Wall Tibialis Raise
CalvesIsolationLegsBodyweightBeginner
Standing with your back to a wall and your heels away from it, you lift your toes without letting the heels leave the ground. This is THE tibialis anterior exercise — the shin muscle that raises the foot, the calf’s antagonist, and the one almost nobody trains.
How to perform
- 1.Rest your back on the wall with your heels about a hand’s width away.
- 2.Legs straight, a little tension in your core.
- 3.Lift your toes as high as you can WITHOUT letting your heels leave the ground.
- 4.Squeeze for a second at the top.
- 5.Lower your toes slowly until they touch the floor.
Common mistakes
- ●Leaning back into the wall, which takes the work off the tibialis
- ●Using momentum instead of a controlled lift
- ●Not lowering the toes all the way and losing half the range
- ●Locking the knees
- ●Letting the feet turn in or out
Proper technique
The tibialis anterior is slow-twitch, so it responds to high reps — 15 to 25 — not to heavy loads. To make it harder, rest a plate on your instep rather than cutting reps. The further your heels are from the wall, the harder it gets.
Variants
Other exercises that work the same primary muscle.
muscle map
primary
secondary
Primary
- Tibialis anterior