Single leg Calf Raise:
1) Step up with the front part of one foot, your heel should be unsupported
2) Shoulders, hips and ankles should be in one line and spine in neutral posittion
3) Hold one dumbbell on the side of the standing leg
4) Push up from the toes and ball of the foot to bring your body directly upward
5) Don’t lean forward or bend your knees
6) Your knees should be extended but not locked
7) Slowly lower your heel to the starting position
Calf raises from Plie position:
1) Hold a dumbbell with both hands extended down at the midline of your body, your legs should be wide appart and toes and knees pointing out.
2) Squat down into plie, bringing the dumbbell towards the ground. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor.
3) Lift your heels off the ground and contract your calves
4) Lower your heels back down and extend your legs to the starting position
excellent
Hi Zuzana, hope all is well with you! I have a question. Are you at all familiar with CathE and Jari Love? I work out with Jari Love’s dvd series and I love it because I’ve become so strong! and I’ve actually become very lean just through that.(weight lifting) I’ve read CathE’s Pyramid upper-lower body workout reviews and it seems to be very good. but in some sites women are saying that they’re getting bulky legs, etc., and I know you’ve been assuring us it’s not that way. But, have you heard of pyramid style? and what do you think of it, is it better than Jari Love’s low weights high reps? haha, you’ve really made me want to try out alot of the upper-lower split workouts because i really feel it in my arms for days! Thank you Zuzanaaaa!!!!
ps: one thing, you really seem to be a genuine woman–that’s awesome. :D
Oh yeah, I don’t know if I just tone up easily but your exercises like for the shoulders arms etc.(upper-workout)change my upper body within 2 days of doing them. sometimes i feel weird and i think, “how have i come to enjoy working out so much!”
hi i seen your vids on abs.this question is not so much for me but more my wife she and i work out as much possible and are in fairly good shape she says she is stuggling with her arms.triceps biceps.can you suggest any good arm work outs for her thanks kevin
Hi Kevin, please ask your wife what exactly she needs to do with her arms. Are they skinny with no muscles, chubby and shapeless or does she just want to get stronger?
they are i guess in my eyes treading on dangerous ground here.they are average in size she works hard on them doing same regiment i do she would like to get rid of the flab at the tricep area.dont get me wrong she is in great shape 5′-10″ 125 pds or so 32yrs well perportioned just wants to tighten eveything up after having my three boys thanks for any ideas is cardio or weights to go.she gets mad due to my gains and she just doesnt see her own ive always heard it is harder for women to get lean compared to a man due to water retain is this also true thanks
Hi Kevin,
men lose fat and gain lean muscle more easily than women because of their hormonal differences, muscle mass and higher metabolic rate. Women lose fat at slower rate and also have hard time to keep their body fat percentage below 16%. Your wife needs to be doing more exercises for her triceps than biceps and choose heavier weight 8-10 reps to increase her muscle mass in her upper arms to get them tighter. She can do super sets for example like this 1. hammer curls (8-10reps) + tricep push up (8-10reps) 2. concentration curls + tricep kick back 3. compound set for triceps: dips + skull crushers. This should help, let me know how is she doing.
Best,
Zuzana.
thanks so much zuzana you have been a big help and for taking the time to answer is there a member program on your website.if so how do es a person join
Hi Kevin,
there is no member program yet on this site, but we are working on some new features that will be part of the site in the next little while. Thank you for your interest.
Hi Zuzana,
I am 21 years old.I want to get rid of the flab on my calves.Will I be able to do that by doing calf raises? My calves are in really bad shape and i want to tighten them up.Actually I don’t like my body type,my arms are skinny where as my legs are larger as compared to my upper body.I’ve heard that weight training can build you up where you need more flesh and it can fine you down where you wear that rubber tyre :) can you help me ?
Hi, symmetry problems are very common and more and more people are asking me these type of questions. I will post a guidelines on how to workout to get nice proportions. Check back for the new fitness tips it will be up very soon.
Hi,thanks for your immediate response.I constantly read your articles and fitness tips.I’ve been doing your “Rock Your Body Workout” for a month with light weights.I exercise 3 times a week and I’ve noticed that it’s increased my stamina.I really really like your work :)
I am glad you like it, but you have to remember that once this workout won’t be challenging enough for you, your body will adapt to the same stress and you won’t make any farther progress. You need to change your workout routine before you hit the plateau.
Hey Zuzana!
I love your workout! but i do have a problem with my posture. Do you know of excersizes that would help staighten out shoulders and back (that sort of thing) Thank you soo much!
Hi Zuzana, I just wanted to see if you can help me with my workout routine it’s been over a year since I workout and now that I want to get and shape I don’t know what to do or how to start. Do you think you can tell what can I do each day and for how long am I supposted to workout. what I would really would to see change in my body is that I look to skyni I want to get bigger and stronger legs and butt and I also would like to get some abs.Thank you and I love your body I would love to look like you. Do you think you can tell me how much do you measur and how much do you weight?
Hi Stephanie, check out the new Summer Fit training program.
Hi Zuzana,
I love your videos …….. i workout hard but you when i’m looking for something different in my routine i always check out you site….. its been a great help.
I do have a question for you, this leg workout which is broken into 5 parts……. are you doing it on session/day/leg day. I workout legs once a week and was looking to change it up from my normal routine. I think i could take this and do it in one session or do you break it into 2 days, doing legs twice a week?? I’m confused please advise!!
Also how much cardio have you been doing plus your arms have gained a lot of definition in the last few months is that from the pull ups or shoulder workouts your doing.
Thank you again for all your help I look forward to hearing from you.
Rav
question:
I need to strengthen my right ankle, I am recovering from an injury. Do you have any suggestions for exercises that would improve my flexion and give me more strength laterally, particularly to push off from the floor forward? The ball of the foot close to the toes is the contact point where I need push off forward against the floor. My knees also need strengthening for the same purpose, and also to prevent lateral movement.
thanks
Hi Tom, I would like to help you, but this is a good question for exercise therapist, which I am not.
hi zuzana, i’m trying to get muscle from my legs but my right one is injured…..due to knee injury….i want to gain muscle tone and i want some nice calves
Thanks anyway.
[...] LoveClients wrote an interesting post today onLower Body Workout 5: Calf Raise Exercises | free <b>fitness</b>, and <b>…</b>Here’s a quick excerpt [...]
wow!! I like the squat calf raise much better than my standard calf raises!! thank you for the idea!!!
Hi Zuzanne,
I have bigger calves than average girls in my size, it could be to do with the fact I used to take swimming lessons and all of sudden stopped and changed my life stle like 180 degree into sitting at desk all the time. So it’s like all the muscle turned into fat and changed the shape compeletely.
Now I don’t want to build muscle here, I want to re-shape and tone up them. Is this excerside recommended for me?
Hi Zuzana, my wife and i are trying you out for the first time and i had a question for you.
My main focus right now is to loose my belly fat. But i also want to work on my abbs. By doing so will it only make my belly look bigger? I do cario everyday except on sundays, sundays are my rest days. i always do an hour cardio which is normally loosing 904 cals. after that we do strenght training. so basickly, is it okay to do ab work outs too for me? i am 22 years old, 6 foot and weigh 227 pounds.
Ahoj Zuzana :-)
I have a question, I just finished woatching the whole series of butt and abs nad the lowe body work out, but I would like to Know if there is any exercise to BUILT UP MUSCLE in your Butt area, I mean we all want it toned and tight, but if we want to increase butt volume, what could I do?
Díky :-)
Hi Grace,
the muscle hypertrophy happens when you do 8 to 10 reps and 3 to 5 sets with maximum of 90 seconds of rest between the sets. The last 2 reps must be superhard but not to failure. Always keep a proper form. Another great system for muscle growth is escalating density training or EDT. Pick two different exercises for opposite muscle groups – one for the back of your legs and butt and one for your quads. Choose a weight or an exercise that you can handle for maximum of 10 reps. Both of the exercises must be equally challenging. Set your stopwatch for 15 minutes and do only 5 reps for each exercise back to back. Your goal is to do as many total reps as possible during the 15 minutes. In the last few minutes of the workout you might have to cut down on the reps, and perform only 4,3,2 or even just 1 rep but that’s fine. You can do this type of workout once a week and try to beat your personal record each week by at least 1 more rep.
Hi Zuzanne,
First of al id like to say you are truly an inspiration!! Can you kindly tell me an exercise for the fat that has accumulated on the inside of knee areas where the knee joints are?
Hi Zuzana,
Ditto on Ravi’s question. How often should you do the lower body workout? Once or twice a week? Do the entire series – all 5 workouts- in one day? Also, how much cardio do you do in a week and with how much intensity?
Thanks a bunch! Your videos really keep me motivated when I am looking for something new and challenging.
Hi Zuzana!
i love your workout videos!!! thank you so much for posting them up for us to follow!
I have a question regarding calf muscles, which I am hoping that you can answer for me. I’ve gotmuscular calves, but the thing is that when i flex my calves, it seems like there’s 2 seperate muscles on each calve, instead of the normal one muscle that you have and everyone around me have. Why is that so? and do you think that it is because i haven’t been stretching my muscles properly?
thank you so much!!!
xoxo
Linda
hi Zuzana,
i have a big problem with my calves :(
They are too big and bulky.
How do I make them smaller?
Please help!
Thanks you
Maya
hey zuzane, i really thank u sooooooo much for the nice and ez digestable excersisng programs, i hav a chuppy arms , chuppy legs, am losing weight and i really dnt like to get this -not nice- body looking, i started doing upper and lower body excrsises with only 10 , am i doing the right things, i want to define my arms and legs lines and get back in shape with ur way,
Thanks for the site
will my legs grow bigger if i do a lot of power jumps?
Hi Zuzana,
Some people have a bad body circulation which causes a huge fat-looking lower body. I am one of them having big thighs and cellulite all around them. They look really terrible. I got nice upper body but somehow I cannot see the effect on my lower part even though I work hard equally. Do you think I should focus on this lower body workout to get leaner legs?