Foam Roller Exercises for the Gastrocnemuis and Anterior Tibialis Muscles

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Foam Roller Exercises and Stretches
for the Gastrocnemius Muscles (Calves) and
Anterior Tibialis Muscles (Shins)

The next foam roller exercises that we will learn involve the gastrocnemius muscles and the anterior tibialis muscles. If this area is not a problem area for you, scroll to the bottom to see my complete list of foam rolling exercises.

’Our bodies are our gardens - our wills are our gardeners.’ ~ William Shakespeare

Scroll down the page to jump straight to the exercise video and calf stretches and shin stretches if you desire to skip the additional information.

In my foam roller exercise series, I focus on using the foam roller to enhance your body-mind connection. By sending your attention to one area of your body, you send energy there for healing.

Hopefully you have first read Foam Rolling for an overview of body rolling on a foam roller. A simple technique for self myofascial release is accomplished by foam roller exercises. Self myofascial release is a great way to keep your muscles supple, elongated and free of stress knots or 'congestion' as I like to call it. If you read Foam Rolling, I describe the body-mind-soul benefits of this activity.

Foam roller exercises help you stretch, elongate and treat your muscles. Athletes rely on the foam roller to roll out muscle knots and get them back into the game. This self myofascial release technique helps you avoid more expensive treatments provided by massage therapists and physical therapists. You can now be your own therapist when you do your foam roller exercises!

The release of muscular tension during foam roller exercises often brings about emotional release as well, as you learn to focus on the areas of soreness and make the process of the foam roller exercises more meditative. It is another way for you to learn how to ‘feel it and heal it’ as I like to call it. Emotions do affect our bodies, so please see How Emotions Affect Our Body if you desire to learn more about this very important issue regarding the body-mind connection and using it for healing.

Energy or congestion that is brought about by strong emotions that have not been released, are stored in specific and metaphorical areas of our body. Foam roller exercises and stretches help us find this congestion to relieve it.

If you have not yet purchased a foam roller or are looking to update your current one, I recommend Power Systems - Foam Rollers for your foam roller exercises. They have a full array of rollers. If you can afford the Premium Textured EVA Foam Roller, that's the one I can personally recommend. I recently purchased one and it has a nice, soft and flexible outer texture that gives a little cushion, over a solid, non-compressible core. It really is a superior foam roller.

The Function of the Gastrocnemius Muscles and Anterior Tibialis Muscles

The main function of the gastrocnemius muscles, on the back of the calf is to lift the heel up. This movement is called plantar flexion or the movement that points the toes. The gastrocnemius, when viewed from the surface of the calf is the nicely rounded muscle that appears as two heads. It is the muscle of the lower leg that is most greatly admired. This muscle is important because it attaches to the Achilles tendon on the back of the ankle.

Working in conjunction with the gastrocnemius muscles, are the muscles on the front of the calf, called the anterior tibialis muscles. The tibialis muscles are more commonly known as the shins. The responsibility of the anterior tibialis muscles is to pull the toes up toward the shins. This movement is called dorsiflexion.

When walking, running or jumping, both the gastrocnemius muscles and tibialis muscles are involved as the foot/ankle is flexed from one movement to another, up and down. These muscles are also involved with the stabilization of the ankle, to prevent side-to-side movements.

One of the most common problems of the lower leg is shin splints. Shin splints can involve anywhere along the tibia, or shinbone. It is an overuse injury of the anterior tibialis muscles, when the muscle becomes inflamed, painful and perhaps swollen. Shin splints can become so severe that the actual muscle fibers of the anterior tibialis muscle are torn off the shinbone. If this happens because you failed to listen to your body window, you are in serious trouble unless you decide to change your ways.

Achilles tendonitis is another common problem of the back of the ankle. Due to over-use or misuse, the tendon becomes inflamed, painful and swollen. The Achilles tendon is a well-known tendon because of the “Achilles heel” phenomenon from Greek mythology when Achilles was struck down at his only weak point – his heel. If greatly misused and/or over-used, the Achilles tendon can also be ruptured.

Because the ankle is connected to the foot, keeping the muscles and tendons of the calves and ankles flexible and free of tension and tightness will prevent plantar fasciitis! Plantar fasciitis is a very painful condition of the fascial tendons on the bottom of the feet that when overused become inflamed, swollen and even torn, if the foot pain is ignored.

Shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, tendinitis of other muscles of the ankle area and plantar fasciitis may be the result of:

Overuse of the legs in any sport, especially running sports.
New runners just starting out and unaccustomed to running, or past runners that start up quickly after a long time off from running.
Suddenly running or sprinting much faster, as done with speed work, when unaccustomed to it or rapidly increasing your mileage or amount of activity before acclimation.
Tight gastrocnemius muscles of the calves, and lack of stretching the calves and the Achilles tendon and the anterior tibialis muscles – all areas which are naturally weaker and smaller in mass than the larger muscles of the legs.
Running on hard surfaces.
Running uphill or adding stair climbing to your work-out.
Improper running position or technique, weak anterior tibialis muscles that let the foot slap, over-pronation of the foot, and other foot or ankle problems.

If you have a slight strain or tightness in the gastrocnemius muscles, or shin muscles, the RICE procedures should work well for you: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. You should not perform foam roller exercises until the pain is almost gone, or you could re-injure your muscle or tendon. Please see the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons for more information on what to do if you injure your tendons and muscles of the lower leg.

Meditate on the Meaning of the Gastrocnemius Muscles and the Anterior Tibialis Muscles in Your Life

The body metaphor (See Developing Intuition by Using Your Body) for the muscles of the lower leg, like other muscles of the legs may involve the metaphor of moving forward in life, or the fear of moving forward. This therefore involves the future and one’s desire or lack of desire to move towards the future.

Since the lower leg muscles connects to the foot, foot issues, and stepping may be involved. ‘Nowhere to step,’ or ‘not knowing where to step,’ or ‘step it up,’ or ‘stepping out,’ or ‘side-stepping,’ may all be involved in your truth. It may also involve your own personal ‘Achilles heel,’ i.e. your weakness(es) that you haven’t owned.

Lifting the heel means walking on your tip-toes, so maybe you are ‘tip-toeing around’ or ‘walking on eggs.’ Shin splints may be about ‘splintering’ or something ‘torn’ or ‘torn up’ in your life.

Healing shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and sore calves and feet all take enormous amounts of self-love and self-understanding. You need to spend a lot of time with shin splint stretches and ankle and calf stretches, resting and babying your lower legs if you wish to heal. Since everything you do involves stepping it will be very hard to discipline yourself through rest and pampering to discover your body-mind-soul issues with your feet, ankles, shins or calves.

The feet and ankles bear the burden of the load of your whole body, so listening to them is very important if you have problems with your lower legs. I knew a person who was so good at ignoring his body window that despite ankle pain, he kept up his power walking program. When the pain failed to subside, he finally went to get it checked out. What he found out was that he had been walking with stress fractures in his feet, for who knows how long! Now that is determination. Yet finding an activity that rested his ankles was difficult indeed. He now, truly had ‘nowhere to step.’ Was his body window speaking to him? Aquatics were the only answer, but he did not want to change his program and I never heard how he ended up.

The power of the will is strong indeed and you need to be especially astute if you recognize that you are a driver and forceful user of your will. In the above example, I never did find out on what his body-mind-soul issue was centered, specifically. But I do know that it was about willfully forcing himself forward in life.

If you are the type that keeps on pushing and running through shin splints and Achilles tendonitis, and other foot or ankle problems could you be running away from something? Does running represent a body-mind-soul issue for you?

If your have stress fractures in your feet does this represent too much stress in your life that you are manifesting in your feet? There is a reason they call them stress fractures!

When you do your foam roller exercises for your gastrocnemius muscles in your calves and your anterior tibialis muscles in your shins, meditate on the meaning of these sore areas in your life and what it may represent for you. You can also roll the ankle area, if it doesn’t cause you pain.

Create Positive Affirmations for Health:

When you do your foam roller exercises and your shin stretches, calf stretches and ankle stretches say the following positive affirmations for health that speak to you, if you have problems in this area:

I step out with Love.
My ankles are straight and strong!
I walk/move through life with joy and ease.
I tenderly step forward in my life and treat myself with respect.

I move forward with kindness and ease.

I release control and let God/the Universe guide me.

I move carefully and slowly forward, trusting that all I need to know will be revealed to me.

My ankles are supple and flexible.

I believe the future holds all good things for me.

I have time for all things that have meaning in my life.

I move at the speed of the Universe with my body as my guide.

I love and trust myself to find my truth!

Personalize and Adjust the Foam Roller Exercises:

When you do these foam roller exercises for the gastrocnemius muscles and anterior tibialis muscles, and the shin stretches and calf stretches, meditate on what this area may represent in your life, and if you sense held emotions that need releasing. Meditate on whether you have issues of fear of moving forward or if you power yourself forward too forcefully.

Journal about your feelings as you reflect on your calf muscles, your shin muscles and your ankles. Often these feelings will come as you are doing the actual foam roller exercises themselves. Write down your truth and your affirmations that you have created and make them a part of your daily rituals.

As with all foam rolling you can adjust the amount of pressure you place on the muscle by how far you sink your weight into it. Make sure you do both sides equally to maintain your body balance.

As with all foam roller exercises, please feel free to vary the exercise in any way as your intuition moves you! Shift your weight left or right, up or down as your intuition dictates.

When you roll the muscle, if you sense a spot or knot that is sore, hold the pressure of your weight over that area for a while, about 20-30 seconds, or as long as you wish. B-r-e-a-t-h-e as you sink into the sore spot. If it is too painful that you cannot breathe, ease up on the pressure. The deep breathing is the signal to your body that you are in the relaxed state and eventually the muscle will release as long as you are able to deep breathe.

If the pain is so great that you have to hold your breath, the opposite effect will occur. Your muscle will tense up and become even more painful. So only apply as much pressure that you can continue to deep breathe! Also do not roll the muscle area too vigorously at first or you may cause bruising and more soreness to occur. Go slow if you are new to foam roller exercises.

Really notice your body and how it feels when you do the foam roller exercises. Feel the pull, the stretch, the discomfort and sink into it. Breathe deeply as you sink farther into it. Let go. Let the tension go, let the stress go and let the muscle release. When the muscle releases, so may your emotions and your pent up energy release! So may your need to control and hold the tension! Let the feeling and the release come! Feel it and heal it! It will do your body, mind and soul wonders!

I will give the foam roller exercises in two parts:

First I will give you a brief description of the movement in writing for those of you who function best with your left, detail-oriented brain.

Second is a short video of the movements. There is no voice-over on the video, so as you watch, I will force you to use your right brain, the sensing, feeling part of your brain. The right brain perceives images and spatial relationships. It is the part of the brain that you most often close down, in our left-brain, detail and language-oriented culture. (See Improving Your Body Balance is Improving Your Life Balance for more explanation of right brain vs. left-brain functions). No voice-over will also aid you in going inward when you do your foam roller exercises.

Feel free to vary the exercise in any way as your intuition moves you!

Foam Roller Exercises for the Gastrocnemius Muscles and the Anterior Tibialis Muscles:

For the anterior tibialis muscles, ‘kneel’ on the foam roller with your shins down on the roller, like in the yoga child’s pose. Place the foam roller just below the knee caps.
Keep your arms extended out in front of you for more balance, and pull forward with your hands as you roll down the length of the shins, and to the ankles too if your intuition desires. Roll back up by pushing off with your hands.
You may need to adjust your arm position or shin position on the roller to find a comfortable spot for you.
Do not roll over the knee caps.
If you wish, cross one leg over the other at the ankle to increase the pressure on one side. This cross over is not depicted in the video for the anterior tibialis rolling because it’s a little more difficult to do, requiring more balance. If you are up for it and feel you need to apply more pressure to your shins, go ahead and try it! With the crossover, you can also target a muscle called the peroneus muscle in the side of the lower leg.
For the gastrocnemius muscles in the calves sit on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you. Place the foam roller under your calves just below the knee.
Place your arms slightly behind your buttocks.
Push off with your arms to roll down the lower leg. You can roll over the ankle and Achilles tendon area as well if your intuition dictates.
Do not roll over the knee joints.
To increase the pressure on one side, cross your one leg over the other at the ankle and foam roll the calves and ankles.
(Not pictured) You can roll more to the inside of the leg to target the medial head of the calf muscle or roll more to the outside of the leg to target the lateral head.
As always, to increase the pressure and the stretch, sink harder with your weight into the foam roller.
Be creative and roll where your intuition tells you to go. The video is just a starting point.

You can also follow up with calf stretches by doing yoga stretches. The best calf stretches and Achilles tendon stretch is the Downward Dog.

Yoga Downward Dog Pose, West Spanish Peak, Colorado

I also like the Seated Forward Bend, but instead of grabbing your feet, sit up straight grab your toes and pull toward you for the calf stretch. The more you pull, the better the stretch for the Achilles tendon as well.

Yoga Seated Forward Bend Pose, Xpuha Beach, Playa del Carmen

You can do calf stretches when standing if you prefer, just lean toward a wall with your hands on the wall. Place one foot farther back than the other, straight out and about 4 feet from the wall. The other leg is bent and in front. Lean into the wall. The harder you lean, the deeper the calf stretch. You can also try keeping your feet together and lean into the wall. Your legs are about four feet from the wall again.

For shin stretches and shin splint stretches, any of the yoga stretches that enable you to point your toes would work. Just pull up harder on the toes. Yoga stretches like the Modified Dancer's Pose and the Modified Pigeon Pose would work. Both of these poses are great quadriceps stretches too.

Yoga Modified Dancer's Pose, Xpuha Beach, Playa del Carmen

Yoga Modified Pigeon Pose, Xpuha Beach, Playa del Carmen

With both of these poses, don’t bother to raise your arm. Just use it to balance as you really pull on your toes to feel the shin stretches. Because all of the joints, muscles and tendons of the leg are connected, over-all stretching of the legs will benefit ankles and calves.

Foam Rolling and exercise stretches are a great way to stretch your body and 'stretch your mind’ and heal your body-mind-soul. It is the metaphor of creating space in your life, by creating space in your body! Make these exercises a part of your intuitive movement to create health and healing of your body-mind-soul!

May your path to self-discovery be enhanced by these foam roller exercises and calf stretches and shin stretches and may your journey towards body-mind-soul healing through self myofascial release begin!

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Foam Roller Exercises and Stretches for the Gastrocnemius Muscles (Calves) and Anterior Tibialis Muscles (Shins)