Calf Exercises Without Machines

By Steve Silverman

The calf is often one of the most overlooked areas of the body to exercise. In addition to improving your leg strength and endurance, working out your calf muscles will add significant improvement to your appearance. You can do a lot of calf exercises with weights and machines, but here are several exercises you can do without any machines.

Standing Calf Raises

Stand flat on your feet, which should be shoulder length apart. Slowly raise up until only the balls of your feet are on the ground. Hold your position for five seconds and then slowly let your feet down. Repeat 10 times.

Seated Calf Raises

Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Raise your heels as high as you can and hold that position for a count of three. Bring your heels back down and then repeat the exercise 10 times.

Rope Skipping

This exercise is normally associated with building endurance and increasing quickness, but it is one of the best exercises for building calf strength. Start with a 10-foot length of rope and hold it in both hands with the rope directly behind you. Flip the rope over your head and when it reaches the floor, jump with both feet so the rope can pass under you. Continue turning the rope and jumping. Do this for three to five minutes and increase from five to seven minutes.

About The Author

Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.