs (you can pump up the calf muscles if you set aside minimal time for stretching). How to reduce calves if they are overly pumped:
- Exercise 1: sitting on the floor, tilt your legs towards your toes, pull your toes towards you, then away from you. Hold them in each position for one minute. Perform 3 approaches - this way you can reduce the volume of the problem area by 1 - 2 centimeters.
- Exercise 2: In a standing position, bend one leg, put the other one slightly forward, pull the toe towards you, bend towards the straight leg, stand in this position for 30 seconds, then change legs. This exercise will help reduce the problem area after 5-6 sessions.
You can reduce inflated calves if:
- reduce the load on your legs;
- exclude long-term performance of the same type of exercises;
- Replace running with walking;
- Before each workout, stretch your muscles well;
- periodically resort to drying.
How to quickly lose weight in your calves
If the calf muscles appear thick due to the accumulation of excess fat, it is recommended to go on a diet to reduce them.
A set of specially selected exercises that can be performed at home will also help you quickly lose weight in your calves.
Exercises for calves
Pay attention to the beautiful legs of ballet dancers or gymnasts - their calf muscles do not contain anything superfluous and can be considered the standard of beauty and perfection. The following exercises to reduce your calves will help you quickly solve the problem:
- you need to stand up straight, spread your legs hip-width apart, take a deep breath, and as you exhale rise on your toes (at first it is recommended to perform this exercise for the calves 20 times, over time the number of repetitions can be increased to 30 to reduce the problem area by a few centimeters);
- Having taken the same position, spread your feet to the sides, transfer your body weight to one leg, bend the other at the knee, inhale, rise onto your toes, do the exercise alternately on each leg at least 15 times.
Calf stretch
How to remove calves on legs using this method? To begin with, as experienced trainers advise, you need to thoroughly warm up your muscles to prepare them for intense exercise. Otherwise, you may get injured or sprained. It is recommended to perform the following exercises daily:
- exercise 1: stand facing the wall, step back with one leg, fix the heel, roll the body forward so that the knee moves towards the wall, hold the position for thirty seconds, repeat with the other leg;
- exercise 2: sit on the floor, stretch your legs, bend over, straighten your back, lean on your hands from behind, fix the pose for thirty seconds (this stretching of the calves will help relax tight muscles and make them more flexible).
Drying the calf muscles
How to reduce calves this way? It is necessary to change the mode of water consumption and nutrition. At the same time, do not forget that drying the calf muscles is not losing weight, but getting rid of subcutaneous fat while maintaining muscle mass.
Fats and carbohydrates, which are deposited in the form of liquid, creating unnecessary volume, should be excluded from the diet. The fewer carbohydrates a person consumes, the faster fat is burned.
To improve the effect, it is important to use various aids and vitamin complexes.
Calf liposuction
Before reducing your calves in this way, you need to evaluate all its pros and cons.
What is calf liposuction? This is a surgical operation during which the shape of the calf muscles is corrected, allowing you to quickly reduce their volume without grueling training.
It involves preliminary liquefying subcutaneous fat with a special solution and removing it from the body. Disadvantages of liposuction:
- the need to use anesthesia, which will help facilitate the operation and reduce pain;
- the presence of a number of contraindications;
- long recovery period;
- high cost of the procedure.
Calf massage
This method of reducing the calf muscles helps to relax the tight muscles and makes them flexible. Massage of calves is carried out for 15 – 20 minutes.
It has a strengthening, restorative effect, normalizes blood circulation, prevents swelling, relieves fatigue and a feeling of heaviness.
Before reducing the volume of the calf muscles by resorting to massage, you must first consult with a specialist.
Video: how to lose weight in your calves
The information you can get from the videos below will help you get skinny legs in a short time. A set of exercises and general rules which are recommended to be followed will be useful to all women who at least look perfect. If you follow these recommendations, you can achieve excellent results in one to two months.
Source: http://sovets.net/10646-kak-umenshit-ikry.html
How to quickly and effectively pump up your calves, a complex with photos and videos
The person becomes harmoniously developed and attractive, if equally distributes physical activity over all parts of the body.
Agree, an athlete with a pumped-up upper body and underdeveloped calf muscles looks funny and ridiculous. Unfortunately, bodybuilders often ignore the calf muscles.
Today in the article we will understand what the calf muscles are, where they are located, what parts they consist of, why they should be pumped up by a person who wants to have an athletic figure, we will look at some exercises for the calves, we will find out how achieve better results Thanks to training and nutrition, we will find out how to pump up the calves of men and girls!
Anatomy and function of the calf muscles
There is such a thing as triceps surae muscle. Includes the gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris muscles, which form the visible contour of the lower leg. They all connect into one Achilles tendon and are attached in the heel area.
They perform approximately the same Features: flexion, extension of the foot, stabilization of the body in vertical position when walking, rising on tiptoes. The gastrocnemius muscle is involved in flexion of the knee joint and is the main muscle during walking and running.
We can see it because it covers the rest of the muscles of the leg. Works when the leg is straight at the knee, for example, standing calf raises.
As soon as we bend the leg, the tension of the muscle weakens, it practically turns off from work and the soleus turns on.
The soleus muscle is located under the gastrocnemius closer to outside shins. It is much larger in size than the calf and creates more volume in the ankles.
The triceps surae muscle consists of 50% slow muscle fibers. Slow muscle fibers are rich in mitochondria. Mitochondria quickly process lactic acid and provide muscles with the necessary energy. The muscles do not have time to “acidify” - walking and running do not bring us discomfort.
The lower leg is one of the strongest and most resilient muscles in the human body.
Fast twitch muscle fibers occupy the remaining 50% of the calf muscles. They are easy to hypertrophy, which is why we will deal with them.
- Before starting the exercises, you should thoroughly stretch the muscles, joints of the ankles and feet. This is necessary so that the muscles and joints warm up slightly and become softer. This way you will protect yourself from injury.
- You should perform calf exercises once or twice a week. You shouldn’t overuse the calf muscles, as they bear a lot of load in everyday life, and any muscle group needs to be given rest for a good result.
- The weight must be at least 50% of the maximum weight.
- Four to five working approaches.
- The number of repetitions is from 20 to 30.
- In the breaks between approaches (5 - 10 minutes), you can work out other muscle groups (chest, shoulders or arms).
- Cardio exercises are best done before training the calf muscles. This can be a kind of warm-up.
- After training, do stretching and massage. Stretch the muscles you worked on, this will help make the muscles more elastic and stronger.
- Eat a balanced diet. Try to consume at least 6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of weight, approximately 2 grams of protein. Season your salads vegetable oils or natural yoghurts. Eliminate simple carbohydrates, sweet and carbonated drinks, trans fats and excess protein in your diet.
The right solution would be to combine exercises for the buttocks, front, back of the thigh and calf muscles in one workout.
You should work on the calf muscles at the end, and the article of the same name will help you solve the important question of how to pump up your legs at home.
Calf exercises at home
Below are some tips on how to pump up your calves at home, without going to the gym at all.
Running will answer the question: how to quickly pump up your calves. This is a universal sport! Almost all muscles are involved. It will help you not only quickly pump up your calves, but also tone your whole body.
Run with pleasure at any time convenient for you.
Can be performed both at home and outdoors. Jump until your calves burn.
A very simple and at the same time effective exercise. Lift your heels off the floor as high as you can and walk around the house on your toes in small steps, like a ballerina.
Stand straight, lift your heels off the floor and slowly rise up. As you inhale, lower yourself down without touching the floor and repeat again. You can do it 100 times in a row, or you can divide it into approaches.
Pick up weights (dumbbells, water bottles).
Stand on the edge of a thick book, step or step. Lower your heel as far as possible (this will help you stretch your calf muscles better) and rise onto your toes.
Try doing these lifts while standing on one leg.
Seated calf raises are necessary for working the soleus muscles.
- Sit on a chair;
- place a weight on your knees (a pot of water or sit the child down);
- slowly lift your heel off the floor to its maximum height;
- slowly lower your heel down.
Perform 4 sets of 30 repetitions.
As you can see, pumping up your calves at home is not that difficult. Choose any of the above methods, and your calf muscles will very soon take on the desired shape.
Calf exercises in the gym
In the gym, they perform the same calf raises, but using special equipment. Below are some exercises to work your calf muscles in the gym.
Muscles worked: gastrocnemius, quadratus dorsi, back extensors.
- Set the required weight on the machine;
- stand with your toes on the edge of the platform of the simulator, your heels should be behind its edge, place your shoulders under the support rollers;
- straighten your body and knees in one line;
- while inhaling, lower your heels down, feel how the calf muscle is completely stretched;
- as you exhale, straighten your lower leg at the ankle joint, rise on your toes as high as possible;
- at the top point, pause for two seconds;
- while inhaling, return to the starting position.
While performing the exercise, tense your abdominal and back muscles, keep your body motionless. Don't bend your knees. Do not spring at the bottom point; try to perform the exercise smoothly, without jerking.
In this exercise, the calf muscles are stretched to the maximum due to the tilt of the body. In this position it works more efficiently. The axial load on the lower back is reduced, the back is fixed and does not swing. This, by the way, is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorite exercises.
This exercise is great because due to bent knees, the calf muscles are not involved, and all the load falls on the soleus muscles.
- Sit on the seat of the exercise machine, distribute the weight on the pelvic bones;
- place your toes on the edge of the platform, your heels should be behind its edge;
- place your hips under the pads of the machine;
- remove the stopper;
- while inhaling, lower your heels as far as possible, stretching the muscles and tendons;
- As you exhale, lift your heel up, strain your soleus muscles, and hold the position for two seconds at the top point.
Perform the exercise with a straight back and your abs tense.
We do not recommend that you roll your socks in or out to shift the load. The load changes minimally, and the risk of injury in the ankle or knee joints increases significantly! Take care of your joints - place your feet parallel to each other!
The presented video will clearly introduce you to calf exercises, implementation options, and possible mistakes.
Regularity remains an important factor in training the calf muscles. Don't skip training, and amazing results will not keep you waiting. Listen to the advice of professionals, choose best exercises for yourself.
Do you include calf exercises in your workouts? Which of the presented ones do you like best? Share your experiences and impressions in the comments.
Source: http://www.davajpohudeem.com/sport/uprashneniya/nogi/kak-nakachat-ikry.html
How to pump up your calves at home? Effective exercises
We pump up the calf muscles yourself at home
This article describes exercises and detailed recommendations for pumping up calves for both beginners and advanced athletes.
How to pump up your calves at home
Civilization not only gave man benefits, but also added a number of problems. Among them, oddly enough, are improperly formed leg muscles, especially the calves. What does civilization have to do with it, you ask? And besides, we began to walk much less.
Public transport and personal cars have taken away from us the treasured 10,000 steps a day, which we so need for beauty and health.
The result is weak and unaesthetic calf muscles, with complexes about this in addition.
More and more girls can boast of frail cellulite sticks instead of beautiful female legs. And we won’t say anything about men at all: chicken legs sticking out of shorts look even more disgusting, especially if a carcass of impressive dimensions rises above them.
Even boys now prefer virtual football to real football and wait in the morning, shifting at the door from one thin leg to another, for their parent to drop them off at school, instead of walking five hundred meters.
However, the problem of thin calves can be solved, like many things in our lives. And you can solve it without leaving your home. You just need a little patience and time.
Exercises that form beautiful calf muscles
Girls should pay attention to the legs of dancers and gymnasts. It is in their legs that they have everything and there is nothing superfluous. Such perfection is achieved through repeated exercises and proper load.
Rhythmic gymnasts, for example, do not use any additional sports equipment during training at all, using only their body weight, including pumping up their calves.
To do this, their daily training arsenal contains exercises that are remarkably effective.
Springs
- We stand straight and slowly rise up on our toes, lifting our heels to the maximum possible height. Then we slowly lower our heels almost to the floor and immediately go up again. And so 3-4 sets of 30 times or just 100 times in a row.
- We take weights in our hands - small dumbbells or bottles of water - and do the same springy calf raises. If you can’t keep your balance, take the load in one hand and hold the wall or the back of a chair with the other.
- Very complex “springs” are done alternately on one or the other leg. You can also do it with weights 4 times 30 times.
Find out here whether you can drink water during training
Stand lifts
A step platform, a thick encyclopedia, or just a step will be needed for the next exercise. Stand with your toes on the step, leaving your heels in the air. Now rise “on tiptoes” and then lower down, stretching your ankle to the limit, touching your heels to the floor.
On a step or step platform, you have the opportunity to maneuver: you can adjust the angle of rotation of the foot and work exactly the part of the calf that is needed. Girls often need to pump up the inside of their calves.
If you keep your feet parallel when performing insteps, then the middle part of the muscles will receive more load; if the heels are together and the toes apart, then the inner part will work more, but vice versa - the heels apart, the toes together - load the outer part of the calf muscles.
Men's platform lift: Lift up with maximum range of motion while holding a dumbbell in one hand and using the other hand against a wall for balance.
Walking on toes
The simplest and most accessible exercise everywhere: walking on your toes, like a ballerina. Rise high on your tiptoes and walk in small steps, almost without bending your knees.
Walking up the stairs
A great way to pump up your calves, this time without leaving your front door. Find out at what time the movement of residents in your entrance subsides and go ahead! Up and down the stairs. You can do it over a step and with dumbbells. 15-30 minutes will be enough.
Jumping rope
Everything is clear here. If your living space allows, take a jump rope and jump until your calves burn. This is an exercise from the arsenal of gymnasts and boxers.
Jumping with a load
Jump up from a squat while holding dumbbells in your hands. This is another exercise that puts a serious strain on the calves.
Squats with a load
In your hands are dumbbells or a six-liter canister of water, in your legs there is a burning sensation from repeated repetition of the same action: squats.
Seated calf raises
It is imperative to pump up your calves while sitting, because this is the only way to pump up the soleus muscle, hidden from view, which gives three-quarters of the volume to the calves. Exercises done while standing put stress on the outer calf muscle, but this is only a quarter of the volume.
Sit on a chair, grab a can of water, or sit your child on your lap. Raise your feet on your toes. If after 15 repetitions your shins “burn”, then you took the right weight. The exercise is performed slowly.
Pistol
Remember this exercise from physical education lessons at school? Surely you remember. True, it is difficult to do, so it is suitable for advanced athletes.
Hold onto something with your hand and, with one leg extended forward, squat down on the other as many times as you can.
Running
Jogging (how to breathe properly when running) will help pump up your calves very quickly. Do not neglect this method, especially in good weather.
Bicycle, skiing, tennis, rollerblading, skating - activities that develop the calf muscles
Any of the above sports is “calf-forming” and gives amazing results for the leg muscles. So buy roller skates or a racket and pump up the muscles you need while enjoying a fun, non-boring sport. True, this time you won’t be able to sit at home.
Find out here. how to make dumbbells with your own hands
- Before doing a set of exercises to develop your calves, be sure to stretch the joints of your ankles and fingers and warm up the muscles themselves.
- After exercise, be sure to stretch your calf muscles. To do this, take a wide step back, placing your heel on the floor and leaning your body forward. Stretch for 10-20 seconds with each leg.
- The range of motion when performing exercises should be maximum.
- The load needs to be changed. Vary the exercises and load, otherwise addiction will occur, which will reduce the effect of the exercises.
- You need to train your calves two or three times a week, giving the muscles time to recover.
- Aerobics should be done at the beginning of the workout, and strength training on the calves should be completed. This is the only way to achieve calf growth.
- If you transfer weight to your thumbs when lifting, the load on the muscles will be better.
- To further complicate the exercises and pump up men's calves, hold for five counts at the top of the lift.
- When pumping up your calves, the main thing is not to overdo it and not overwork the muscles, otherwise you can bring yourself to cramps. And this is at least unpleasant.
The calf muscles are difficult to pump up, since we use them constantly, and by nature they have great endurance. They respond slowly to the load and do not immediately provide a noticeable increase in volume. For stable results in the growth of these muscles, you will have to work hard.
For good results, you need to do the exercises regularly.
But how beautiful well-shaped calf muscles look in both men and women! Especially if you start forming them from childhood.