Calf stretch (off a step)

What you should feel?? When performed correctly, you will feel a stretch in the muscles of the calf and ankle area. Depending on your body type and how tight your calves are, you may feel it in a different area of the calves to someone else.

Instructions:

Standing on a solid step and holding onto something for safety
Drop the leg you are stretching off the back of the step
Keeping the ball of your foot on the step and your leg straight, drop your heel down as far as you can go
The further you go the stronger the stretch will be
Hold for an allocated time

Main muscles targeted:

Calf muscles
Specifically, Soleus and Gastrocnemius
Muscles of the foot and toes

Main benefits:

A calf stretch off a step will help to lengthen the calf muscles. It is a more intense version of the a normal calf stretch so should be performed with caution at first. Calf muscle length is important for many reasons but one of the main reasons is to be able to lift your toes during walking in order to clear objects and bumps on the ground that would otherwise cause you to trip.