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The Underappreciated Muscle That You Should Give Time
On leg day, everyone tends to hit the heavy hitters—quads, hamstrings and calves. But one teeny but tremendous muscle tends to get left behind: the tibialis anterior. Engaging this muscle can improve ankle stability, decrease shin splints and take your athletic performance to the next level. The simplest way to work it? Tibialis raises.
Whether you're a professional athlete, a weekend athlete or merely someone looking to walk without pain, incorporating tibialis raises into your regimen is a total game-changer. And the good news? You don't have to invest in special equipment or spend money on a gym membership.
Want real-time feedback on your form and expert guidance? Sign up with a Papayya coach today—your initial trial session is free!
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What is the Tibialis Anterior and Why Does It Matter
The tibialis anterior sits on the front of your shin and is the muscle that dorsiflexes—raises your foot towards your shin. It's engaged whenever you walk, run, or jump. Although it's a critical muscle, it gets lost in the shadow of bigger leg muscles, creating imbalances and injuries.
Ignoring the tibialis can result in problems such as:
- Shin splints
- Limited ankle mobility
- Front-to-back lower leg muscle imbalanced movement
- Decreased power in sports movements
By performing tibialis raises regularly, you can develop a solid foundation from the ground up—ground literally. It enhances your foot mechanics, discourages injury, and enhances performance in sports such as sprinting, jumping, and hiking.
Benefits of Tibialis Raises
Let's talk about why this exercise needs to be part of your weekly routine:
- Injury Prevention
The stronger your tibialis, the greater the amount of shock that it can absorb. This reduces your risk for shin splints and stress fractures, particularly in runners and jumpers.
- Enhanced Balance and Stability
Having a strong tibialis serves to stabilize your ankle joint, making your balance better and your likelihood of falls or missteps less likely—useful at any age.
- Improved Athletic Performance
Your tibialis is instrumental in explosive movement. Stiffening it enhances your running efficiency, jumping capacity, and even slowing down quick sports.
- Ankle Mobility and Range of Motion
Weak tibialis muscles and tight calves restrict how effectively you can dorsiflex your foot. Stiffening the tibialis serves to offset dominance by the calf, enhancing your ankle range.
- Aesthetic Definition
Desire more definition in your lower legs? Building strength in the tibialis builds up a muscular and well-shaped lower leg look—not necessarily just big calves.
Tibialis Raise vs. Other Lower Leg Exercises
When people think of training lower legs, we tend to think of the essential calf raise, rope skipping, running drills, etc. While these things are all great for developing the strength, coordination, and endurance of your lower leg, they haven't addressed one muscle group of the lower leg - the taxes of the leg, specifically, the anterior section of the lower leg, the tibialis anterior.
Calf raises are commonplace in most exercise programming, as they are designed to develop the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. These posterior muscles are composed of the plantar flexor muscles, or the ankle motion where you are pointing your toes downward. This is the action used to push through the ground when you walk, run, jump, etc. Improving their strength improves sprint speed, stair climbing, and other explosive movements done with the legs. Unfortunately, if we only look at the posterior side of the lower leg, the anterior side becomes weak and underdeveloped, and could cause muscular imbalances.
This is where tibialis raises come in. Tibialis raises are essentially targeted at the tibialis anterior—the muscle that tracks down the front of your shin. The tibialis anterior's main job is dorsiflexion (in other words, lifting the foot towards the shin). This is usually an underappreciated movement, but it is still important for things you probably do every day like walking uphill, or decelerating while running, and also just for general ankle stability. A well functioning tibialis anterior will stabilize your gait biomechanics, decrease the chance for shin splints, and manage your deceleration and balance duties.
If you have discomfort or tightness during your cardio sessions, there is a good chance that weak tibialis contributes to it. Runners, hikers, and all jumper sports like basketball and volleyball can benefit and build capacity from tibialis strengthening, since it will better distribute impact loads and protect the shins from repetitive stress injury.
And then we have running and jump rope- both high cardio activities that develop endurance and coordination! These do involve both the anterior and posterior muscles, to some degree, but they don't offer specific strengthening of the tibialis. So your cardiovascular system can improve, but you may still be injured because your anterior leg muscles are weak.
So what's the answer? Include both types of movements in your training. Combining tibialis raises with calf raises provides balanced strength on both sides of the lower leg. While one increases push-off strength and explosiveness (calf raises), the other increases shock absorption, foot control, and ankle stability (tibialis raises). This applies to training both the gas and the brakes, which are vital for total leg function.
This way not only will you lower the risk of injury but you increase your quality of movement whether you're walking, running, squatting and/or standing for long periods. Well-rounded lower leg training also effects your posture - because how your feet move influences everything else in the kinetic chain including the knees and hips.
Tips:
- Don't rock your body—motion should be from the ankles.
- To increase difficulty, hold a light dumbbell or resistance band for increased resistance.
- Maintain a slow and controlled tempo.
Papayya Pro Tip: Most clients experience the burn by rep 12. That's a positive sign—it indicates the muscle is indeed working. If you get it in your calves, change your stance.
Beginner to Advanced Progressions
Want to advance the strength gradually? Here's an easy progression guide:
Week 1: Bodyweight tibialis raises (3 sets of 15 reps)
Week 2: Incorporate pause at the end of each rep (2-second hold)
Week 3: Add light dumbbells or resistance band
Week 4: Increase reps or add standing single-leg tibialis raises
Week 5+: Add balance work together (e.g., perform raises on an unstable surface such as a balance pad)
Sample Weekly Routine
Want to know how to incorporate it? Try this:
Day 1 (Lower Body Strength): Incorporate tibialis raises as part of your warm-up (3x15)
Day 3 (Mobility Day): Perform tibialis raises with ankle circles and toe yoga
Day 5 (Cardio or Run Day): Pre-run activation with 2 sets of tibialis raises
How Frequently Should You Do Them?
You can do them anywhere from 2-4 times per week based on your experience level. Incline push-ups and tibia raises are great to do as part of warm-ups, cool-downs, or even as part of a mobility flow. Since the exercises are low impact, you won't be left too sore or fatigued.
Incline Push-Ups vs. Tibialis Raises: Two Exercises That Go Together
Both are simple exercises to do, require little or no equipment, and train muscle groups that can be forgotten. Incline push-ups primarily use the triceps, chest, and shoulders, while tibialis raises work on the front of your ankle and shin. Used together, they balance out upper and lower body, reduce the chance of injury, and build strength across the body.
Here's how they complement each other:
- Incline Push-Ups: Upper body, pushing strength, tone triceps, easy on the joints
- Tibialis Raises: Lower body, strength of dorsiflexion, srengthening the shin, balance training
- Add them both to your beginner program to create intelligent, injury-resistant strength.
Common Mistakes
- Leaning too far forward: This activates the quads rather than the tibialis.
- Going too quickly: Slow, controlled reps recruit the muscle more effectively.
- Forgetting form: Sloppy form = no gain. Prioritize quality over quantity.
Need assistance with staying on track and acing your form? Allow Papayya trainers to lead you in real time.
Little Muscle, Big Rewards
Despite its small size, strengthening the tibialis anterior is far from small-time. The benefits you will experience range from pain-free runs to explosive athletic performance. Don't wait until shin splints or an ankle issue puts you on the sidelines to begin focusing on this underappreciated muscle.
With no equipment and just minutes a day, tibialis raises will provide benefits with minimal effort. Use tib raise exercises as an adjunct to smart full-body workouts, and you will be moving stronger, for longer, and with more confidence.
Do you want to build a strong foundation from the ground up?
Receive live coaching and customized plans with Papayya. Test your first session for free—no credit card needed.
References
- Boehm, D., & Konrad, A. (2020). Comparison of Muscle Activation Between Push-Up Variations and Bench Press Exercises.. Comparison of Kinematics and Muscle Activation between Push-up and Bench Press - PMC
- Cogley, R. M., Archambault, T. A., Fibeger, J. F., Koverman, M. M., Youdas, J. W., & Hollman, J. H. (2005). Comparison of Muscle Activation Using Various Hand Positions During Push-Ups. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19(3), 628–633. Comparison of muscle activation using various hand positions during the push-up exercise - PubMed
- Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training - PubMed
- Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). The Importance of Strength Training for Older Adults. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu
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