Anyone else have any troubles doing Foward/Reverse Calf Raises?

JohnGafnea

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For some reason I can never get into these; I always feel as though I'm going to tip foward or something, and when I do them anyways I never really feel like I'm working anything. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Are there other exercises (that I'm obviously unaware of) that work the front calfs? Thanks.
 

SCORPIO

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What types of exercises are you using? Work out at home, or gym?
 

JohnGafnea

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For calfs I do standing calf raise (with stacks of plates since my gym doesn't have anything to stand on), seated calf raise, donkey calf raise, and then like I said I try to do the reverse calf raise.
 

SCORPIO

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I would say try to use a block for more stability. Maybe try a smith machine....use the leg press to work calves. Try unilateral calf raises, where you work one at a time holding a db on the side you're working. Also try pointing toes in, out and straight when doing calf raises. Hope that helps.
 

Biggs

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I've only done seated, don't have much of a problem... I don't like training calves seperately particularly well, between cardio and leg day they get plenty of action, and grow much more easily than quad/ham... but that's me. it's all the same motion so I don't see much difference between seated, standing etc, whichever is easiest for you without "tippage"
 
Lifeguard

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The muscle that you are attempting to work is called the Tibialis Anterior. The reason why you would want to strenghten it is this:

When that balance of strength is wayyyy off between the gastrocnemius/soleus and tibialis, you might possibly acquire a common condition called shin splints...

if you know anybody that has had them, them you know what kind of pain I am talking about...if you have not, then here it is..

My mom has them, she cannot even walk 2 miles or run a mile without the pain returning...

moral of the story....do the exerises and you will not have a problem.
 
sage

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The muscle that you are attempting to work is called the Tibialis Anterior. The reason why you would want to strenghten it is this:

When that balance of strength is wayyyy off between the gastrocnemius/soleus and tibialis, you might possibly acquire a common condition called shin splints...

if you know anybody that has had them, them you know what kind of pain I am talking about...if you have not, then here it is..

My mom has them, she cannot even walk 2 miles or run a mile without the pain returning...

moral of the story....do the exerises and you will not have a problem.
trying make us feel stupid with all them big word huh LG? (ha) nice. yes, the tibialis anterior (which spearates the inside calf from the outside calf) can make th eleg look much bigger. Most of us (me too) neglect the front of the lower leg. reverse calf raises are really the only one you can do to target the tibialis anterior however you could always do these variations sitting down. Sage
 

Matthew D

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I like to do calf presses.. use the leg press but get it to the top position then start pressing with the toes. Streching has always helped my shin splints... also if you have them, try slowing your speed down to help to keep them from starting.. once you get used to a speed increase it slowly. I think I read that on Runner's World website about the slowing down.

http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-78-79-529,00.html

text of the article.. follows

The nature of shin splints most often can be captured in just four words: too much, too soon. "I always seem to get them when I start up running again after a break," says Doug McDougal, 33, a 2:50 marathoner from Fort Worth, Tex. "I've noticed shin splints to be a problem mainly for those like me: either new runners or runners starting over."

Paula Palka, 37, of Thomaston, Maine, agrees. She hasn't had shin splints since 1980, when she was new to running. "I had mild shin-splint pain when I began running a long time ago and was only doing 2 to 3 miles at a time," she says. "After I got up into the 4-mile-plus category, it wasn't a problem anymore. It seemed like I had worked the kinks out or something."

<!--tr><td--><SPAN class=dnchatinit>What are they?</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->]Shin splints, the catch-all term for lower leg pain that occurs below the knee either on the front outside part of the leg (anterior shin splints) or the inside of the leg (medial shin splints), are the bane of many athletesrunners, tennis players, even dancers. They often plague beginning runners who do not build their mileage gradually enough or seasoned runners who abruptly change their workout regimen, suddenly adding too much mileage, for example, or switching from running on flat surfaces to hills.

<!--tr><td--><SPAN class=dnchatinit>Seems like shin splints.</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->Shin pain doesn't always mean you have shin splints. It might be a sign of some other problem. Following are two conditions that are sometimes mistakenly diagnosed as shin splints.

<!--tr><td-->[<SPAN class=dnchatinit>Compartment syndrome:</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->Pain on the anterior (outside) part of the lower leg may be compartment syndrome?a swelling of muscles within a closed compartment?which creates pressure. To diagnose this condition, special techniques are used to measure the amount of pressure. "With compartment syndrome, the blood supply can be compromised, and muscle injury and pain may occur," says podiatrist Stephen Pribut, D.P.M., of Washington, D.C. Sometimes surgical "decompression" is required.

So how do you distinguish compartment syndrome from shin splints? "Symptoms of compartment syndrome include leg pain, unusual nerve sensations and, later, muscle weakness," says Pribut.

<!--tr><td-->[<SPAN class=dnchatinit>Stress fracture:</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->Pain in the lower leg could also be a stress fracture (an incomplete crack in the bone), which is a far more serious injury than shin splints. A bone scan is the definitive tool for diagnosing a stress fracture. However, there are clues you can look for that will signal whether or not you should get a bone scan.

Press your fingertips along your shin, and if you can find a definite spot of sharp pain, it's a sign of a stress fracture; the pain of shin splints is more generalized. "Usually stress fractures feel better in the morning because you've rested the bone all night," says Letha Griffin, M.D., an Atlanta orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine. "Shin splints are worse in the morning because the soft tissue tightens overnight?you get out of bed, and you can hardly walk."

"Shin splints will be most painful if you forcibly try to lift your foot up at the ankle," says Sheldon Laps, D.P.M., a podiatrist in the Washington, D.C., area. "If you flex your foot and it hurts, it's probably shin splints." Also, a horizontal rather than verticalline of tenderness across the bone is typical of a stress fracture, says Pribut.

<!--tr><td--><SPAN class=dnchatinit>So what causes them?</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->There can be a number of factors at work, such as overpronation (a frequent cause of medial shin splints), inadequate stretching, worn shoes, or excessive stress placed on one leg or one hip from running on cambered roads or always running in the same direction on a track.

Typically, one leg is involved and it is almost always the runner's dominant one. If you're right-handed, you're usually right-footed as well, and that's the leg that's going to hurt.

The most common site for shin splints is the medial area (the inside of the shin), according to Sheldon Laps, D.P.M., a podiatrist in the Washington, D.C., area. Anterior shin splints (toward the outside of the leg) usually result from an imbalance between the calf muscles and the muscles in the front of your leg, and often afflict beginners who either have not yet adjusted to the stresses of running or are not stretching enough. "In general, the muscles in the front are working hard to overcome the power in the muscles in the back of the leg," says Stephen Pribut, D.P.M., a Washington, D.C., podiatrist.

But what exactly is a shin splint? "Over the years, there have been several theories," says Julie Colliton, M.D., a sports-medicine specialist and board member for The Physician and Sports Medicine journal, "small tears in the muscle that has pulled off the bone, an inflammation of the periosteum [a thin sheath of tissue that wraps around the tibia, or shin bone], an inflammation of the muscle, or some combination of these, but there's no hard-core consensus among sports scientists." Fortunately, there is some hard-core advice on how to treat shin splints.

<!--tr><td--><SPAN class=dnchatinit>Treatment and prevention.</SPAN>
<!--/td></tr-->Experts agree that when shin splints strike you should stop running completely or decrease your training depending on the extent and duration of pain. Then, as a first step, ice your shin to reduce inflammation. Here are some other treatments you can try:

Gently stretch your Achilles if you have medial shin splints, and your calves if you have anterior shin splints. Also, try this stretch for your shins: Kneel on a carpeted floor, legs and feet together and toes pointed directly back. Then slowly sit back onto your calves and heels, pushing your ankles into the floor until you feel tension in the muscles of your shin. Hold for 10 to 12 seconds, relax and repeat.

In a sitting position, trace the alphabet on the floor with your toes. Do this with each leg. Or alternate walking on your heels for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of regular walking. Repeat four times. These exercises are good for both recovery and prevention. Try to do them three times a day.
 

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