VIDEO: How To Tell If Your Calfs Are Too Tight

Tight calfs are a problem. They can interfere with running, squatting, lunging and lead to knee pain. (Here’s an example). What a drag, eh?

How to tell if your calf are tight in the first place? It depends a little bit on what your goals are and how your body is built. For instance, if you’re an olympic weightlifter, you might need a bit more flexibility than the average person. But that’s a talk for another day. Here are three methods for the average person to assess their ankle mobility.

You'll often see an assessment where you try to touch your knee to the wall like this. This is an OK technique, but it’s not my preferred method because it's possible to cheat the test. If you use these three tests instead, you should get a proper sense of how tight or mobile your calfs are.

So… Suppose you discover that your ankles are stiff… What can you do?

I’ve going to upload a more detailed video soon, but start with these two drills: a basic stretch and some basic self massage. Try to do the basic stretch often. Improving calf mobility takes time and consistency. I can’t emphasize that enough. You want to find a way to do the drills multiple times a day for best results.