Many runners fail to realise the importance of strong calves in helping reduce injury and increase performance. The calf muscles play a huge role in running, handling up to eight times our body weight with each step, so for most of us there will come a time when some extra strength work will be necessary to fuel our quest of running further and faster.
If you are not already incorporating some form of calf strengthening into a twice a week strength training program, now is probably a good time to start (making sure you check with a health professional if you have any doubts).
Don’t forget to check out the “seated calf raise” videos too as the soleus calf muscle works even harder than the gastrocnemius in running.
NOTE: In cases of Achilles tendinopathy where the aggravated part of the tendon is close to the attachment point on the heel (referred to as insertional Achilles tendinopathy), allowing the heel to drop over the side of a step during calf raises may actually delay recovery. See our other video: “Seated Calf Raise for Runners – No Step.”
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