Calf exercises

The calf muscles are the group of muscles in your lower leg, including the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius is the larger muscle that you can feel at the top of your lower leg, just below the knee. The soleus resides near the ankle and is smaller.

The calves are often a forgotten muscle group. However, strengthening your calves will carry over to your other exercises in the gym. Plus, strong calf muscles help support everyday activities, including walking or running.

Calf raises are a great exercise se to help strengthen your lower leg muscles. You can practice these bilaterally (with both legs at the same time) or unilaterally (one leg at a time), standing, or seated. You can hold extra weight in your hands or perform these exercises with just your body weight. There are also calf-raise machines in the gym that you can use to overload your calves and stimulate muscle growth.