4 Beginner Soleus Exercises

by Apr 24, 2023Exercises

Easy Beginner Exercises to Strengthen your Soleus Muscle

For athletes that sprint, jump and make quick sudden movements like runners, basketball players and tennis players to name a few, fatigue, overtraining and soleus strain are common injuries. To prevent soleus injuries, we recommend doing calf raise type exercises. Read below for 4 beginner exercises that can help you strengthen your soleus muscle.

If you’re looking for more advanced exercises, check out the videos on our Soleus blog post.

Wall Sit

  • Using a wall, get yourself into position with your your knees and hips at 90°, feet far enough in front of you so that your knee and heel are in a nice, straight line
  • While in this position, raise your heels up and get on your tiptoes
  • Hold position for a couple seconds, if this is too difficult, you don’t need to hold, the longer you hold, the harder the exercise
  • Return to starting position

Seated Calf Raise with Resistance

  • Start by sitting down, with your feet lined up so they’re directly below your knees
  • We recommend using a weight if you have one, or using your hands as resistance
  • Push down with as much resistance as you can handle and while you push down, raise your heels off the ground and then return to starting position
  • The more you push down, the more resistance you’ll get

Bridge Position Calf Raises

  • Start by lying on your back with your knees bent, heels pretty close to your butt
  • Get into bridge position by lifting your hips off the ground, forming a straight line from your shoulders to your knees
  • While holding that position, lift your heels off the ground and get on your tiptoes, holding for a beat or two and then slowly lowering your heels back down
  • Make sure you’re staying in that straight bridge position
  • To make this harder, you can try lifting and maintaining one leg straight in the air while doing the heel raises

Bent Knee Calf Raises

  • Standing on a staircase (ideally with a railing on each side), hold onto the railing for support
  • Have your toes, up to the ball of your feet on the step and your heels hanging off
  • You want a nice bend in your knee, let your heels drop below the step and then raise them back up
  • You can hold for a beat or two at the top or at the bottom to get the stretch
  • Aim for 10-15 reps
  • This one is a bit more advanced than the ones above, but I would consider this one of the earlier, beginner type exercises

Check out the video below to follow along with the exercises in real time.

Exercises