When we start in the world of sports, it is logical not to understand very well how to begin to shape and strengthen our body. It is very common to watch some videos or observe those who are close to us in order to know how to move and what machines to use to achieve our goals . However, it is not enough. Technique, sometimes, is everything. And, in addition, there are certain exercises that are not practiced enough, such as standing heel raises . For this reason, we have to inform ourselves in specialized pages, for example, to really know what suits us and what parts of the body we have to involve to achieve our goals .
How to do standing heel raises
After reading the name of this exercise, standing heel raises , it is quite intuitive to know what the movements we have to perform consist of. Therefore, to do it correctly, we have to stand up , putting our feet apart, approximately shoulder width apart. On the other hand, the knees have to be slightly bent . At this point, it is necessary to take the heels off the ground, while we carry out an extension of the feet in order to raise the body while it supports all its weight on the tips of the feet.
There is something that you have to keep in mind, and that is that the back has to be completely straight at all times . Also, all we have to do to lift the body is lift the heels . Of course, there are certain variants. Whether you choose one or the other will depend on your needs.
Variants of the exercise
Thus, there are those who use a bar that is placed on the torso when performing standing heel raises . Likewise, there are those who prefer to choose to grip a dumbbell with each hand. In this case, the weight will be selected by you depending on the strength you have in your arms. In addition, there are many who also use a bench to do this exercise . In this way, the difficulty is multiplied, since the heels carry out a greater distance during the exercise.
Likewise, it is possible to perform the standing heel raises from a specific machine. In this case, it is necessary to put the shoulders under some lined pads. Likewise, the feet must be placed on a platform. Moments later, the contraption must be mobilized by raising the heels taking into account the extra weight. Of course, both the raising and lowering of the heels has to be slow and, in addition, it is essential to control each movement. It is the only way to work each of the muscles that are involved in this exercise in the correct way.
What muscles are worked in the heel lift?
The standing calf raises are an exercise that works, in principle, the lower and back parts of the legs. We are talking about an area that we neglect most of the time, when it really deserves our attention. On the other hand, we have to say that standing heel raises work, specifically, the triceps sural muscle . This is made up of other muscles, such as the calves and the soleus.
In this case, it will be the internal calf that develops the most work if we choose to place the feet in a “V” shape . This means that they have to be joined in the area of the heels and separated at the tips. However, if we opt for the opposite position, that is, joining the toes and separating the heels, achieving an inverted “V”, what will be worked the most will be the external calf within the standing heel raises .
Tips for performing standing heel raises
As we have said in previous paragraphs, we have to master the technique when performing any type of exercise and training . This means that we must know each movement that we are going to develop with our muscles in order not to damage them and that they develop in the proper way.
Therefore, there are many tips that you can take into account to do the standing heel raises correctly . For example, if you want the calves to work holistically, we suggest you carry out the exercise by making variations with your feet. In this way, the different portions of the muscles will work intensely .
On the other hand, you shouldn’t rebound when doing standing calf raises . This means that the route you have to do must be smooth and constant. It is the only way to concentrate work on the twins. Also, keep in mind that, as we have said before, the back must remain straight and that the knees must not be bent excessively at any time . The goal is not to hurt you.
