Soleus Strengthening Exercise for Runners

[@Natalie82170]

Thank you. This is the only exercise I can find for the soleus muscle that doesn't require any equipment.

[@vide0gameCaster]

So far, it's the best exercice I found on youtube. Straightforward and simple to implement in a daily routine. Thank you sir!

[@jackwilliam7775]

So tell me did it help you

[@daibeynon6839]

Just watched this video for the first time after aggravating my soleus during Ironman training. Hoping to be back running soon!! Thanks for a simple but great video.

[@douglaswashburn4503]

Hey! I have the same injury. How did you rehab it, how long were you injured and how did you reintroduce running distance? I have my first Ironman in 4.5 weeks and hurt my soleus a week ago :(

[@Aesthetic_Al]

@@douglaswashburn4503 Hope you doing better now but how was your experience? I injured my soleus so curious how long this takes. I have an event in July but I've been with my soleus discomfort for the last 6 weeks.

[@douglaswashburn4503]

@@Aesthetic_Al It bugged me for a while actually. Maybe 6-8 weeks. I actually think it came as much from dude not riding hills as to running. The injury came on a short run after a long hard hill ride and the reinjury came when I wasn’t even running. So I think too much too soon was my issue.

[@marcabbink2772]

Great exercise but don't forget to include the soleus stretch...!

[@informedconsent3560]

Went for a run today and had to quit because of a calf muscle strain probably soleus. Going to start rehabbing with this exercise today thanks.

[@paradox9265]

This is very useful for triple jumpers. The soleus is attacked on each phase pretty harshly, so it’s super important to strengthen it.

[@virginia-marieparker6325]

Thank you so much! I’m coming back from a tough injury and have had a set back- this begins a new chapter in healing

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

Same here. Soleus keeps going on me. So this strength training regimen is exactly what I need.

[@tylerx8848]

Did this help you guys?

[@yellowshoe7634]

I'm a sprinter,and I always been looking for soleus muscle recovery. This is very useful.

[@Deadly7K]

I'm a sprinter myself and I've spoken with my coaches for muscle building to prevent shin splints. I was told to work on the soleus. Did you work on this specific muscle for the same reason? I'm just curious cause I've tried everything but this for a cure or a help. Thanks!

[@yellowshoe7634]

Deadly7K Yeah,I do. Now the pain is decreasing.

[@Deadly7K]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm hoping it will do the same. I hope your season this year goes great

[@yellowshoe7634]

Deadly7K Thanks,appreciate it. Before I forgot,do the exercise twice a day.

[@Deadly7K]

Alright. Thank you for the tips

[@joannaspivey566]

THIS IS VERY CLEAR AND INFORMATIVE AND USEFUL. THANK YOU.

[@MrYoumitube]

After straining my lower calf (soleus) playing basketball . I plan on building my strength and learning isolated stretches. So thanks for the workout, will be doing this regularly as my warm up.

[@JamesDunne]

+MrYoumitube No problem. I hope it helps :)

[@ShelleyJane]

Going to give this a go. Discovering weakness in my soleus muscles during my half marathon training. Scared of ruining my progress by running on sore muscles but I need to stick to my training schedule because 5k is my furthest distance so far!

[@JamesDunne]

Hope it helps, Shelley! Good luck :)

[@karim271]

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[@davidricardobarrerapinto3165]

How did you go? Did this exercise help you?

[@nicolasb7795]

how did you half marathon go? and did the exercise help?

[@ivanandreevich8568]

Kept injuring my calf for years and fracturing and then badly spraining the ankle. Kept training the gastroc and apparently only made the imbalance worse. Minimized gastroc training and focused on this instead. Holy crap my calf is back to normal. I'm still afraid to run but it's feeling an order of magnitude better for jumping.

[@17jeza]

Did you have shin splints? How long did it take to correct?

[@Gamer-Clark-Zwift]

Thanks for the exercise. I’ve been looking for something to strengthen soleus.

[@rockesh123]

Simple & Crisp! Thanks mate for this

[@irunovermountains]

That’s excellent advice. I have tight soleus, and I am indeed experiencing a tenderness around the Achilles and upper ankle, as they compensate. Thanks James

[@daflecta]

Dude I'm so thankful that you made this clear and helpful video. I helped me out a lot!

[@PeristroFist]

I was wondering why there was so much strain on my achilles! I'm sure a lot of ppl would just strengthen by getting used to running but as someone who hasn't run in years and not worked out those muscles I'm really glad for this video thank you!

[@user-gh8kl8ff3v]

Thank you so much! Felt the burn just in the correct place. Looking forward to doing this more to run better in hard surfaces.

[@robertmills7451]

me too! i just did the exercises and felt a nice warmth in injured soleus but had no pain. this is the area that needs work! interestingly, i was more clumsy on the squats on the injured side as well. thanks again

[@Kelly_Ben]

Dealing with my first calf strain after years of on and off running, and I'm determined to NEVER deal with this again. I'll be doing this with my other exercises. Thanks!

[@markschoifet5316]

I agree with the previous post. This exercise has been extremely helpful. Thank you

[@danawhitaker6220]

You are spot on Sir... felt it immediately - Thanks

[@rc_youtubeaccount1331]

amazingly effective....if there is anything everyone knows but took me a while to realise, bend the ankle as much as possible and control the knee's movement because thigh muscles can't help much in moving back the ankle

[@zerounloaded860]

Being a track athlete dealing with shin splints seeing that heel hit the ground aggravated me at 0:45

[@CrumbleLives]

I’m not a runner but as part of my weights routine I added seated calf raises with dumbbells on top and increased my calf sizes by 1”.

[@EMLRecordings]

Awesome thank you for this exactly what I needed 👍

[@markg-town8150]

AWESOME STUFF HERE BUDDY. THANK YOU.. WILL USE FOR ONE WEEK AND SEE MY PROGRESS.

[@שלמהויסבורט]

Thanks! Very helpful!

[@artisansportsman8950]

Got to try this i have been suffering with a Soleus strain for six months now running has become a thing of the past for me.

[@faithkaranja6880]

Did this help you? Sorry for replying to such an old comment but I have the same problem now

[@zhuli693]

excellent, it really nailed it.

[@simplertimesmama]

wonderful for post ACL surgery; latent pain "tennis calf" due to muscle compromise/weakness

[@MelanieSakowski]

Nice, I’ll do this today. Brilliantly transferable 👌🏻

[@daftclub831]

Great video James. i will try this today mate, cheers

[@draconianTL]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@paulallan34]

How often should you do this exercise?

[@azlan856]

Going to give a go. Hopefully this will help stregthen my partially torn achilles tendon. Your thoughts Sir, and any others recovering from like injury. Thanks

[@lv3685]

Great stuff, thank you

[@almosthel]

Great exercise! How often should one do this whilst rehabbing a soleus strain?

[@lika332]

Big help, thanks!

[@kch2005]

Hi James. excellent content. What is your opinion on heavy strength work on the soleus, in the form of loaded seated calf raises (in a smith rack). It really seems to target this, but of course the excercise you show here is more simple, and can be done anywhere. Also, the seated calf raises seems to result in pain in my peroneus muscle.

[@TopsMiah]

Thank you

[@saikumorrbandarpally1241]

@James Dunne.... This one is fab

[@peterhoatson]

Very good, thank you

[@JamesDunne]

Thank you too!

[@roberthold5624]

As i cured my knee pain, shin splints, and ankle pain. Now after some sprinting now my soleus. At least im seeing rapid progression

[@thoughtexperiment95]

thanks. New to me and seems perfect

[@josephmarks5489]

This is great

[@ferretmaster22]

My Soleus is throbbing every 4-5 seconds with mini pains at the minute had a Jog yesterday, I've been having problems with that part of my leg on both legs for a few years now, I try to warm up properly stretches and all, calfs, Hams and Quads, but I always have it in my mind to be careful not to over do it just in case I strain the Soleus, also 7 years ago I done a complete rupture of my Achilles Tendon, Maybe its just because I'm getting older and my muscles are starting to fade, I'm 37, that's what I've put it down too, I used to be Like a Cat when I was younger, probably used it all up when I was younger, I would love to be able to sprint again, but I'm probably Dreaming that will ever happen again, if I tried to Sprint I'd most definitely tear something.

[@deeeeegs]

Does anyone know the actual name of this exercise?

[@sibosisonkala2914]

My inner ankle is becoming painful when I do this, but the pain on the soleus is decreasing, is it normal?

[@hikerJohn]

Here's hoping this helps me as well . . . I'll let you know in a few weeks.

[@EzhikBomj]

Updates?

[@hikerJohn]

@@EzhikBomj Turns out jumping rope works even better as that completely cured my calf and achilles tendon issue.

[@EzhikBomj]

@@hikerJohnI'm happy for you and I'm quite surprised you answered. Didn't skipping hurt for you? And if you did soleus training how did it help? I mean in your calf and achilles issues and maybe running

[@hikerJohn]

@@EzhikBomj Skipping rope did not hurt the calf or achilles tendon. I did it for two months. Jumping rope recruits more fast twitch muscle fiber and does it with less range of motion.

[@paulinealba9659]

great video-Thanks for sharing. Any thoughts on exercises or stretches for the peroneal muscle ?

[@JamesDunne]

Pauline Alba Hi Pauline! Looks like I need to make a video for the Peroneal muscles too :) Will do!

[@angelmartinez8009]

Can I do this everyday ?

[@henrybobe6481]

Will this help with size and mass?

[@thierrydupont3177]

nice i've never done running training and it's really interesting , i've felt a burn after just a 4 time of each sequence on each leg ^^

[@plantarfasciitistreatments7132]

How do you treat your muscles Thierry?

[@thierrydupont3177]

i'm not sure how to awnser but because we talk about the legs i could mention that i've got flat feets and that i used to do gymnastics, longboard, and rock climbing, running and bike, now i work 40h in a warehouse for a food company lifting boxes. I've always done my stretching before and after work or sports... but i'm not specialized in muscles names and everything + i'm french so it would be hard to explain in detail for me.

[@edgarcardosoo]

Doing this exercise I feel the same pain I feel when a I am running wiht low intensity. Should I continue doing this exercise??

[@paulinealba9659]

Awesome! That would be great. Much appreciated : )

[@strebis6]

I have PF and I was told to include working out my soleus muscle. Question-What is a sign of a weak soleus muscle? I tried this exercise and after a few seconds my leg starts to shake. Thanks for you time.

[@tdone2811]

good one...ive started running again after a very long break. I am finding that in some rums my soleus starts to get tighter and tighter then i have to stop. Going to try this exercise...i suppose it's getting fit to run other than running to get fit. I've started using a roller too to get some flexibility into the calves. Massage is the next thing...anything else help?

[@blahplayhard4092]

I've been doing powerlifting for like 8 months and got my squat reps of 5 as high as 260 and deadlift as high as 350 so my legs are as strong as they've ever been right now. I started a cut phase and began jogging and the last 2 times out I've severely strained my soleus muscle in my right calf. It's basically debilitating and I can barely walk back home. I'm 38 and have never had this happen before. Played baseball well into adulthood and stole bases and was a good sprinter and stuff. This is new to me and it sucks. I should probably try stretching before I jog next time. But if it happens again I'm not sure what to do about it. Both times out it happened about 1/3 of a mile into my slow jog.

[@Asillyhobo]

Blah Playhard I found this video while looking at the difference between seated and standing calf raises. Seated calf raises allegedly focus more on the soleus, you could try that as a strength exercise.

[@blahplayhard4092]

Thanks, but since that post I've figured out why my soleus was strained on one side. I lift in my garage so my squat fail bar is this rigged set-up where the left bar is slightly higher than the right bar. On some reps at the very bottom the barbell would gently tap the left fail bar (but not the right), altering the loading ever so slightly. So without noticing, my right soleus was being overworked. Jogging on it was what would actually hurt it severely. The way I found this out was I squatted shortly after my pain went away and I noticed when the bar would tap on one side, my right soleus (which was probably 98% healed) would tweak just a little bit. That's when it hit me. So I took a break from squats then tried jogging again a few weeks later and absolutely no pain. Moral of the story: if you rig up fail bars in your home gym make sure they are level. The very slight imbalance caused by the barbell tapping on one side but not the other is enough to overwork muscles on one side of your body (even if you don't notice it during the lift). The damage was being done.

[@emanuelmoren]

Hi, I 've gone through a compartment syndrome operation on my soleus muscles. 4 scissions in total. After the operation am I not feeling any immediate change. Would you recommend this exercise as steady rehab to running or should I aim for a certain level of this exercise before hitting the streets??

[@User_ML907]

New subscriber.

[@inklink1308]

Thanks dude

[@victoryinthescriptures4440]

Nice

[@CasaBenny]

Thanks James. Do standing leg raises work the gastrocnemius only?

[@JamesDunne]

Harith K No problem! Standing leg raises will be more Gastroc focussed, especially if you keep the knee straight. Bent knee heel raises will target Soleus better. The problem is that neither of these exercises mimic the role of Soleus in running gait. The exercise in this video does a better job of achieving this.

[@CasaBenny]

Thanks for the information, should definitely incorporate this in my routine.

[@ashleylake]

Well I've had about twelve years of repeated soleus and gastric mini tears. Haven't tried a come back now for about two years. Thinking of another one soon want to avoid disappointment. I have been swimming competitively in that time. So my plan is to work on gluts hams and quads with lunges, squats dead lifts, stretching hip flexor and quads and strengthen and release my troublesome calf. I'll try this exercise... Any more ideas James? Any suggestions in frequency......?

[@Tonxoo7]

How about interval training? I found Jeff Galloway`s Run-Walk-Run video on here quite interesting. I used to run a lot but for the last six years I have only been cycling, when I tried running recently I had the same problems as you. The interval gives my calves a chance to recover and they feel stronger each time. That along with the strength training offered in this video.

[@bryanurizar]

What should I do if my quads give up before my calf burns? I can get a good burn on my left leg but not on my right which is the affected leg as my quad gives up before I do.

[@sstein4777]

this seems good but i wonder if it doesn't work on the thigh more

[@idunckel04]

Ouch look at that hard heel strike...why recommending that?

[@19aaron83]

Doing this after a few reps, the muscle above my ankle (right foot) starts to hurt. I also feel pain about 10-15 minutes into running. I think the part I am referring to is called Fibularis Tertius. What should I get from this? Is the muscle weak or stiff?

[@19aaron83]

only my right foot is affected

[@shubhamgiri8607]

my muscle is start paining suddenly when i start running due to which i have to take sudden stop.

[@luiscosta4925]

This seems to be a Pistol Squat strater progression. Does a Pistol Squat also builds strength in the Soleus muscles?

[@chavez349]

Luís Costa a pistol squat is mostly quads.

[@xKyleNxCoD]

My Soleus muscles get huge from running alone. I guess im a natural runner.

[@pakkachammar1691]

You are the most I ntellignt

[@weeevan3078]

One more step and i would had torn my soleus. I had to stop my run after i was doing great with my cardio 😡

[@jpersonen98]

Havet been able to run for 2 moths, cuz of akillies/solueus problems. I with id found this earlier :'(

[@yesterday4893]

do u know u don't blink. those were sum fakey blinks. lol

[@desertrunner9569]

My Soleus is massive.

[@angelmartinez8009]

Can I do this daily ?