Gastrocnemius (Calf) Lunge Stretch
If you all have been running outside a little more then usual lately, then I bet your calves are screaming at you!
I did a stair workout last Monday in my building and my calf tightness finally alleviated on Friday. Safe to say I have done this stretch a lot this week!
You can get creative with this stretch, you can use a dumbbell, a hard cover book, a piece of foam, anything to get your toes elevated a few inches helps makes this stretch very effective!
Note: I want you to do this stretch in 3 stages: have your toes pointed straight ahead and hold, then point your toes towards the left (and hold) and towards the right (and hold).
Stretching is all about angles, and you will target the different muscle fibers that make up the calf. An added bonus is you can do this stretch with a bent knee (back leg), to get the soleus, which is the deeper calf muscle (lies underneath the gastroc)
Perform long holds of this stretch: 20-30 seconds, 3 times each stretch post-exercise. If you want to do this stretch prior to exercise hold for about 5 seconds.
