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It is fairly simple to sculpt your upper legs and glutes. Just do lots of weighted squats with dumbbell and barbells, and maybe a couple of other exercises, and you’re done. Calves are a different story. They’re quite notorious for the slowness of growth, as well as lack of exercises specifically targeting these muscles. But there’s no reason to give up. Follow this 30 Day Calf Challenge to pump your calves up, lose excess weight, and sculpt the body you’re striving for.
This 30-day calf toning challenge (5) will help you develop strong calves. There are not many exercises in it, as there are not many exercises in the world targeting calves.
There are two basic exercises in this challenge, and you can variate them, doing the one you feel best on a certain day. These are standing calf raises and calf raises on a leg press.
In this challenge, you’ll be doing calf exercises with weights. The rules are simple. First, select the weight, using which you can perform no more than 20 reps of either exercise. This is the weight you will be using during the challenge. On day one, your goal will be 50 reps of the exercise you chose. That means, you do as many repetitions as you can in one set, rest for 60 seconds and do another set. The goal is 50 reps in a day with as few sets as possible.
Now, each day you will increase the number of reps, so on the second day, your goal is 51 reps, third day, 52 reps, and so on; up to 80 reps on the last day of the challenge. This might even be called a 30-day calf raise challenge for beginners.
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It is a fairly simple exercise, but remember that you’ll do it with weights (3). Calf raises work primarily for calves, but also activate gastrocnemius and the soleus. It enhances your stability, strength, and overall balance.
Begin standing on a flat surface with your toes pointed straight ahead. Now, lift your heels off the floor to flex your calf muscle. Pause for a moment, then slowly return to the floor. That’s one rep.
To perform standing calf raises correctly, watch your ankles. If this area is weak, your ankles might roll in or out which may cause imbalances and may lead to injuries at the ankles and knees, which is to be avoided. Are standing raises enough? For this challenge, they’re not. So, you need another exercise.
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Sit down at the leg press machine and rest your feet, so just your toes are resting at the bottom of the platform. Now, push back as far as you can while keeping your feet against the platform. Return under control to the start position and repeat (4).
If you’re a novice or haven’t done much calf work before, turn your toes inward. This will work the outer muscles of your calves, which are the most difficult group of calf muscles to build up.
So here it is! Read the tips below to amplify the results of your 30 Day Calf Challenge.
Training calves might be tough, but if you follow these recommendations, you can avoid the mistakes many people make when trying to strengthen their calves.
You need to work really hard on your calves. When training those muscles, frequency is crucial, so you definitely need to continuously increase it, as in the 30 Day Calf Challenge. This, however, does not mean that you should do 500 calf raises a day. Doing that many reps might be a sheer waste of time, and your legs will be constantly sore.
If you want to increase your calf size, you can do modifications, for instance, the calf raises. One option is weighted, like in the 30 Day Calf Challenge. The other one is also interesting, place a piece of wood or a very thick book on the floor, place the front of your feet on this object with your heels touching the floor, and then lift yourself on to the tips of your toes as far as you can. This way, you can make your exercise a bit more difficult.
For this challenge, yes. Overall, however, they’re substitutable. For instance, you can achieve similar results by biking long distances, sprinting, or going up on large hills. Cycling is a great alternative to calf raises, and it has both pros and cons.
For example, cycling is a much longer exercise, so you’ll need 1-2 hours of cycling to count for a good calf workout, and you might not have that much time for a workout every day. On the other hand, cycling is much easier, so your calves don’t get exhausted so fast, and it is definitely more exciting. Obviously, if you do cycling AND exercise, you’ll get even better results.
Keeping your fluid intake high, especially during times of high physical activity, is immensely important for your health as well as weight loss. Water makes you feel perked up, improves digestion, and smoothens your skin (1, 2). When you train, you sweat and lose a lot of water. So drink at least one bottle of pure water before starting your workout, and one after wrapping it up.
To sum up, a 30 day calf challenge is a super-efficient way to tone up your calves without spending too much time on a workout every day. Keep in mind that every training program should come together with a healthy diet. Look through Keto and Vegetarian diets for the examples of balanced and nutritious plans.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!