Our workouts tend to focus on the muscles above the knee, with moves like squats, lunges, and deadlifts. We may do a few calf raises, but most of us put the bulk of our effort into glute, hamstring, and quad exercises. Here are three for the lower leg that help you easily improve your strength below the knee.
Strength and coordination of the lower leg and ankle are what allow you to move your foot in multiple directions, keep your balance, and contribute to proper foot and ankle biomechanics. Establish a strong foundation of strength in the lower leg and you can have significant impact on knee and hip alignment.
Lower Leg Muscles
We all know the calf muscle, the gastrocnemius or gastroc. This is the visible muscle on the back of the calf. It helps you push off and propel you forward for walking, running, and jumping. When we do calf raises, we’re working the gastrocs.
Under the gastroc is the soleus. This assists the gastroc and also works throughout the day to help you keep your balance.
In front of your lower leg is the tibialis anterior. This pulls the front of your foot up. Without it, you’d be tripping over the front of your foot as you walk or run.
Finally, the tibialis anterior and tibialis posterior work together to pull the foot inward at the ankle, while the peroneals pull the foot outward at the ankle.
Strengthening all of these muscles allow you to:
- Balance better
- Achieve better alignment at the knee and hip
- Move better
Follow along with this video of three for the lower leg:
Stay fit!
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