Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Strengthen your tibialis anterior
• Method 2 of 3: Stretch your tibialis anterior
• Method 3 of 3: Exercise your shins and calves
• Expert advice
• Tips

The tibialis anterior is the muscle that runs along your shins, from your ankle to your knee. If you bend your foot up and pull your toes towards your shins, you may be able to see the muscle contract. This muscle is opposite the calf muscles at the back of your lower leg and an unbalanced distribution of these muscles can lead to pain or injury. However, this muscle is often neglected by even the most dedicated athletes and bodybuilders. To train your tibialis anterior, you use resistance to strengthen and stretch the muscle, along with the overall fitness of the rest of your lower body.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Strengthen your tibialis anterior

1. Start with toe lifts. This exercise strengthens your tibialis anterior and other tendons and muscles that line your shins. If you have extremely weak shins or are recovering from a recent injury, this is one of the first moves you should do to train your tibialis anterior.
   • Basically do this exercise from a sitting position. Find a chair where you can sit in good posture and place your feet firmly on the floor in front of you. Slowly lift your toes and the front of your foot off the floor towards your shins, pushing your heels into the floor.
   • When you've pulled your toes up as far as you can without feeling pain, hold the position for a few seconds and slowly release your foot from the floor. Try to repeat this exercise 10 to 15 times. You can do each foot individually or both at the same time.
   • When you've been doing seated toe lifts for a few weeks, try doing standing toe lifts. Make sure to hold something so you can balance and stand with good posture.
   • You can use resistance bands to make this exercise even more challenging and to further strengthen your tibialis anterior.
2. Use a resistance band to stretch more effectively. You can specifically strengthen your tibialis anterior with an elastic resistance band. If you are currently undergoing physical therapy because of an injury, you may be able to get one through your physical therapist. Otherwise you can buy them at any sporting goods store, usually for less than € 20.
   • To exercise your tibialis anterior with a resistance band, tie one end of the band around a heavy, stable object, such as a table or bench. Loop and tie the other end of the strap around your foot.
   • Pull your toes and foot up and towards your shins, keeping your knee straight. Go as far as possible without pain. Hold the position for a few seconds and then slowly move your foot back to your starting position.
   • Do 10 reps of this exercise, or until you can't do it without pain.
3. Use a cuff weight. Cuff weights provide resistance when doing toe raises to further strengthen your tibialis anterior. You can also do this exercise with a resistance band if you don't have cuff weights.
   • Cuff weights are available at most sports stores. They usually have removable sandbags, so you can adjust the amount of weight you use, and secure around a limb using Velcro.
   • Sit in a chair and wrap the cuff weight around your foot. Bend your ankle, move your toes and foot towards your chin.
   • Go as far as you can, then hold your foot for a few seconds and then slowly lower it back to the starting position.
   • Try to do 10 reps, but stop if you start to hurt it.
4. Do an isometric exercise. With isometric exercises you tighten the muscle you want to strengthen without moving your joint. This exercise can strengthen your tibialis anterior and increase the range of motion in your ankle, without straining the joint.
   • Start isometric exercise of your tibialis anterior by sitting in a chair or lying on your back with your legs out in front of you.
   • Cross one leg over the other at the ankles. If your tibialis anterior is weaker in one leg than the other, start with that leg at the bottom.
   • Push the top of your underfoot into the sole of your opposite foot. Make sure not to bend your ankle while doing this.
   • Press your feet together for five seconds and then slowly release. Repeat this 10 and 15 times, then cross your ankles again and do the other leg.
   • By varying the position of your ankle, you can strengthen the tibialis anterior in relation to other movements.
5. Work towards reverse calf raises with the Smith machine. If you have access to a gym with exercise equipment, you can use that equipment to further strengthen your tibialis anterior and the remaining muscles in your lower leg, including your calves.
   • To begin this exercise, go to the Smith machine and stand under the bar, with your heels on the platform.
   • Raise your legs from your heels to tighten your tibialis anterior. Hold the position for a few seconds and then slowly release back to your starting position.
   • Do 10 to 15 repetitions of this exercise to work your tibialis anterior and the surrounding muscles in your lower leg.
6. Add other weight exercises. The reverse variation of any calf exercise will engage and strengthen the tibialis anterior, as well as exercise the rest of your lower leg. Once you've strengthened your tibialis anterior enough to balance it with the rest of the muscles in your lower leg, use these exercises to extend and build your strength.
   • The best way to do this is to do a reverse variation of each calf exercise in your routine. For example, if you do calf lifts, you should also do reverse calf lifts. In this way, the balance in the muscles in the lower leg is maintained.
   • These weight workouts are often done on weight benches using free weights or exercise machines. If you are not affiliated with a gym, you can do similar exercises at home with dumbbells or resistance bands.
   • Start with just your body weight, and slowly add weight or resistance - about every week - to continuously build strength in your tibialis anterior.

Method 2 of 3: Stretch your tibialis anterior

1. Warm up your muscles and joints before stretching. Before stretching, make sure to raise your body temperature a few degrees with a low impact, cardiovascular activity. This will boost blood flow to your muscles and help prevent sprains or other injuries.
   • Walking at a brisk pace for five to ten minutes is a good overall cardiovascular warm-up.
   • Squats and lunges are also a great warm-up before stretching your lower body or doing strength training. Move slowly, but try to do these exercises in a smooth motion so that you are always moving.
   • If you have limited space, you can also try jumping or jogging for five minutes, although these activities put a little more impact and stress on your joints.
2. Start with shin stretches. Provided you've never had an ankle injury, you can do a seated exercise to stretch your tibialis anterior and the other muscles in your shins. These muscles are usually difficult to stretch.
   • Kneel on the floor with your shins flat on the floor. Your toes and feet should be behind you. You can rest your hands on the floor next to you.
   • To start the stretch of your shins, slowly lean back on your heels, stopping when you feel the stretch. If necessary, you can put your hands on the floor behind you so that you can lean further back.
   • Hold this stretch for a few minutes and then slowly come up to loosen the muscles.
   • You can also stretch your shins while standing. Cross your left leg in front of your right so that the tips of the toes of your left foot rest on the floor. Bend your right knee to push your toes further into the floor until you feel a stretch in your shin. Hold the stretch for a few seconds, then slowly release and switch legs.
3. Stretch one calf with a towel. If your tibialis anterior is weak, it can keep you from fully flexing your foot. Over time, this can cause your calves to shorten and hard, which can make any lower leg problems worse.
   • You can also do this exercise with a resistance band, but a rolled up towel will help you better control the resistance level.
   • Sit up straight with your legs in front of you. Wrap the towel around the front of your feet and pull the ends of the towel towards you so that your foot bends.
   • Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds and feel the stretch in your calf. Then release slowly.
   • You can safely do this exercise three to five times a day if you have particularly tight calves.
4. Do standing calf stretches. Standing calf stretches are more intensive than the calf stretches that you do while sitting, because you work with your body weight and gravity as resistance.
   • Begin to stretch your calves while standing by standing a few feet in front of a wall or other stable vertical surface. Place your hands against the wall shoulder-width apart and place one leg behind you.
   • Push the heel of your back leg into the floor and keep your back and leg straight. The knee of the front leg should be bent.
   • Without bouncing, push your heel into the floor until you feel it stretch in your calf. Hold this stretch for a few seconds, then slowly release and switch legs.
   • You can also stretch your calves on the stairs. To do a standing gastrocnemius stretch (one of the two muscles in your calves being stretched), place one heel on a step and straighten your knee. The other foot should be flat on the ground. Grasp the toe of the forefoot and pull the toes towards the shins. You should feel it stretch in your calf now. Hold this for a few seconds, then slowly release and do the other leg.
   • Stand on a step with the balls of your feet firmly on the step and your heels over the edge. Make sure to hold something for balance and lower your heels down as far as you can without it hurting. Hold for a few seconds and then slowly lift your heels back up.

Method 3 of 3: Exercise your shins and calves

1. Walk barefoot on a grassy surface. Running or walking barefoot on an uneven, grassy surface can evenly strengthen and exercise all five muscles in your calves and shins at the same time.
   • Only do this when it is relatively warm outside. Keep in mind that the ground is often colder than the outside air temperature and you lose a lot of body heat through your feet.
   • Make sure the surface is relatively well maintained and free of debris. Athletic fields or golf courses may be suitable for this.
   • Start slowly, no more than half a mile (about 800 meters) at first. This gives your legs, feet, and ankles time to adjust to running or walking barefoot.
2. Walk or stretch up a slope. Incline and hill training puts stress on your tibialis anterior to an extent that running or walking on a flat surface is impossible because your toes are higher than your heels. Since you run or walk at a slower speed, you also run less risk of injury because you have more control over your technique.
   • If you live in a relatively hilly area, adding incline training to your cardio routine can be as simple as making your walking or running route spans multiple hills.
   • In a gym, increase the incline on a treadmill to simulate walking or running up a hill.
   • Make sure to warm up your muscles by walking or running on level ground for five to 10 minutes before going up an incline or hill.
3. Jump rope. Jumping rope is a good fitness workout that works your entire body as well as the muscles in your shins and calves, including your tibialis anterior. A skipping rope is relatively inexpensive and can be found in any sports shop.
   • You can add jumping rope to your training schedule and do it for five to ten minutes, then rest for a minute or two.
   • Another option is to do jump rope intervals of 30 seconds to one minute between strength training sessions. This can be especially helpful for continuing to use the muscles in your lower legs, even during upper body exercises.
4. Walk or hop on your toes. Walking or hopping on the toes engages all the muscles in the lower leg, especially those of the calves. This exercise also gives you a good cardiovascular workout, and can be used as a warm-up for lower leg strength training or as a stretching exercise.
   • If you add this exercise as an interval to your training regimen, you can do it for a set period of time (such as five or 10 minutes), or a set distance (no more than 20 meters or about 65 feet per interval).
5. Walk on your heels. This activity provides an intense workout of your tibialis anterior, as your feet will be in the same position they would be in if you were doing toe lifts to strengthen your shin muscles.
   • As an interval, do this five to 10 minutes in between other strength training exercises. Try a heel walking interval between exercises that don't target your lower legs.
   • You can also add heel walking as an exercise in its own right. Try to walk about 20 meters on your heels to start, increasing the distance incrementally with each training session.

Expert advice

Try this exercise with a resistance band to stretch your tibialis anterior: "

• Sit in a chair so that your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle When you sit down, make sure your back is straight and your hips are placed forward in the chair.
• Wrap the resistance band around the ball of your foot and lift your leg into the air. You want to get your leg at least parallel to the floor, but if you can lift it higher then you should. Keep the other foot firmly on the ground.
• Point your toes as far as possible and hold this position for 2-5 seconds. Pointing your toes will flex the ankle and stretch the tibialis anterior. After a few seconds, let go of the position, but don't put your foot back on the floor.
• Repeat this movement 10-15 times. After doing enough reps to tire your tibialis anterior of one leg, switch legs and do this entire exercise again.

Tips

• If you are just starting to exercise or are recovering from an acute injury, talk to your doctor or physical therapist before starting a new exercise schedule. They can advise you on how to properly strengthen your tibialis anterior.
• If you're a runner, strengthening the tibialis anterior will only slightly reduce your chances of getting shin splints. You will greatly reduce your chances of this injury by strengthening your calves and hip muscles.
• When building or strengthening your muscles, make sure your diet contains enough lean protein and healthy carbohydrates. You can get lean protein from whey protein shakes, chicken, and eggs. For healthy carbs, eat whole grain bread or brown rice.