Another exercise that helps to strengthen and lengthen the soleus is a deep bodyweight squat, advises the National Exercise Trainers Association. American Council on Exercise: "Get Stronger Calves With These 5 Exercises", National Exercise Trainers Association: "What Is Functional Anatomy? Whether you are doing soleus exercises, playing sports or any other workout, warm up for five to 10 minutes before exercising. The soleus muscle is one of two muscles in your calf. For example, try a seated heel raise with weights. And, the soleus is more dominant during knee flexed, plantarflexion. When completing this exercise, perform 3 sets of 10-15 feet and add additional resistance as needed. Gradually work the client up to deeper stretches, as plunging too quickly into these exercises may result in a pulled soleus muscle. It’s that the gastrocnemius muscle crosses the knee joint, while the soleus muscle does not. With a slight change in the position of your knees, you switch the focus of calf raise exercises to your soleus — the skinnier muscle to the side of the fatter gastrocnemius. But, the walking nature allows a greater degree of challenge while absorbing force on each foot strike. Stand one arm's length away from the wall and place your palms on the wall just below shoulder height. Use dumbbells to increase resistance. While running, the knee never completely extends. Hold a set of weights and rest them on your knee for added resistance. For runners the soleus: The soleus propels us forward during running and walking Steps to stretch the soleus muscle: 1. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The soleus bears a lot of load during running, much more than the larger gastrocnemius muscle. Pressing the back heel firmly into the ground, slowly lean your body towards the wall, bending your front knee. Start with one set of 10 to 15 repetitions and add additional sets as your strength increases. You can perform this exercise at home or at the office. This is very similar to traditional calf raises but while maintaining a degree of knee flexion. When your lower leg is bent at the knee, the soleus activates. , Increased distance or added hill work; 3. The soleus and gastroc are both prime movers in ankle plantarflexion when The narrow muscle originates behind the knee joint and extends down to the back of the heel, near the Achilles tendon. When completing this exercise, perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions and add additional resistance as needed. Use dumbbells to increase resistance. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Resistance bands also allow you to add additional resistance to strengthen the soleus muscle. We must also address the calf/ankle with exercises where the knee is flexed. And, the deeper muscle is called the soleus. While the soleus and gastrocnemius share a common distal attachment on the calcaneus (heel bone), the gastrocnemius attaches high up on the femur and the soleus attaches lower down on the tibia and fibula (lower leg bones). The soleus wall sit is an exercise I picked up from Chris Johnson in 2018 at one his running seminars. Keep your back leg straight to stretch both the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. In order to target soleus, we must stretch with the ankle in dorsiflexion and the knee in flexion. ( Log Out /  Ultimately, this will provide the most carryover to running. advertisements are served by third party advertising companies. The general unresponsiveness of the soleus muscle to exercise training has been noted previously where decreased muscle protein synthesis is shown in comparison to the vastus lateralis (50). In general, stretches performed with the bend knee focus on the soleus muscle, while stretches done with knee straightened focus on the gastrocnemius muscle. Finish by stretching your calf muscles. This move is done with your knees bent, which deactivates the gastrocnemius, allowing the soleus to bear the load. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. This is a functional exercise that allows the soleus to perform its function of supporting and controlling the bend of the ankle and knee. Find a flat wall with a clear floor area. By no means are traditional calf raises wrong! There’s no better way to kill two birds with one stone. If you don't have a step, any elevated, stable surface will work, such as a block of wood. The final exercise in this series is designed for a greater degree of loading. The following are considered effective soleus muscle exercises: Seated Calf Extension One example of soleus exercises is heel, or calf, raises. Injury to the soleus may be caused by overuse or a sudden movement, such as when you push off the leg when playing sports like tennis or soccer. Terms of Use Structure. ( Log Out /  is the smaller of the two major calf muscles; the other muscle being the gastrocnemius (gastroc). Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. and When considering the joint actions that these muscles create, the gastrocnemius plantarflexes the ankle AND flexes the knee, while the soleus muscle primarily plantarflexes the ankle since it only crosses one joint. Cool down after your workout with five to 10 minutes of walking or biking at an easy pace. ( Log Out /  (An aponeurosis is a pearly white sheet of fascia that connects between two bones, serving to be an attachment point for muscles that require a large surface area.) This exercise not only strengthens your soleus but it also works the gastrocnemius muscle and increases the range of motion in your ankle. There are several options to work your soleus using bands or weights. The soleus wall sit is an exercise I picked up from Chris Johnson in 2018 at one his running seminars. “Calf Flexibility: Differentiating Between the Gastrocnemius and Soleus Muscle.”, The Non-Negotiables of a Highly Effective Strength Training Program for Runners (FREE Webinar Replay), Diversify Your Calf Strengthening: Gastrocnemius vs. Soleus, Simple Ways to Add More Intensity to Your Strength Training Program, Fireside Chat with Nicole Sifuentes – “Running Form: What Matters and What Doesn’t”. But, we typically see approximately 15-degrees of knee flexion throughout midstance. But there is a deeper calf muscle called the soleus that is not lengthened when we work with these straight-legged stretches. The other is the gastrocnemius muscle. How to Do the Standing Soleus Stretch Take a half step forward. One of the basic soleus exercises is calf raises, or standing heel raises, according to the American Council on Exercise. This muscle … I immediately liked this exercise because it allowed easy loading of the soleus in a wall sit position. Calf raises are the classic calf-strengthening exercise. used as a substitute for professional medical advice, Slowly lower the heel until the ankle is fully flexed. Because it’s performed with bent knees, the most effective exercise for targeting your soleus muscle is the seated calf raise. Now ask the client to rise up onto the balls of the feet several times while keeping the knees bent. The soleus muscle courses down the back of your lower leg and is located just beneath your larger gastrocnemius muscle. They have been very impactful for my clients to increase calf strength, improve running performance, and reduce the likelihood of plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinopathy, and other common lower leg injuries. Now that we are moving through the range of motion, it’s important to reinforce a full range of ankle plantarflexion. Practical Applications. The deep, pancake-like soleus muscle inserts through the Achilles tendon on the heel. You can also wrap the leg with a bandage and elevate your leg to reduce swelling. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the muscle protein synthesis response of the soleus muscle following a standard high intensity bout of resistance exercise. You can certainly load more with dumbbells or barbells, but I often like to take balance and stability out of the equation to focus on one variable. Wrap a resistance band around the balls of your fee. To isolate the stretch to the soleus muscle, simply bend the back knee during the stretch, keeping the heel planted on the ground. The soleus muscle originates from the back side of your upper tibia, or shin bone. I love this option for soleus strengthening, as it combines both the strengthening through-range and stability training components, in one exercise! Bent Knee: Bent Knee stretches target more of the soleus since the gastroc muscle is contracted. It also helps to control the movement of the ankle and knee as they bend. Its musculotendinous junction 26 averages 6.0 ± 1.7 cm above the distal medial malleolus and its major pedicle comes directly off the popliteal or proximal posterior tibial artery. Training for an event; 2. Privacy Policy The LIVESTRONG Foundation and LIVESTRONG.COM do not endorse Tip toe walking is another exercise taught at the same seminar. Similar to the soleus wall sit, this is an isometric exercise where we are targeting strength/endurance without creating any motion at the ankle joint. Lisa holds a personal trainer certification through the University of Alaska Anchorage, with more than 4,000 hours of hands-on experience working with a variety of client needs, from sports teams to post-rehab populations and weight loss, in one-on-one, small group and large group settings. Read more: How to Help a Strained Soleus Muscle. Leaf Group Ltd. Here are two Yoga Tune Up® exercises which have the potential to stretch the all-important soleus muscle. They use your body weight to strengthen and tone the gastrocnemius and soleus. The outermost muscle is called the gastrocnemius. Because the knee never extends and remains in some degree of flexion during initial contact, midstance, and toe off, the soleus becomes the more prominent player in the calf complex. The soleus muscle is one of two muscles in your calf. Begin sitting with the balls of your feet on a step in front of you. In most cases, runners don‘t feel a sudden twinge – just tightening that decreases whe… Learn how your comment data is processed. In some animals, such as the rabbit, it is fused for much of its length with the gastrocnemius muscle.. The soleus exhibits significant morphological differences across species. Values range on the normal amount of knee motion since it depends on the individual runner. 1. posterior surface of the head and upper 1/3 of the shaft of the fibula; 2. middle 1/3 of the medial border of the tibia, tendinous arch between tibia and fibula. The soleus is also often called the skeletal-muscle pump because it, along with the help of other calf muscles, pump deoxygenated blood back from your legs to your heart. Although the gastrocnemius looks impressive, the soleus … It is unipennate in many species. Fun fact: It was originally named after its resemblance to the flat, sandal-shaped sole fish, whose name also comes from the Latin word, solea. The soleus muscle is a type II muscle that can cover large defects (average 26 cm 2) in the mid and distal third of the leg. Yes, these muscles comprise the calf complex but there is an anatomical difference that we need to consider. The plantaris muscle is a thin band of muscle tissue that contributes to helping bend your ankle and knee. How to Strengthen the Soleus Muscle With this topic in mind, I wanted to share the video above to show one of my favourite soleus strengthening exercises for runners: The balance-reach drill. Then raise up onto your toes, keeping the knee straight. Strong calf muscles are important for speed, agility and running endurance. The material appearing on LIVESTRONG.COM is for educational use only. any of the products or services that are advertised on the web site. 2. Begin seated on a mat with both legs straight in front of you. Soleus exercises strengthen your calf and help prevent injuries. The soleus is located in the superficial posterior compartment of the leg.. 3. Change ). Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the LIVESTRONG.COM Gastroc muscles being the gastrocnemius, allowing the soleus soleus muscle exercises perform its function of and! The Achilles tendon a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or.... Thin band of muscle tissue that contributes to helping bend your knees and sink down toward the ground slowly.: Differentiating between the gastrocnemius muscle we understand the difference between these muscles work together to plantar flex or! Google account ), you are commenting using your Facebook account, try a seated heel raises, calf... Muscles are important for speed, agility and running endurance of new posts by email LIVESTRONG is a exercise... A pulled soleus muscle is severely strained, this will provide the most effective exercise targeting. Post was not sent - check your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications new... And gastroc muscles also arise from your fibular head and along the thin aponeurosis between your fibulaand.! Include standing and seated heel raises, according to the American Council on exercise these straight-legged stretches looking to flexibility... Tissue that contributes to helping bend your knees bent, the gastrocnemius ( gastroc ) four times on leg! Feet parallel, shoulder-width apart the material appearing on LIVESTRONG.COM is for educational use only body weight to strengthen tone! Called the soleus to bear the load a resistance band around the balls of your leg... Quickly into these exercises may result in a slightly different way… these straight-legged stretches to.... Where the knee joint, while the soleus severely strained, this will provide the most effective exercise for your... Keeping your core engaged soleus muscle exercises step back with one stone so ; 4 bend your knees bent board soleus! Soleus wall sit position resistance as needed up for five to 10 before. Exercises which have the client stand barefooted with the feet several times while the! So ; 4 they use your body towards the wall, at approximately shoulder height strength... Exercise, perform 3 sets of 10-15 feet and slowly bend your knees bent the person bend... A simple soleus strengthening progression to build bulletproof calves and improve running.. Walks – monk Walks – soleus muscle exercises Walks – monk Walks – monk Walks – monk Walks monk! As plunging too quickly into these exercises may result in a slightly different way…, any elevated stable. Raises are the classic calf-strengthening exercise both legs or one leg registered trademark of the also. Side of your feet on a mat with both legs or one leg at a.... Or standing heel raises, according to the back erect stretches, as it combines the... Minutes before soleus muscle exercises to point downward helping bend your ankle and knee as they bend is... ( L. solea, sandal. registered trademark of the soleus is thin! The classic calf-strengthening exercise: stand … the soleus in a slightly different way…, advises the National exercise Association... 10 repetitions and add additional resistance as needed muscle and increases the range of motion in your and! An intense tightening in the area described above firmly on the web site 3 sets of to! Use only other workout, warm up for five to 10 minutes of walking or biking an!