Calf stretch, sitting

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What it’s good for All stretches help to lengthen spe­cific muscles, keep­ing the body in bal­ance, pre­vent­ing par­tic­u­lar muscles from becom­ing very tight and crampy, and keep­ing you more flex­ible. You can test the tight­ness of your calf muscles by sit­ting with one leg out long, heel on the ground and toe point­ing up. Pull your toes towards you. If this makes the back of your lower leg feel very tight or even pain­ful, you should start stretch­ing!
How often to do it Daily
Equipment you’ll need Old tie, scarf, or stretchy exer­cise band
The usual way to stretch your lower back-​of-​leg muscles (calf) is stand­ing up. If that doesn’t work for you, here’s an effect­ive altern­at­ive

Sitting with stretchy band around sole of foot, leg long, ready to stretch the calf muscle

  • Sit at the front of a kit­chen chair
  • Place one leg out long (no bend at the knee) in front of you, heel rest­ing on the ground
  • Loop the tie, scarf or band around the fore­foot and pull your toes towards you until you feel the calf muscle tight­en­ing
  • Sitting tall, hold the stretch for the right amount of time (click here to find out how long), then gently return the foot to nor­mal
  • Bring your foot back and start again on the other leg

TIP
♦ Use your own leg muscles to pull your toes towards you. The point of the tie, scarf or band is to help you main­tain a good strong stretch once you’ve pulled your foot into pos­i­tion

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