Calf Stretch | At Home Stretching Series

Hey everybody! Andrew, EarthFIT coach here, bringing you the Calf Stretch. We’re going to have two muscle groups that we’re stretching here. The gastrocnemius and soleus. 

Two muscles are very responsible for a lot of things – foot movement, ankle movement, and a lot of causation of knee pain. So let’s come over here.

At home you’re going to grab a step or a wall. They don’t mind getting dirty. Unless you take your shoes off. They’re going to come over to your step or your wall. You can put your foot, the ball of your foot up on that wall, or step toes up to the ceiling. And you’re actually going to keep your knees straight and hands on the hips forward, putting a little bit of pressure down on the ball of your foot, allowing that calf the back of the leg to stretch. This is the gastrocnemius stretch here.

Then the soleus stretch. All you do is bend your knee towards your toe and hinge forward. You automatically feel a slightly different area stretching, maybe even the Achilles tendon, which is always good. Hold for 30 seconds minimum each stretch, breathe and relax and allow that muscle to stretch. If you fight the stretch, you’re not going to get the results you’re looking for. Relax that muscle group, hold that stretch and relax it. Breathe for 30 seconds at the minimum, maximum of 2 minutes per muscle group, you’re going to be well on your way. Do it twice a day morning when you wake up, evening when before you go to sleep and definitely mobility work from the knees downward before you work out, I’ll see you guys later.

-EarthFIT Coach Andrew