While other bodyparts offer a wide range of exercise options, calves . . . well, tend to be boring, truth be told. In the gym, it’s all about raises: You stand with the balls of your feet on a step, platform or rail of a seated or standing calf machine, and then you simply raise and lower your heels against resistance to get your calf workout in. Ho-hum.
Thankfully, Nashville, Tennessee–based personal trainer and founder of Country Fusion Elizabeth Mooney is disrupting that pattern with her innovative, ballet-inspired routine that can be done anywhere, anytime in just 15 minutes, two to three times per week.
“This workout strengthens and tones your calves with five different exercises, all easy to do with no machines required,” says Mooney, who has been a dancer since the age of 2. “Dancers’ legs are admired for good reason, and these moves can also help you develop proper posture and balance, too, both through the repetitions and the resulting body awareness from holding the two ballet positions that are part of the exercises.”