Foam Roll Calves

Foam rolling the calves works on the tissue that most often limits ankle dorsiflexion, and that limitation shows up in more places than people expect: in how deep you can squat without the heels lifting, in how the knee tracks when you lunge, and in how the foot loads when you run. Sitting with the roller under the calf and the hips lifted puts enough of your bodyweight through the tissue to matter, and you control the pressure by how much weight you keep on your hands. The value is in going slowly. Rolling quickly from ankle to knee feels productive and changes very little; moving at a few centimetres per second, and pausing where the tissue resists, is what produces a lasting change in range. Do it before training to prepare the ankle, or after to help the calf settle.