
Our calves help absorb this impact and protect our bones from injuries such as shin splints. These two muscles merge at the base, just above your heel, and link to the Achilles tendon with connective tissue.Īs we already know, running is a high-impact sport, so we need our bodies and muscles to cooperate to help manage it. So you’ve got your endurance muscle here, helping to avoid fatigue and keep you going. The soleus connects your tibia and fibula, the bones in your lower leg.įunny enough, the soleus is primarily made of slow-twitch muscles. It lies deeper than the gastrocnemius, so it is not visible.

The soleus muscle is a flatter muscle and the smaller of the two. It is responsible for the following movements: This part of your calf is made up primarily of fast-twitch muscle fibers, ready for the jumping, sprinting, and change of direction you need for power. Yes, the inside and the outside head of the gastrocnemius are the two bulges you see when you do your calf raises! The top part of the muscle begins at the femur, runs down the back of the leg, and reaches the Achilles tendon.

The gastrocnemius is the larger of the two calf muscles and the one we actually see in the back of our legs. They are made up of two different muscles, the gastrocnemius, and the soleus. Our calves are the lower/rear portion of our legs. More specifically, in this article, we will discuss:
#Calf stretch how to
Today, we will get into detail about our precious calves, what they do, why we need them, and how to take good care of them. I know stretching is never a runner’s favorite part of the day, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Like every other muscle used in our daily lives, our calves need to be strengthened, warmed up, and taken care of with specific calf stretches for runners after every workout. Our calves are a powerhouse for our running, and how strong and healthy they are, dictates just how much power we can put into our stride. Without our calf muscles, not only wouldn’t we be able to walk, jump, and run, but we wouldn’t even be able to stand up, as the lack of our calves would make us fall flat on our faces.
