Leg training: Calf Workout: Top 5 Exercises for Building Bigger Calves

Want to build bigger and stronger calves? Here’s an incredible calf workout routine that’s sure to add size to your leg muscles. Bigger calves not only look physically appealing, but they also help you attain explosiveness and power.

Moreover, they make plyometrics, running, and other leg thrust activities easier and absolutely pain-free as well. Weak calves, meanwhile, limit overall lower body mobility and also increase chances of Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and so on. So, for all these reasons, it's important to train the calves regularly.

In this article, we’ve rounded up an effective calf workout routine that will not only strengthen the leg muscles but also increase their mobility and size, and improve the functioning of the lower body as a whole.

Top exercises to add to your calf workout routine

Here're five exercises:

1) Standing calf raise

The calf raise exercise builds strong leg muscles. (Photo via Unsplash/Jenny Hill)

This effective calf workout increases calf size by focusing on the largest muscle in the calf i.e., gastrocnemius. Initially, start with no weights, but as you gain strength, do the standing calf raise with weights on your sides.

To do a standing calf raise:

Stand tall on a flat surface with your feet at a shoulder-width distance. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, and keep your shoulders and knees relaxed.
Slowly raise your heels off the floor while engaging the abs and bringing the shoulder blades back.
Hold for a second at the top, and bring your heels back to the floor.
Repeat the exercise for 15 reps.
You can also do this exercise one leg at a time for an extra challenge.

2) Seated calf raise

The seated calf raise is another very beneficial calf workout that's necessary to attain complete calf development. This exercise primarily targets the soleus – lower muscles of the calf.

To do a seated calf raise:

Sit straight with the machine pads resting on the upper thighs and feet flat on the machine’s platform.
Raise your heels, and squeeze your calves at the top.
Lower them down, and repeat.

3) Jump squat

Another very effective calf workout, the jump squat targets the calves and upper leg muscles as well. It's an easy exercise that can be made a part of any full body workout. Practicing jump squats regularly helps improve explosive power and builds muscle quickly.

To do a jump squat:

Assume a standard squat position with your hips pushed back and knees bent.
From there, propel yourself up, and jump as high as you can while bringing your hands in the front as you do so.
Land softly on the balls of your feet in a squat position, and immediately move into another rep.
Repeat the move a few more times.

To make the exercise more challenging, you can hold a dumbbell in both hands.

4) Farmers carry on toes

Farmer's carry improve grip strength. (Photo via Pexels/Tima Miroshnichenko)

This is one of the best calf exercises with dumbbells that build calf muscles and also increases hypertrophy. Moreover, it improves balance and works on grip strength as well.

To do a farmers carry on toes:

Stand with an upright posture, and grab a dumbbell in each hand.
Rise on your toes, and start to walk forward for a few seconds, staying as high as you can on your toes.
As you walk, squeeze your calf muscles, and keep your abs engaged.
Walk back and forth a few times while maintaining an upright posture and staying high on your toes.

5) Plie squat with heel raise

This calf workout is a combination of a heel raise and a wide squat. It primarily targets calves, thighs, core, and glutes, making it a very effective compound exercise.

To do a plie squat with heel raise:

Take a wide stance position with your feet wider than hip distance and turned outward. Grab a dumbbell in each hand in front of the shoulders, with the palms facing inward.
Raise your right heel off the floor while keeping your left foot stable and flat.
Without moving your arms or heels, bend your knees, and lower into a squat. Pause and return to the starting position.
Complete a few reps with your right heel raised; switch sides, and continue the exercise.
Complete ten reps on each side.

Takeaway

The aforementioned calf workout routine can be done twice a week in a sequence, or you can mix and match the exercises depending on your fitness level and goals. When doing these exercises, though, make sure to keep your form right, and do not overtrain your legs too much too quickly, as that can lead to severe pain the next day. Also, do not forget to warm up before starting your training.