7 Best Strength Exercises for Women to Get Stronger Calves
How can women strengthen their calves? There are tons of exercises out there that target the legs and develop them, but most leg exercises for women focus on toning thighs. To be fair, calf muscles can be relatively harder to target, but building calves is not impossible.
If you’re wondering why these small muscles we call calves are so important, they provide the base for the whole leg. Calves are essential to movements like walking, running, and jogging. So, even though they can be tricky to work on, they must never be neglected.
Best exercises for women to strengthen calves
Here are the seven best exercises for you to really strengthen and sculpt those stubborn calves:
1) Standing double-leg calf raises
This is the most basic yet effective exercise you can do for your calves. You can perform these as a bodyweight exercise, or you can choose to hold dumbbells in either hand. Calf workouts with dumbbells are a great way to build hypertrophy.
Here's how to do standing double-leg calf raises correctly:
- Stand straight with your feet hip-distance apart. To challenge yourself, you can stand with the top half of your feet on the edge of a step or weighted plates.
- Slowly raise your heels, so your body is essentially standing on your toes. Pause for a second when you have raised yourself to the highest you can.
- Lower your heels to the ground, back to the starting position.
- Continue this for 10 to 12 repetitions.
2) Standing single-leg calf raises
This exercise mimics the movement of the regular standing calf raise. However, it is performed precariously on one leg, adding more tension to the calves.
Here's how to do standing single-leg calf raises correctly:
- Stand straight with your feet hip-distance apart and raise one leg up. You can hold it out in front of you or even bend your leg slightly, so your foot hovers behind you. Ensure you have something to hold on to as you perform this exercise, preferably a wall.
- Raise your heels, so your body is essentially standing on your toes. Pause for a second when you have raised yourself to the highest you can.
- Lower your heels back down to the ground, back to the position you started in.
- Continue this for 10 to 12 repetitions on each leg.
3) Seated calf raises
Most fitness centers have a dedicated machine for seated calf raises. Alternatively, this calf muscle exercise can be done with just a bench and some weights.
Here's how to do seated calf raises correctly:
- Sit on a bench with your feet on the floor. You may use plates or a step bench below the top portion of your foot to make it more challenging.
- Place a dumbbell on each of your thighs and hold them in place.
- Slowly raise your heels, so the weight is shifted to your toes. Pause for a second when you have raised your knees to the highest you can.
- Lower your heels back down to the ground, back to the position you started in.
- Continue this for 10 to 12 repetitions.
4) Leg press calf raises
An easier way to say 'calf raises on a leg press machine,' leg press calf raises mimic the movement of the regular calf raise. However, you would have to seat yourself in a leg press machine to do a calf press.
Here's how to do leg press calf raises correctly:
- Seat yourself into a leg press machine at the gym. Make sure the weights loaded onto it aren't too heavy.
- Place your feet on the platform and push it up. Remove the locks on the machine and adjust your feet so that the top portion of your feet is at the bottom of the platform.
- Point your toes forward and push the platform forward. Pause for a second when your foot is stretched forward completely.
- Relax your feet and allow them to return to the starting position.
- Continue this for 10 to 12 repetitions.
5) Squatting heel raise
Heal elevated squats not only works on the calves but also the entire leg as you attempt to hold yourself in a squat position.
Here's how to do a squatting heel raise correctly:
- With your feet hip-distance apart, get into a deep squat position. You may hold onto a wall in front of you.
- Maintain the position and raise your heels slowly, so all your weight is borne by the top portion of your feet. Pause for a second when you have raised yourself to the highest you can.
- Lower your heels back down to the ground, back to the position you started in.
- Continue this for 10 to 12 repetitions.
6) Squats with heel raise
This is a 2-in-1 exercise that combines squats and calf raises. This is a great exercise to strengthen your glute muscles, quads, hamstrings, and calves. It will also allow you to generate more force when performing a calf raise.
Here's how to do a squat with a heel raise correctly:
- Stand straight with your feet hip-distance apart.
- Push your hips back and lower yourself into a deep squat, keeping your back straight by engaging your core.
- Thrust yourself back up to a standing position, and continue upward till you are standing on your toes.
- Lower yourself back down into a squat and continue the movement for 12 to 15 reps.
7) Climbing stairs on toes
All you need for this exercise is a staircase. You could even use the calorie burning StairMaster. This is a great way to build on endurance, as climbing stairs isn’t always the easiest to do.
Here's how to climb stairs on toes correctly:
- Stand straight in front of the stairs.
- Place the top edge of your right foot on the first stair, and hoist yourself up.
- As you raise yourself, stand on your toes, so the weight is shifted to your right toes.
- Bring your left leg forward and place the top of it on the next step, repeat the movement, and so on.
- Continue the movement for 12 to 15 reps on each leg.
Now that you have all this information on developing your calves, it’s time to put it into practice. Incorporate these calf strengthening exercises for calves into your next leg day routines and watch as your calves begin to take shape.
You should be able to walk, run, and even jump better. Don’t forget to stretch right after making the most of your reps. We want you to walk better, not impair your movements.
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Rachel Syiemlieh