The first time I got shin splints, I was surprised. I’ve always been a runner, and I’d never dealt with any kind of shin pain while running before. I was working with a personal trainer at the time to build some muscle, and turns out, the extra weight from the muscle growth put more strain on my legs as I ran. Every time I ran, I had shooting pain running up and down my shins. Frustrated, I reached out to my personal trainer for a solution. His recommended remedy? Tib raises.
Also known as tibialis raises OR anterior tib raises, this exercise gained popularity in the 2010s when ATG popularized training the tibialis anterior muscle to gain leg strength and athleticism.
Tib raises are a very simple exercise that you could literally perform anywhere. Add these into your exercise routine, and you’ll see powerful results, such as:
→ Less pain in your feet, ankles, and shins
→ Easier runs without shin splints
→ Stronger legs for all your favorite athletic activities
So, if you’re tired of stopping mid-run grab those painful knees and shins, add some tib raises to get back on the trail–or treadmill.
Today, I’ll show you the best tib raises exercise variations. Along the way, we’ll talk about benefits, pro tips, and everything else you need to know about tib raises.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- How to Do Tib Raises
- Tib Raises Exercise Variations
- What is the Difference Between Calf Raises and Tib Raises?
- Tib Raises Muscles Worked
- Tib Raises Benefits
- Tib Raises Pro Tips
- Our Best Leg Resources
- Tib Raises FAQs
We’re Back Muscle Solutions. Muscle massage and release is our specialty, so be sure to check out how to self-massage your tibialis muscle in the “Pro Tips” section. All right, let’s get started.
How to Do Tib Raises
There are several tib raises exercise variations, which I’ll show you. But for now, let’s start with basic tib raises.
The only thing you need? A wall. Or a tree if you’re outside.
Here’s how to do tib raises:
1) Stand with your back against a wall–keeping your feet shoulder-width apart.
2) Next, bring both feet one step out from the wall–or about 1 foot away from the wall–while keeping your back and butt against the wall.
3) Maintaining a slight knee bend, keep your heels planted firmly into the ground while you raise your toes up as high as you can.
4) Lower your toes back down to the floor.
5) Repeat for 15-25 reps–making sure you feel the muscle work in your shins.
Tib Raises Exercise Variations
Now that you know how to do tib raises in their most basic form, let’s cover some progressions and variations.
If you're suffering from shin splints or leg pain, I recommend starting with bodyweight tib raises against a wall–what we just learned above. Most likely, when you perform anterior tib raises for the first time, you’ll feel a lot of muscle soreness in your shins.
Once you get to a point where tib raises feel easy, you can know it’s time to add some progressions. Here are tib raises exercises variations you can try:
Tib Raises With a Tib Bar
If you’re looking to load up weight to your tib raises, there’s no better tool than the tib bar. This is a tool specifically designed to maximize your tib raises. The bar allows you to slip your feet just under, and you can add any desired amount of weight to it.
Image from: https://tib-bar.com/blogs/tib-bar-bros/tib-bar-for-tibialis-raise-tibialis-training-guide
1) Sit down on a bench with both feet hanging off the side of the bench,
2) Place a weight plate on the tib bar, and secure it with a collar.
3) Slip both feet just under the bar portion of the tib bar.
4) Raise the weight up, so your feet hang just off the edge of the bench while holding the weight/tib bar.
5) Next, raise your toes up towards your shins.
6) Then, lower them back down.
7) Repeat for 15-25 reps.
Resistance Band Tib Raises
You can use a resistance band to increase the difficulty of your anterior tib raises. Here’s how you do it:
1) Attach a resistance band to a fixed structure.
2) Sit down on the floor facing the resistance band.
3) Loop the resistance band around one foot.
4) Flex the foot up.
5) Lower the foot back down.
6) Repeat for 15-25 reps.
7) Then, switch feet.
Dumbbell Tib Raises
Using a dumbbell can be a great way to load some weight to your tib raises. That said, some people find the dumbbell a bit clunky when trying to hold it between their feet. If this variation isn’t your jam, then as I mentioned, the tib bar might be your new best friend.
1) Select a dumbbell of moderate weight, and place it by a bench.
2) Place the dumbbell between your feet, and hold it there.
3) Next, lift your feet–and the dumbbell–up so they are just hanging off the edge of the bench.
4) Raise your toes up towards your shins.
5) Then, lower your feet back down.
6) Repeat for 15-25 reps.
Kettlebell Tib Raises
Some people find a kettlebell a bit easier because you can attach the top of the kettlebell around your foot. The downside is that you can only work one foot at a time. Here’s how you do it:
1) Select a kettlebell, and place it by a bench.
2) Sit on the bench with one ankle hanging over the edge of the bench.
3) Loop the top of the kettlebell securely around the foot hanging off the box.
4) Raise your toes up towards your shin.
5) Lower your toes back down.
6) Repeat for 15-25 reps.
7) Then, switch sides.
Tib Raises Muscles Worked
Now that we’ve covered how to progressively load weight to your tib raises, let’s address tib raises muscles worked.
Of course, no surprise that tib raises work your tibs.
But what are your tibs?
Tibs are short for tibialis anterior.
The tibialis anterior is a muscle that runs down the front of your shin to the top of your foot. This muscle is responsible for flexing the foot upward (called dorsiflexion) as well as decelerating. [1]
In fact, anytime you slow down during a run or sprint, this muscle gets involved. It’s often your tibialis anterior that is the root cause of shin pain people experience while running–called shin splints.
What is the Difference Between Calf Raises and Tib Raises?
The opposite muscle to the tibialis anterior is the tibialis posterior–a muscle on the back of the lower leg. The tibialis posterior is considered a calf muscle, and this muscle can also contribute to shin splints.
So many people ask the question: What is the difference between calf raises and tib raises?
Tib raises:
- Heels on the ground
- Toes raised during exercise
- Works the tibialis anterior
Calf raises:
- Toes on the ground
- Heels raised during exercise
- Works the tibialis posterior
Both exercises can help prevent shin splints, but I especially like anterior tib raises as a solution for shin splints personally.
Tib Raises Benefits
Speaking of, let’s talk about tib raises benefits–the most prominent of which is prevention and help for shin splints.
Tib Raises Benefits #1: Reduce Risk of Shin Splints
Runners and athletes often experience shin splints when they start training more intensely. From personal experience, this pain can truly be enough to stop you in your tracks.
So to help with shin splints, we care for the muscle–in this case, the tibialis anterior muscle.
To start, you’ll want to massage the muscle, which I’ll cover later.
But after that, stretching and exercising comes into play. Enter tib raises.
When you use tib raises to strengthen your tibialis anterior muscle, you will reduce the inflammation and strain this muscle takes during athletic activities.
Tib Raises Benefits #2: Ankle Mobility & Stability
The tibialis anterior works to stabilize your ankles. So, when you add tib raises to your routine, you not only help your shins but your ankles, too!
Ankle mobility and stability are both benefits associated with tib raises.
Tib Raises Benefits #3: Prevention of Knee Pain
A strong tibialis anterior muscle helps minimize the load placed on your knee joints during a run. So, another benefit of tib raises is reduced knee pain, especially after athletic activities that might often be associated with knee pain.
Tib Raises Pro Tips
If you’re feeling super serious about anterior tib raises after reading all of those tib raises benefits, let’s take those tibs to the next level. Here are my top pro tips.
Tib Raises Pro Tip #1: Maintain a Slight Knee Bend
When you press your back against the wall and step your feet out, it’s easy to lock out your knees.
But instead, try to maintain a slight knee bend while performing tib raises. This helps ensure that you activate the tibialis anterior muscle and not other muscles, such as your quads.
This also helps protect your knees, as locking them out can be uncomfortable and painful.
Tib Raises Pro Tip #2: Mind-Muscle Connection
As you perform tib raises, you should really feel the front of your shin contracting. And trust me–by the end of your reps, your shins will be on fire!
Avoid just moving up your toes without consciously focusing on the muscle work.
Tib Raises Pro Tip #3: Stepping Out Further
For regular tib raises, I recommend taking just one step out from the wall.
But once this feels too easy, you can make your tib raises more advanced by stepping out further.
For more advanced tib raises, take two steps out from the wall. And if you were yawning before, you’ll be wincing with this slight modification. In a good way.
Tib Raises Pro Tip #4: Tibialis Massage for Myofascial Release
As with any muscle that’s sore and tight, you never want to simply dive into stretching or exercising the muscle before you massage it.
When you massage a muscle, you help it calm down and relax, so your strengthening can actually work effectively.
For the tibialis anterior, I recommend providing myofascial release for the muscle–using a hard object, such as a lacrosse ball. Myofascial release is a technique to relieve tension in your muscles and the connective tissue around them, called fascia.
How to Find Your Tibialis Anterior
1) Place your hand on your shin bone.
2) Work your fingers out–moving towards the outside of your leg.
3) Just past the shin bone, you’ll feel a soft muscle. This is the tibialis anterior.
How to Self-Massage the Tibialis Anterior Muscle
There are several ways that you can provide self-massage for this muscle.
→ Hold a lacrosse ball against the muscle: When you do this, keep a good amount of pressure for the best myofascial release.
You can change the position of the ball during this massage, moving it up and down the long tibialis anterior muscle.
You can also flex your foot up and down to engage the muscle.
→ Place a lacrosse ball on the ground, and position yourself above it: When you do this, you’ll want to sit on the ground with your legs folded behind you.
Place the lacrosse ball between your tibialis anterior and the ground.
For a more stable myofascial release device, I like to use the QL Claw. The QL claw is a lower back massage device. But I like it for tib release because it has a trigger point that can hit the muscle–and it is flat, so it won’t roll away like a lacrosse ball.
Our Best Leg Resources
Looking for more leg workout resources? At Back Musccle Solutions, we aim to provide the most helpful fitness resources–all with an emphasis on back and muscle health. Check out some more articles below:
“Leg Press Foot Placement...By Muscle: How to Target Specific Muscles”
“6 Best Hamstring Exercises to Bulk Up Those Legs”
“Lying Leg Curl: How to, Alternatives, vs. Seated”
Tib Raises FAQs
What is a tib raise?
A tib raise is an exercise where you lift your toes up towards your shins and then lower them back down.
What is the difference between calf raises and tib raises?
During a calf raise, your toes stay on the ground while you lift your heels up to work the back of your lower leg. A tib raise is the opposite: Your heels stay on the ground while you lift your toes up to work the front of your lower leg.
Are tib raises worth it?
Tib raises are totally worth the pain. You’ll see improvement in athletics activities, such as running, jumping, and sprinting–without the leg pain.
Do tib raises make calves bigger?
The purpose of tib raises is not to make your calves bigger–but rather, to strengthen the front of your shins. That said, tib raises can provide calf strength and stability as well.
How many times a week should I do Tib raises?
You can add tib raises into your workout routine about 2-3 times per week.
Do tibialis raises increase speed?
Tib raises improve speed and prevent pain that would stop you from going faster in that run.
Do tibialis raises help knees?
Yes, tib raises help prevent knee pain by strengthening the tibialis anterior muscle and lessening the load your knees take on during a run.
Sources:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513304/
[2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00325481.1988.11700112