Whether you are a seasoned or casual sports person, stretching is essential to your sport and wellness routine. They help loosen muscle tension and prevent certain injuries. Calves are muscles you should not miss during your stretching session, so here are three stretching exercises for your calves that will change your life!
Daily sports training and bad postures promote body imbalances and muscle tension. Flexibility is essential in everyday life because it is what brings fluidity and harmony to our movements.
The benefits of calf stretching
The calf, called surral triceps, is highly subject to stress, especially during sports training. Stretching from the hollow of the knee (popliteal fossa) to the Achilles tendon (calcaneal tendon), the calves are composed of different muscles: the muscles gastrocnemius (lateral and medial) and the soleus.
It is thanks to the calves that we can bend our knee or climb on tiptoes. And they are for example energized when running.
> Of too stiff calves can cause painful inflammation in the Achilles tendon and ankle, areas very vulnerable to injury. The calf is very often prone to cramps, especially in athletes. These can result from a lack of hydration and mineral intake (potassium, calcium, magnesium). Too intense an effort can also generate cramps, which is why it is important to prepare your calves for exercise, just like other muscles in the body, with specific muscle strengthening exercises. But also to gently and gradually stretch the contracted muscle in the event of cramps or intense training.
Before, after or later, when to stretch the calf?
After the effort, we can make short stretches : less than 20 seconds so as not to hinder the vascularization of the muscles and not to increase muscle damage. Short post-workout stretches promote calm and reduce muscle tension. Now is a good time to stretch your calves.
Outside of the sessions, the stretching exercises rebalance the muscles. They are found in the sessions of stretching. When you take time to stretch your legs, don't forget your calves! Stretching helps restore length to muscles and mobility to joints.
And before the effort? Passive stretches (that is to say in relaxation and held for several tens of seconds as is done in stretching) will send a sign of relaxation to the body when we want to activate the blood circulation and raise the body temperature during warm-up. It’s far from being the best way to warm up!
It is possible to stretch before sports training thanks to activodynamic stretching, this is the case for disciplines such as football, gymnastics or martial arts which require large joint amplitudes.
How to properly stretch your calves?
Some stretching guidelines
- Stretch gently, without forcing. A good stretch requires slow progression to spare the injury.
- Breathe! Each stretch should be accompanied by slow, deep breathing.
- Stay tuned to your body. Any pain remains abnormal.
- Hold for 30 seconds. Release and repeat the operation.
- Remember to hydrate yourself! A well hydrated body is a more flexible body.
Standing calf stretching exercise
Starting position: When standing, place your hands on the back of a chair or on a wall, keeping your back straight. Inhale, pull your right leg back and keep your heel on the floor. The left leg flexes.
Movement : Exhale, press the heel of your right leg into the ground. Hold for 30 seconds, release and repeat the operation once or twice, then switch legs.
Seated calf stretching exercise
Starting position: Sitting on the ground, the legs are stretched and the back straight. If necessary, place a towel or cushion under your glutes to keep your back straight and your legs straight, while being comfortable. Grab a strap or large towel to place under the soles of your feet and keep your arms bent close to your body.
Movement : Inhale, push your heels forward. Exhale, pull the toes up to the face using the strap. Repeat on 5 breaths. Release the position and repeat the operation by bringing the toes in the direction of the face on the exhalation (ankle flexion) and point the feet forward on the inspiration (ankle extension). In addition to stretching the calf muscles, you also relax your ankles.
Elongated calf stretching exercise.
Starting position: Lying on the floor, stretch your right leg toward the ceiling and place the strap (or towel) under your sole.
Movement : Inhale and on exhalation, bring your legs back to the bust using the strap. The leg remains straight or slightly bent if necessary, and the toes in the direction of the face. The upper body remains on the ground. Maintain the posture for 30 seconds, release and repeat the operation once or twice before changing legs. This exercise also stretches your hamstrings.
Your special calf stretch shopping
- The machine washable strap, adjustable length, very solid, which does not slip and which can also be used in yoga or Pilates classes, we like the very pretty one from Baya (to order on the Nature website and Discovery for example). It will also be very practical for transporting and / or storing your rolled up floor mat.
See as well :
Psoas stretching, why is it essential?
These sports activities will allow you to gain flexibility