Tight calves can hold you back..

Your calves and ankles can either hold the key to your untapped potential or be the weak link that keeps you in chronic pain.

Everyone wants shapely calves, but not many of us regularly train our lower legs. (With the glutes, hamstrings and quads monopolizing so much of our focus, who has time?) But consciously working the ankles and calf muscles should be part of every smart woman’s training plan, and in fact, neglecting your lower legs could take you out of the training game completely.

“Probably the most common [ailment] will be tightness or injury to the Achilles,” says Brenna Casey, founder of FLIP Physiotherapy Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. “Let’s say you come into a hard landing with your knees bent. If your calves can’t handle the load, that may lead to bigger problems.”

Then, of course, there is the issue of footwear, and while those High heels might look  fabulous, they’re not giving much love to your ankles and calves. “Prolonged wear of this type of shoe combined with daily exercising, sitting and not enough stretching can lead to pain in the calf, heel and foot,” Casey says.

Consciously training and stretching your lower leg will improve strength and stability of your ankle in all directions, which translates into doing more reps, lifting more weight and working harder. “The ankle joint is involved in every squatting and stepping movement, and it is a key part of just about every athletic endeavor,” says Marc Megna, CSCS, and a sports performance coach in Miami. “I’ve seen basketball and volleyball players significantly increase their vertical jump and 40-yard dash times simply by improving their calf strength and power.”

So tear your focus away from your bum for a while and give your lower legs some love. The rewards will be sweet.