7 Best Leg Workouts For Men To Get Sculpted Calves
You finally got your chest and back muscles to your liking, and your biceps and triceps have been expertly sculpted. But you’re short on muscle growth, especially in the notoriously difficult-to-build calves.
It looks like you need specific calf Best Leg Workouts For Men that will help build those for you. In today’s video, we’ll explore some of the best calf-building exercises you can do to give your slim legs some definition
Anatomically speaking, two primary muscles make up the calf the Gastrocnemius, a lower leg muscle that lies just under the skin and makes up the majority of the calf, and the Soleus.
A broad, flat muscle that begins below your knee and runs down your lower leg before joining the Achilles tendon above the heel.
What Best Leg Workouts For Men aim to do is strengthen the gastric, nimbus, and soleus muscles. In addition to building calf muscles, they improve your quadriceps, bulk up your glutes, and strengthen your hamstrings.
Start stretching and let’s get those sculpted calves with these six great leg exercises.
Have you ever tried heavy dumbbell deadlifts with an overhand grip?
Take a pair of dumbbells and place them in front of your sides. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bent your knees.
Avoid rounding your back by maintaining it in a neutral position. Slowly and deliberately lower yourself into the desired position.
- As you squat, bend at the hips and knees, bringing your torso nearly parallel to the ground.
- From here, stand straight up without adjusting the curve of your back. As you straighten up, clench your glutes and press into the ball and heel of your foot.
- When your hips hinge back, your chest will automatically rise forward. Since your core is engaged and attached to the top of your hinge.
- Press through your heels and pinch your bum as you return to the standing position.
2- Band push
To do this Best Leg Workouts For Men, follow these simple steps and fully extend your legs in front of you while you sit on the floor.
Wrap one end of a resistance band over the ball of 1ft, then pull the other end towards you until tension is created.
With the band tight, bend your ankle and move your foot forward while pointing your toe away from your body.
Hold this stance for a time before releasing your foot and allowing it to return to its natural position.
Repeat for 30 to 60 seconds per side. Do three sets. If this activity is too hard with just one resistance band, start the workout with the one that isn’t giving you enough pressure.
You may also begin with a modest resistance band and progress to heavier bands as you gain strength.
Do not overexert yourself if you’re recovering from an ankle sprain or injury.
3- Goblet squats
To build muscle, you only need a kettlebell or dumbbell and enough room to stand and move comfortably with your feet about hip-to-shoulder distance apart.
To begin the goblet squat, stand with your toes pointed outward and your feet somewhat wider than the hip distance apart.
Hold a kettlebell at your chest with both hands as if you are cupping a goblet. Bend your elbow so the goblet is direct across the middle of your chest.
Use a lighter kettlebell throughout your warmup to obtain a feel for the movement, then increase the weight for the remainder of your set.
Engage your core and maintain a straightforward gaze throughout the squat.
You need to keep your back neutrally aligned. Now push your hips back and start bending your knees during this falling phase.
Breathe throughout the exercise, and keep the kettlebell close to your body.
Keep thrusting your hips back and descending while keeping your chest tall. Your hips should be lower and parallel to the ground and your knees.
You shouldn’t come up on your toes as you squat, so make sure your weight is evenly distributed across your feet or slightly heavier towards your heels.
At the squat’s lowest point, ensure that you’re in the correct position. You should position your elbows on the inside of either knee.
That makes it easier to maintain knee-to-toe alignment as you lower yourself into a deep squat.
To get back to the beginning posture, press through your heels and perform the opposite action at the peak of the squat.
Exhale as you rise and push your hips forward to activate your glutes. Fully complete the entire set, then rack the kettlebell with care.
That makes it easier to maintain knee-to-toe alignment as you lower yourself into a deep squat.
To get back to the beginning posture, press through your heels and perform the opposite action at the peak of the squat.
Exhale as you rise and push your hips forward to activate your glutes.
4- Calf Rise
Fully complete the entire set, then rack the kettlebell with care. Avoid dropping weights from a height as it’s a dangerous time for Calf Raises to build prominent calves.
The gastric minimus and soleus muscles, which run along the back of your lower thigh, are used when you raise your calves while standing.
The gastric nimbus works with the hamstrings to bend the knee, and the soleus, keeps the body balanced and pumps blood from the leg back to the heart.
When calf muscles are weak, they strain and tear more easily. Strong, flexible calf muscles give you more stability and balance, making it less likely that you’ll hurt your foot or ankle and making it easier to run and jump.
Once strong, the fast-twitch muscle fibers in the gastric nimbus make it possible to move more quickly and with more force.
That is an excellent workout for both beginners and professionals.
Start by placing half your feet on an elevated surface, such as a step or a box, and the other half off the surface.
Your feet should be hip-width apart. Each hand should be holding a dumbbell at your side.
Bring your heels beneath the surface you’re standing on by lowering your feet gently from the squatting position and return to your feet balls.
Repeat 30 to 60 times. You can perform three sets at once. You can perform this exercise with 1ft at a time or with both feet for an extra balance challenge try holding the dumbbells on your shoulders or above your head with your arms fully extended.
5- Dumbbell jump squats
Best Leg Workouts For Men, Squat jumps are unmatched for building powerful lower body power. Hold a dumbbell in your hand.
Alternatively, place a single dumbbell in front of your chest while holding it with both hands as you would a goblet squat.
As you lower yourself into a squat, try to keep the dumbbells as stable as you can before pulling yourself out of the squat and into a jump.
Pause for a little second. Repeat the motion, landing lightly by bending your knees and then squatting down.
Try to descend into the squat gently and then push up out of the squat as quickly as you can to truly work the muscles into overdrive.
Engage your quadriceps, glutes, and calves to launch off the ground. Consider how much weight you could consistently squat, and choose a dumbbell with 20% to 30% of that amount.
For instance, choosing 20 to 30 kg so ten to 15 kg on each dumbbell would probably be enough resistance for you to feel it, but light enough that you could still pull yourself off the floor. Alternatively, you may try isolateral leg work.
6- Iso lateral leg workout
Lunges, also known as the isolateral squat or split squat, are classic and straightforward leg exercises you can do without weights or other equipment.
This multijoint exercise is known to tone and strengthen numerous lower body muscles, including the calves, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and the front and rear thighs, and the back of the lower leg.
During the lunge, your hip flexors are stretched. Doing this increases the flexibility of your muscles and prevents them from getting short and tight, which can happen when you sit for a long time.
You can also use your core muscles to keep yourself stable, which can help you keep your balance and avoid falls.
Begin in a standing position with your legs approximately hip-width apart. Take a stride forward with your right foot while lowering your left knee to the ground.
Your front and rear knees should form a right angle. When kneeling, activate the right leg when you perform a push-up, and ensure that your left knee touches the ground at the end of the return in a controlled manner.
Don’t lean forward to make the exercise more comfortable. If you want to keep your form, maintain an erect position with your lower body and pursue the challenge.
The shoulders should be retracted so that they’re directly over the hips. Try 15 repetitions per side, then swap and repeat.
If you feel comfortable with the movement, try holding a pair of ten to 15-pound dumbbells to make the workout challenging.
7- Mountain climbing
Mountain climbing is a great Best Leg Workouts For Men that you can do at home. It works for many different muscle groups simultaneously, improving your calf muscles, agility, coordination, strength, flexibility, and blood flow.
Mountain climbers enhance their overall stability, joint mobility, and response. The speed you may be thinking, Don’t I need a mountain?
Good news you can try this exercise without taking a hike to your local trails. Put yourself in a plank position, evenly distributing your weight between your hands and your toes.
Your hands should be roughly shoulder-width apart, your back should be flat, you should engage your ABS, and your head should be straight as far as you can.
Pull your right knee into your chest. Change legs, bringing one knee in and pulling the other out, maintaining a low hip position while running as quickly and as far as you can with your knees, alternating each leg movement, taking deep breaths, and exhaling.
Try modified mountain climbers on a step. If you need to relieve some weight from your arms, shoulders, and hands.
Elevate your upper body on a step or a block to do this variation safely and effectively. You should avoid mountain climbing if you have injuries or instability in your shoulders or pelvis.
8- Rest days are Important
The most valuable part of a good Best Leg Workouts For Men plan is rest days. The way muscles grow in the body makes it necessary to rest after a tough workout, which is why you shouldn’t train the same muscle every day.
When you exercise, your muscles experience microscopic rips. These microscopic tears warn your body that something has to be repaired.
When your body sets out to repair anything, it recognizes that repairing something broken implies that you want it to rebuild much better than before.
You can expedite this process by sleeping and eating protein-rich foods. Rest days must not be entirely inactive, but they must be low-impact days.
Calves have been demanding your attention, so add a new workout or two to your regimen.
Shall we watch exercises for men that will transform your body in just four weeks?