How does foot positioning during exercise affect calf muscle growth?
The calf muscle is notoriously difficult to grow. It has been shown that the calf muscle responds less to exercise when compared to other muscles, such as the upper legs. However, the positioning of the feet during calf training may influence how much the calves respond.
This study investigated the effect of different foot positions on calf muscle growth following 9 weeks (3 times per week) of resistance training. The subjects were 22 recreationally active, healthy young men. Per subject, each of their legs was randomly assigned into 1 of 3 groups: foot pointed outward (n=16), inward (n=16), or forward (n=12) during the calf raise exercise. Calf (gastrocnemius) muscle thickness was measured with ultrasound before and after the training period.
Calf muscle thickness increased in all groups after the 9 weeks of training. However, the feet pointed outward position led to more growth in the inner (medial) portion of the calf when compared to the feet pointed inward position. In addition, the feet pointed inward condition led to more growth in the outer (lateral) portion of the calf when compared to the feet pointed outward position. The feet pointed forward resulted in relatively equals gains in both the inner and outer calf.
Thus, shifting foot position changes which portion of the calf is trained the most but with no impact on total growth. It remains to be determined if combining different foot positions can result in a superior overall result when compared to selecting just a single position.
Go to the next infographic in the resistance exercise series:
Aerobic conditioning increases muscle mass gains?
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