mom sectionmom section
An attractive woman is described in many ways: a pretty face, nice figure, great legs. The first two descriptions may fade with the years, but a great pair of legs can go on forever. To make your legs stand out and receive compliments, you want to exercise every part, but the most obvious part of your legs is usually the calves. To look sexy in shorts, skirts and on the beach, exercise your calf muscles to make your calf look thinner and more toned. Before starting any exercise routine, consult your doctor and warm up properly.
Taping a calf muscle with athletic tape can prevent strain-related injury, but it can also ease the pain once the injury has occurred. The calf muscle can be taped to focus solely on the calf itself or as part of a larger unit of calf and Achilles tendon support. Depending on the nature of your injury, you can still engage in sports and fitness activities while wearing athletic tape. Many professional athletes wear athletic tape to support their commonly strained muscles during a game or match.
The inner calf muscle, called the soleus, is located behind the two gastrocnemius muscles in the lower leg. It is important to keep it well developed to avoid strain when walking or running. Train your inner calf muscle with a few basic exercises. Do them twice a week, and you'll notice an increase in the size and strength of the muscle.
Tight calves are often caused by excessive plantar flexion of the ankle joint. When the heel is constantly lifted up, the muscle fibers and connective tissues in the calves are shortened, causing a constant flow of neural stimulation to the area. A combination of stretching, ankle- and hip-mobility exercises, self-massage and dry sauna treatment can alleviate tight calf muscles, suggests physical therapist Gray Cook, author of the "Athletic Body in Balance."
Nothing interrupts a satisfying run quite as abruptly as a calf muscle cramp. This common runner's malady strikes quickly and produces a sudden, sharp pain in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the leg's calf area. The causes for calf cramps can be tied to factors such as hydration, nutrition and muscle condition. If you follow certain guidelines, you can reduce the likelihood that you will fall prey to this painful condition.
Calf muscles and the fleshy back part of the your lower leg begin behind the knee and extend down to your Achilles tendon. Building bigger calf muscles balances the body by adding weight and dimension to the lower part of your leg. Perform these simple exercises at home using small dumbbells. The weight is necessary to increase the workload in order to build bigger muscles. As you progress and become stronger, increase the weight.
Your calf muscle is actually made up of two major muscles: the gastrocnemius and the soleus. Visible on the outside of your lower leg, the gastrocnemius muscle raises your heel when your leg is straight, a motion known as plantar flexion. The soleus, which lies beneath the gastrocnemius, raises your heel when your knee is bent. To add calf muscle, perform weight-training exercises that work each muscle. Perform three to six sets of eight to 12 reps of each exercise twice a week to maximize muscle size gains.
Your calf muscles function with the muscles in your hip, upper legs and feet to accelerate or decelerate during running or jumping. Muscles grow through anaerobic exercises. These type of exercises are high intensity in nature, yet you cannot do them for a long period of time because of lactic acid build-up from a lack of oxygen. Juan Carlos Santana, director of the Institute of Human Performance, recommends that you do a combination of power exercises with proper recovery to maximize calf muscle growth.
A strained calf muscle is very common, not just in track and field but in other sports as well. A strained calf muscle occurs when the muscle is forcibly stretched beyond its limits, resulting in a tear. This tear is referred to as a strain. Strains are graded in three levels, with the most severe level taking the most recovery time. If you follow the prescribed regimen for treatment of your strained calf muscle, your recovery will still take time, but it will be far less than if you had not treated it.
A pain in your calf could be as minor as a sore muscle or as serious as a tear in the muscle. Learn how to tell the difference, and how to treat them accordingly, with the useful tips provided by a physical trainer in this free video on how to tell if you tore a calf muscle.
Toning shoes claimed a $275 million share of the shoe market just in the first four months of 2010, proving that the American public loves shoes that multitask, toning calves while you walk. The shoes imitate the experience of walking on sand, forcing the wearer to stabilize her steps, which inevitably firms calf, back, abdominal and buttock muscles all at once. While the companies who developed these shoes cite extensive research backing their claims, some critics and doctors remain uncertain of their results. Nevertheless, six of the top 10 athletic shoes, as of May 2010, were toners, touting their popularity…
Calves are not usually considered one of the body's major muscle groups, but dedicated trainers know better than to neglect them. Strong, toned calves don't just look great, they also strengthen the ankles, enhance agility and provide athletes with an edge in any sport that involves running, jumping or bouncing. Performing a few key exercises regularly will develop and tone your calf muscles for great-looking legs that can go the extra mile.
Strong calves are important for any activity--walking, running, skiing. Working the calf muscles involves some of the most simple exercises, and these muscles can be trained rigorously, with quick results. It's a good idea, however, to give the calves a day or two rest between tough workouts. You can also perform gentle exercises and see excellent results. As with any exercise, warm up first, then exercise those calves at home or in the gym. No equipment is needed. Just spend a few minutes a day and notice the difference in a couple of weeks.
When exercising your different muscle groups, it's important to not neglect the calf muscles. For the most part, calf muscles are easy to build. Calf raises are an exercise that will work out the calves without using any sort of exercise equipment. Because equipment isn't needed, calf raises can be performed at home.
Working the calf muscle involves using a seated calf machine designed to isolate the calf muscle only. Get a good stretch when working out the calf muscles with advice from a personal trainer in this free video on leg exercises.
Calf muscles have a lot to do with genetics, but there are some simple exercises out there to help slim them down for you. Discover how you can get slimmer calf muscles with tips from a personal trainer in this free video on personal fitness.
The calf is made up of two muscles--the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The gastrocnemius is the larger, outer muscle that gives the calf its shape. The soleus is deeper but works with the gastrocnemius to extend the foot. The best way to strengthen the calf muscles is by doing bodyweight exercises that extend the foot, like calf raises and toe walking.
Attaining a quality physique is not strictly about attaining additional size or muscularity at any cost--it is about achieving the ideal proportion to create the image of a perfectly sculpted body. While in many cases this involves actively attempting to increase the size or density of a muscle, in others it requires a concerted effort to reduce the size of disproportionate muscles, bringing the body back into balance with your concept of the ideal figure. Reducing the size of your calf muscles will take some effort, but it will be well worth it in the end.
Strong calf muscles can help you to run faster, jump higher, move more quickly and kick harder. The two primary muscles in the calf are the gastrocnemius and soleus, and they both work to lift the heel. The main difference is that the soleus is the main muscle that lifts the heels when the knee is bent, whereas the gastrocnemius raises the heel when the leg is extended and the knees are straight. Exercising both will help build your calf muscles. Consistent exercise, along with proper diet and cardiovascular activitiy, will achieve the results you desire.
The two primary muscle groups that make up the calves are the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles. It's more difficult to get huge calves than it is to get explosive power in your calves. But if you do the right combination of exercises, you'll be on your way. You'll feel your calves burning in only a few sets, but don't expect to see results immediately. Calves, like every other muscle in your body, take a long time to build up, so be patient and practice healthy exercising.
The size of your calf muscles depends on their strength as well as your genetics. Though bulkier calf muscles are often synonymous with stronger calf muscles, you may not like how they look. If so, you can take steps to slim your calm muscles. If you are genetically prone to large calf muscles, you may not be able to drastically alter their size, however, you can certainly make some small improvements. For more extreme results, you can get cosmetic surgery to slim down your calf muscles.
The most important muscles to build for basketball include quads, calf, hamstrings and triceps muscles. Learn why these muscles are important when playing basketball in this free video from a semiprofessional basketball player.
To get huge calf muscles, work the muscle in three different angles every time you exercise. Get huge calf muscles with tips from a fitness specialist in this free video on toning and building muscle.
To tone the calf muscles, rotate between the three position exercises every time you're at the gym. Tone calf muscles with tips from a fitness specialist in this free video on toning and building muscle.
Strong, toned calf muscles flatter the legs of both men and women. But you do not need to head out to the gym, or invest in any heavy fitness equipment to build up your calf muscles. Seated calf raises combined with standing calf raises can both be accomplished with the help of a sturdy kitchen chair. The exercises are both very effective and will provide the toning that is needed to achieve strong calf muscles.
What we call a "calf" muscle is really made up of three different muscles: the gastrocnemius, the plantaris, and the soleus. All of these muscles are found in the lower rear part of the leg, and their primary function is to lift the heel bone up when you are moving forward.
Heel raise exercises are great for building calf muscles. Learn how to do heel raises in this free fitness video.
Calf muscles add great definition to your legs, when they are conditioned properly. Perform as many or as few reps of this easy calf raise exercise whenever time allows.
Being able to stay in shape while at work is foremost on people's minds these days. With the tremendous amount of hours we spend working we need to find ways to work out while at work. One of the easiest work outs to do at work is to tone your calf muscles while at work. Use these simple steps to tone your calf muscles while you are at work today.
You've been working on improving the size of your legs for weeks, months, or even years, at this point. Maybe you've found that your quadriceps and hamstrings are growing at a rapid pace from repeated sets of squats and dead lifts. You find that you're pleased when you flex your legs in the mirror, but can't seem to shake the feeling that some thing's lacking. Sporting those brand new cargo shorts only serve to further that notion, and you're beginning to doubt your leg workout. Fear not, as a multitude of men find it difficult to improve the quality and…
Get your legs looking great by summer. Tone the broad, flat soleus muscle that gives your legs definition while improving your balance and strengthening your ankles.
