The triceps surae, most commonly referred to as the "calf", is made up of both the gastrocnemius muscle and soleus muscle. Both muscles are important for running/sprinting, jumping, landing, and changing direction.
You've likely seen the gastroc before since it's the muscle that pops out and takes the spotlight when someone performs a heel raise. However, the soleus sits below and deep to the gastroc and takes a backseat to the limelight.
The best way to target the soleus is to bend the knees when loading. You can do so partially (as seen in videos) or fully in a seated position since the soleus is a single-joint muscle and only crosses the ankle joint. The gastroc, on the other hand, is on relative slack when the knees are bent (more so in the seated position) since it crosses both the ankle and knee joints.
Let's give the soleus some attention in training. Run through these progressions to get started.
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