I don't know about you, but I've always found it hard to grow my calves. A bit strange, as my upper legs have always been strong; why can't my lower legs grow? Despite the challenges, I've never given up hopoe that one day, maybe, I'll have stonger lower legs.
In my latest attempt to find a routine that works my calves, I came across this 5-minute drill from popular fitness influencer MadFit. This barre-style 'dancer' workout is perfect as a leg day finisher and can be done at home – there are no jumps or any other movement that makes a lot of noise.
How to do this workout
The session starts with a parallel stance where you focus on explosive calf raises – lifting all the way up on your toes while spending minimal time at the bottom to maximise tension. As you progress, you incorporate plié movements, adding inner thigh engagement as you rise, stretch, and bend in a fluid sequence.
The workout then shifts to single-leg exercises, with each leg performing 30-second intervals. You are encouraged to keep your body aligned straight, ensuring controlled upward and downward movements that effectively target the calf muscles.
The routine then transitions into first-position exercises, emphasising a squeeze of the inner thighs as you keep your heels together and toes pointed outward. Intermittent 15-second rests allow you to shake out the legs before returning to challenging holds that intensify the burn.
Tips and more workouts
As always the case with short workouts, it's worth doing some light stretching before you get down to business. You can also add this to the end of a leg day workout, in which case the muscles will be warmed up already.
You'll be working the calves hard with this workout, and as such, they might feel stiff after the session. I used a foam roller to relieve tension and, later, my favourite recovery tool ever, the Therabody RecoveryAir JetBoots. Appreciate the latter might be an overkill for most, though.
As for workouts, check out this four-move simple leg workout for a strong, sculpted lower body and this other 20 minutes lower-body session. Enjoy!
