Standing Soleus Stretch
oec:standing-soleus-stretch
A standing calf stretch performed with a bent knee to isolate the deeper soleus muscle and Achilles tendon.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: Standing Bent-Knee Calf Stretch, Wall Soleus Stretch, Soleus / Achilles Stretch
How to do it
Setup
- Stand facing a wall or sturdy support, placing your hands against it at shoulder height for balance.
- Step one foot back into a staggered stance, keeping both feet pointed straight ahead.
Movement
- Bend both knees slightly, shifting your weight down and slightly back into the rear leg.
- Keep the rear heel firmly planted on the floor as you sink your hips down and drive the rear knee forward over the toes.
- Hold the stretch in the lower calf and Achilles region of the back leg for the target duration, then switch sides.
Breathing
Breathe smoothly and deeply throughout the hold, relaxing into the stretch on each exhale.
Cues
- Keep the back heel glued to the floor
- Bend both knees
- Sink hips straight down
Common faults
- Straightening the back knee
- Keep the back knee bent to bias the soleus rather than the gastrocnemius.
- Lifting the back heel off the floor
- Shorten your stance so your heel remains completely in contact with the ground throughout the stretch.
- Turning the back foot outward
- Point both feet directly forward to ensure the stretch acts evenly across the calf.
Safety
- Do not bounce or force end-range dorsiflexion if you experience sharp pain in the Achilles tendon or ankle joint.
Muscles
Joints
- Ankle: Dorsiflexion
- Knee: Flexion
Details
- Movement
- Stretch
- Modality
- Flexibility, Mobility
- Mechanics
- isolation
- Force
- static
- Laterality
- unilateral
- Kinetic chain
- closed
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- None
- Record
- Duration
- Load
- none
Sources
- wger: Standing Soleus Stretch, by erikocobra (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
- wger: Soleus / Achilles Stretch (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.