Thigh muscles often get a lot of attention but the calf muscles are important too. Discover some resistance band exercises to train these.
Some people think only big steel gym machines can get them bigger calves. However, you can definitely build calves with resistance bands at home, in the gym, or on the move.
For most of the exercises below, you only need good resistance bands of the right tension. However, you can also consider investing in resistance band anchors since these help you avoid the bands slipping from below your feet.
One last thing to note is that you want to make sure your resistance bands are already under some tension at the start of the movements. The range of motion of the calf muscles is already relatively small.
1. Seated band pushes
While anchors will sometimes come in handy, in this first calf exercise you only need resistance bands. Take the following steps to do a seated band push:
- Sit on a flat surface, for example, the floor.
- Loop a resistance band around your upper feet in a way it won’t slip off. Hold the other end of the resistance band at a point where you get the desired tension. Lastly, keep your legs stretched and right next to each other.
- Push the front of your feet away from you as far as you safely can.
- Pull the front of your feet toward you as far as you safely can without the band slipping off.
One of the main benefits of seated bench pushes is that they don’t require a lot of balance compared to many other calf exercises.
This allows you to focus on going through the full range of motion which in turn, can lead to faster and more muscle gains.
Additionally, as quickly mentioned, you don’t need any additional resistance band accessories to do this exercise. A good loop resistance band or two is enough.
2. Standing resistance band calf raises
Standing calf raises are one of the most popular exercises to grow and strengthen calves. Resistance bands can be great pieces of calf training equipment to make the movement challenging enough for gains.
One thing to note is that you may need to hold something for balance during this exercise. Take the following steps to do standing calf raises with resistance bands.
- Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder width apart and pointing forward. Anchor a resistance band close to the ground or under your front feet. Hold the other end in your hands or behind your shoulders in a safe way.
- Raise your heels off the ground with the help of your calf muscles as far as you safely can.
- Lower your body again in a controlled motion.
You can also do calf raises with the front of your feet on a calf raise platform or similar objects like an edge, stair-step, or block. These allow your calf muscles to go through a bigger range of motion.
If you implement this variation with your feet on a platform take a break at the bottom of the movement. This way you use your calf muscles and not the bounce of your tendons to move upward.
If the resistance bands you have available are not challenging enough, you can consider doing single-leg calf raises to make the exercise harder.
In both the one-legged and two-legged resistance band calf raise variations you may need to hold something for balance.
When doing the one-legged version you also don’t want to forget to train both sides to avoid muscle imbalances.
3. Seated resistance band calf raises
You need something to sit on to do this next resistance band calf exercise. This can even be something simple like a regular chair.
Once you have one of these, take the following steps to do a seated resistance band calf raise:
- Sit on the object with your upper legs and feet pointing forward. Anchor a resistance band close to the ground or under your front feet. Strap the other end on your upper legs as close to your knees as possible in a way that doesn’t hurt. Keep your heels more or less under your knees.
- Raise your heels off the ground with the help of your calf muscles as far as you safely can. You can hold the part of the resistance band on your knees to make sure it doesn’t slip off.
- Lower your heels again in a controlled motion.
There are different muscles in your calves. Doing standing resistance band calf raises mainly engages your gastrocnemius (the upper calves).
Doing sitting resistance band calf raises mainly engages your soleus (lower and deeper calves).
Similar to standing resistance band calf raises you can put a stable object under the front of your feet so your calves go through a bigger range of motion.
If you do this elevated variation, take a very short break at the bottom of the movement to make sure your soleus muscles are powering the movement.
4. Outward resistance band calf raises
Take the following steps to do an outward resistance band calf raise:
- Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder width apart. Point your feet about 45-angle degrees outward. Anchor a resistance band close to the ground or under your front feet. Hold the other end in your hands or behind your shoulders in a safe way.
- Raise your heels off the ground with the help of your calf muscles as far as you comfortably can.
- Lower your body again in a controlled motion.
The upper calve muscle, the gastrocnemius, has an inner and outer part. By pointing your feet outward, the resistance band calf raises focus more on the inner muscle head (inner part) of the calf muscle (1).
Choosing this specific variation is typically done to work on the visuals of your calves or to resolve muscle imbalances. Most people will prefer the regular version.
If you don’t find it too challenging when it comes to balance, you can also do the outward resistance band calf raise on one leg.
Keep in mind that doing the exercise this way makes it easier to twist your body into a straight foot single-leg resistance band calf raise. You may need to hold something to avoid this.
5. Inward resistance band calf raises
Take the following steps to do an inward resistance band calf raise:
- Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder width apart. Point your feet about 45-angle degrees inward. You can anchor the band under your front feet or right in front of you close to the ground. Hold the other end of the resistance band in your hands or behind your shoulder in a safe way.
- Raise your heels off the ground with the help of your calf muscles as far as you safely can.
- Lower your body again in a controlled motion.
As you can expect, pointing your feet inward has the opposite effect of outward resistance band calf raises.
This means the inward version will focus more on the outer part of your upper calf muscles. The resistance bands help you work these muscles enough to see muscle growth and strength progress.
6. Resistance band calf raise hold
This next calf exercise may look underwhelming but it does offer advantages. Take the following steps to do a resistance band calf raise hold:
- Stand up straight with your feet pointing forward and about shoulder width apart. Anchor a resistance band close to the ground or under your front feet. Hold the other end in your hands or behind your shoulders in a safe way.
- Raise your heels off the ground as far as you comfortably can with the help of your calf muscles.
- Hold this position for an extended period of time. Try to keep your leg stretched at the knee for a slightly more effective workout.
Resistance band calf raise holds are an isometric exercise. In simpler words, this means that you engage your muscles in a more static way, without moving a lot.
On the flip side, most of the calf exercises on the list are isotonic exercises where you work your muscles by moving them through a range of motion.
Isotonic exercises are generally more useful for growing and strengthening muscles. That means that the other isotonic exercises on this list are likely better exercises for building bigger calf muscles with resistance bands.
At the same time, you can still consider the hold to improve calf muscle endurance.
7. Resistance band calf raise squats
Resistance band squats are a popular leg exercise but to focus more on your calves you want to make a change. Take the following steps to do resistance band calf raise squats:
- Stand up straight with your feet at more or less shoulder width.
- Slowly lower your hips by bending your knees. How far depends on different factors like knee health but at your lowest point you want your hips to be at or lower than your knee height.
- Anchor a resistance band close to the ground or under your front feet. Hold the other end in your hands or behind your shoulders in a safe way.
- Raise your heels off the ground as far as you safely can.
- Push yourself up by stretching your legs while keeping your heels off the ground.
- Alternate between the positions of steps 4 and 5.
Squats are mostly done for strengthening leg muscles like your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. By changing the angle of your feet, you can make squats more of an at-home-friendly calf exercise.
At the same time, regular resistance band squats still work your calves to some extent. You can consider this movement too if you are interested in compound leg movements.
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