Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — You should spend more time thinking about (and working on) your calf muscles, especially if you’ve hit middle age.

Think of the show pony muscles a gym junkie might flex in the mirror. You likely think of biceps, abs and perhaps the gluteal muscles that give you a perky butt (or not).

You won’t often see someone admiring or boasting about their calf muscles.

But you should care about this muscle group because it is a workhorse when it comes to standing, walking and running. It’s even more important if you’re picking up a sport such as football, pickleball or cricket where explosive movements are common, says Helene Barron, a sports physiotherapist at High Performance Sport NZ.

“...across the board we are definitely noticing calf [and] Achilles injuries and a trend upwards, and that's kind of been noted here and internationally as well.”

In Australia, research shows that Achilles tendon ruptures have risen by 500 percent since the 1980s, with middle-aged men most at risk (your calf muscles blend downward into the Achilles tendon at your heel).

Calf muscle injuries become more common after age 40, as muscle strength declines and stiffness increases, says Dr Sibi Walter, a senior lecturer in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation at the University of Canterbury.

“These changes are often asymptomatic until a return to explosive sporting activities creates a mismatch between tissue capacity and load, making calf strains and Achilles injuries far more common in middle-aged recreational athletes.”

ACC claims for Achilles- and calf-related injuries in New Zealand have dropped in the last decade from around 10,500 in 2015 to 9,386 in 2025. There have been decreases in those injuries for teenagers and those in their early 20s. However, the age group that did see a significant increase was in the 30 to 34-year-old age group, with 877 claims in 2015 versus 1,006 in 2025.
Younger New Zealanders might be benefiting from sport-specific workouts that ACC helped develop with various sports codes like basketball and netball, says James Whitaker, ACC's injury prevention leader.

“But it kinda looks like older New Zealanders might be missing out on that.”

How Does The Calf Muscle Complex Work?

The calf muscle complex has two main components: the gastrocnemius and the soleus, says Walter.

“[The gastrocnemius] is what we call the accelerator because they’re large and they are made up of the fast-twitch muscle fibers.”

“So they actually help you push, run, jump - everything explosive you do with that.”

The soleus is the endurance component that helps you stand and walk for long periods of time, says Walter.

How Do Calf Muscles Get Injured, Especially In Middle Age?

“Part of the situation is that when we get older,” says Barron, “the elasticity of our tissues decreases just with age-related change, with changes related to hormone changes, changes related to tissue stiffness and all of those things can create a little bit more of a risk for calf injury in particular.”

With the rise in popularity of explosive sports in New Zealand such as pickleball, those aging calf muscles are put under pressure, she says.

“I think the other part that comes into it is people who have always been active with things like walking and running...

“...but then these new multi-direction sports come in, and we’re just not quite prepared for them.”

Often, active people have really good endurance in their calf muscles, but that doesn’t mean the muscles will tolerate a quick, explosive movement, Barron added.

Personal trainer Tom Dorman, who hosts the Better Dads Club podcast, hears from a lot of middle-aged men struggling with injuries because of a mismatch between reality and memories of past abilities.

“Many men in their 40s and 50s are continuing to exercise like they're in their 20s and 30s, and it's just not a great long-term approach.”

How To Care For Your Calf Muscles?

If you’re returning to or starting an explosive movement sport like football, volleyball, cricket or even trail running, ease into it,” Barron says.

“You can't just start a cold car and expect it to go 100 kilometers an hour straight away.

“We've got to warm into it, otherwise our system tends to complain.”

Walter recommends a minimum of four weeks of training before starting or restarting any sport at any age, but especially for those in middle age. When it comes to preparing your calf, start with an isometric half raise that you hold for 20 or so seconds. Progress to doing this while holding weights before transitioning into small jumps or hops.

“Those reactive jumping drills actually help you safely load your calf on the Achilles tendon.

“And then you can go to sprints, acceleration, deceleration, and then change of direction.”

Sport-specific warmups are also key to reducing injury, says ACC’s Whitaker.

“It really focuses on the parts of the body that will be put to use when you're playing the game.”