How to Strengthen Your Shin Muscles and Shin Bones

Shin splints are one of the most common injuries for runners who are new to the sport or who build their mileage quickly.

The classic advice for preventing them is to grab a resistance band and strengthen the muscle on the front of your shin.

But your shin is more than that one muscle.

It’s a bone, the tibia, surrounded by muscles that help it handle the force of every stride, and research shows the bone and the calf muscles behind it are where runners with shin pain come up short.

So, how do you strengthen your shins, and which exercises protect them best?

To give an evidence-based answer, let’s look at the research on:

• Which shin and calf muscles test weaker in runners with shin splints
• How your shin bone gets stronger, and why runners who played other sports start with a stronger one
• Why resistance band shin exercises on their own won’t keep you healthy
• A 5-exercise shin strengthening routine you can do 2 to 3 times a week

Which Muscles Do You Strengthen When You Strengthen Your Shins?

Strengthening your shins means training the muscles that attach to your shin bone, and most of them sit behind it in your calf.

The tibialis anterior on the front of your shin lifts your toes.

Behind the bone, your soleus and gastrocnemius make up the calf, and smaller muscles like the flexor hallucis longus run down to your foot.

Each time your foot lands, these muscles tighten to steady the shin bone and limit how much it bends.

A 2021 study comparing 20 long-distance runners with shin splints to 20 healthy runners found that the legs with shin splints managed an average of 33 single-leg heel raises before tiring, compared with 75 in the healthy runners.

The runners with shin splints were also weaker in 4 muscles around the shin.

Their soleus produced 64% of their body weight in force, compared with 73% in the healthy runners.

Their tibialis anterior produced 34% of their body weight in force, compared with 42%.

The researchers measured runners who were already hurt, so the study can’t say whether the weakness came before the pain.

But it does show which muscles a shin strengthening routine needs to cover: the calves first, plus the muscle on the front of the shin.

How Do You Strengthen Your Shin Bones?

Your shin bone gets stronger the same way a muscle does, by adapting to the loads you put on it.

When running bends the tibia with each stride, the bone responds over the following weeks by laying down new bone and getting thicker.

Stress fractures, and many cases of shin splints, show up when the load climbs faster than the bone can adapt, which is why they’re most common in runners who are new or who add mileage quickly.

Some loads build bone faster than others.

A 2021 review on bone stress injuries in runners explains that bone adapts best to a small number of fast, hard loads coming from different directions, the kind you get from jumping and changing direction.

Running is the opposite: thousands of similar loads in the same direction.

3 studies of military recruits found that recruits who had played ball sports like basketball for at least 2 years before basic training had about half as many stress fractures, 13.2% compared with 28.9% in the first study.

Running before basic training didn’t change the stress fracture rate.

When the researchers measured strain on the shin bone directly, basketball loaded the tibia 10% to 50% harder than running did.

The same pattern shows up in runners.

A 2022 study of female college cross-country runners found that the runners who had also played soccer or basketball when they were younger had a lower shin bone that could take 19.5% more force before breaking than the runners who had only run.

That means a small dose of hopping and jumping is the most direct way to strengthen your shin bones, and it works best alongside mileage that you build gradually.

Does Calf Strength Protect Your Shin Bone?

Runners with bigger calf muscles also have stronger shin bones, because the bone grows in response to the pull of the muscles around it.

A 2009 study of 39 competitive female distance runners found that runners with a history of stress fractures had shin bones with 9% to 10% lower bending strength and 7% to 8% smaller calf muscles than runners who had never had one.

Once the researchers accounted for calf size, the difference in bone strength disappeared.

That means the runners with weaker shin bones had exactly the bone strength you’d expect for their smaller calves.

Your shin bone is only as strong as the calf muscles that load it, so building your calves is one of the best ways to build your shins.

Calf endurance matters too.

When your calves tire late in a run, they steady the shin bone less with each stride, which is why the runners with shin splints in the 2021 study stood out most on the heel raise test.

Do Resistance Band Shin Exercises Prevent Shin Splints?

Resistance band exercises work the tibialis anterior on the front of your shin, which is a small part of the muscle around your shin bone.

The muscle does test weaker in runners with shin splints, so it’s worth training.

But its main job is to lift your toes, and your calves do far more of the work of steadying the tibia when your foot lands.

A 2024 trial of 325 new runners tested the lower leg approach directly.

Runners who did a foot and ankle exercise program before each run had no fewer overuse injuries than runners who only stretched.

The runners who did a hip and core exercise program had 39% fewer overuse injuries in an average week.

That means a few sets of toe raises or band work on the front of your shin are fine, but they shouldn’t be the whole routine.

Spend most of your time on your calves, your hips and a small amount of hopping.

What Is the Best Shin Strengthening Routine for Runners?

The best shin strengthening routine covers your calves, the front of your shin, your hips and your shin bone.

Do these 5 exercises 2 to 3 times a week, ideally on easy days or after a short run.

Straight-Leg Eccentric Calf Raises

Stand on a step on one leg, rise onto your toes using both legs, then lower yourself slowly on one leg until your heel drops below the step.

Work up to 25 repetitions on each leg, and add weight with a backpack once they become easy.

Bent-Knee Eccentric Calf Raises

Do the same movement with your knee bent, which shifts the work to your soleus, the deeper calf muscle that tested weaker in runners with shin splints.

Heel Walks

Walk forward on your heels with your toes pulled up toward your shins to train the tibialis anterior.

A minute of heel walking covers the front of your shin, so there’s no need for a long list of band exercises.

Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Lie on your side with your bottom knee bent, then lift your top leg up and slightly behind you with your toes pointing forward.

This works your gluteus medius, the hip muscle that keeps your pelvis level and your knee from drifting inward when you land.

Small Hops

Bounce on the balls of your feet with quick, small hops, keeping your knees soft and your ground contact short.

Start with a few short sets on a forgiving surface, rest between sets, and add more only if your shins feel fine the next day.

Skip the hops if your shins already hurt, and add them back once you can run without pain.

Should You Do Shin Exercises If Your Shins Already Hurt?

The calf, heel walk and hip exercises are safe to keep doing with mild shin splints, as long as they don’t make the pain worse.

Hopping puts the most load on your shin bone, so leave it out until the pain has settled.

If the pain sits in one small spot on the bone, hurts when you press on it, or gets worse with every run, see a doctor or physical therapist to rule out a stress fracture.

This guide to telling shin splints from a stress fracture walks through the warning signs.

If you need to cut back your running while your shins heal, pool running lets you keep your fitness without the impact.

Cross Training While Injured and During Recovery

Cross training is recommended while you're injured and as you slowly return to running.

The best form of cross training for this injury is Aqua Jogging. Studies have shown that aqua jogging can enable a well-trained runner to maintain running fitness for up to 4-6 weeks.

Aqua jogging is a form of deep water running that closely mimics the actual running movement.  Your feet don’t actually touch the bottom of the pool, so it is zero impact and safe for almost any type of injury. In my experience, the only time to avoid aqua jogging is when you have a hip flexor injury, which can be aggravated by the increased resistance of the water as you bring your leg up. Because aqua jogging closely mimics natural running form, it provides a neuromuscular workout that, in addition to aerobic benefits, helps keep the running specific muscles active. The same can’t be said for biking and swimming. The only downside to aqua jogging is that you need a pool that is deep enough to run in without touching the bottom. If you’re lucky enough to have access to a pool of this size, aqua jogging should be your first cross training choice.

In one study, a group of ten runners trained exclusively with deep water running for four weeks and compared 5km race times pre deep water running and post deep water running.

The researchers found no statistical difference in 5k time or other markers for performance, such as submaximal oxygen consumption or lactate threshold.

In a second study, researchers measured the effects of aqua jogging over a six week period.

This time, 16 runners were separated into two groups – one who did aqua jogging workouts and the other who did over land running.

Using the same training intensities and durations, the researchers found no difference between the groups in maximal blood glucose, blood lactate, and body composition.

It get’s better:

Research has also demonstrated that aqua jogging can be used as a recovery tool to facilitate the repair of damaged muscles after hard workouts.

These findings make aqua jogging an important recovery tool in addition to being the best cross training method for injuries.

Need one more reason?

The calories burned aqua jogging are even higher than running on land, so if you want to avoid weight gain while you take time off from running, this is definitely the exercise for you!

Aqua Jogging Workouts For Runners

If you're interested in aqua jogging to rehab your injury, then the absolute best way is to use one of my favorite programs, Fluid Running.

First, it comes with an aqua jogging belt and waterpoof bluetooth headphones so you have everything you need to aqua jog effectively.

Second, they have an app that pairs with the headphones so you can get workouts, guided instructions on how to aqua jog properly, and motivation while you're actually pool running.

This has been an absolute game changer for me when I am injured.

I used to dread aqua jogging workouts because they were so boring and it took all my mental energy to stay consistent.

But, with workouts directly in my ear, it's changed the whole experience and I actually look forward to the workouts. So much so that I now use aqua jogging as a cross training activity in the summer, even when I am not injured.

Fluid running is an awesome deal when you consider it comes with the belt (highly recommended for better form), the waterproof headphones (game changer for making pool workouts fun), a tether (to add variety to the workouts you can do) and the guided workout app (to make your cross training structure and a whole lot more interesting).

That's why we've partnered with them to give you 2 additional running-specific workouts you can load into the app when you use the code RTTT .

Check out the product here and then on the checkout page, add the code RTTT in the coupon field and the workouts will be added to your order for free.

If you'd rather do the aqua jogging workouts on your own, here are some great ideas to get you started!

Medium Effort Workouts

The Pyramid

10 minutes easy warm up - 1:00 hard, 30 seconds easy - 1:30 hard, 30 seconds easy - 2:00 hard, 30 seconds easy - 2:30 hard, 30 seconds easy, go to 5:00 in 30 second intervals and then come back down the pyramid (4:30 hard, 30 easy, 4:00 hard, 30 easy etc). Finish with 10 minutes easy cool down.

Wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care

10 minutes easy warm up, 1 minute medium (87-92% of maximum heart rate or what feels like tempo effort), 1 minute sprint (95-100% of maximum heart rate or all out sprint), 30 seconds hands in air (keep moving your legs in the running motion, but put your hand above your head), 1 minute rest, Repeat 10-15 times. 10 minutes easy cool down.

Hard Workouts

One of the difficulties of cross training is replicating those truly lung-busting, difficult workouts.

So, if you’re going to be pool running quite a bit due to injury or limited training volume, invest in a bungee cord designed for sprinters.

Tie one end of the resistance band to a sturdy object (pole, lifeguard stand, pool ladder) and bring the other into the water with you.

Put the strap around your waist and begin aqua jog away from your starting point.

You’ll begin to notice the bungee tighten and resist against you (depending on the length of your pool, you may need to wrap the bungee around the supporting object or tie it in knots to make it shorter to feel resistance).

Spend a few moments testing yourself to see how far you can pull the bungee.

This is a great challenge and a fun way to compete with yourself during an otherwise boring cross training activity.

Now for the hard part:

Pick a point on the pool wall or side of the pool that you feel stretches the bungee to a very hard sprint that you could maintain for 60-90 seconds.

This will be your “sprint” marker that you’ll use on sprint intervals (95-100% of maximum heart rate or all out sprint).

Now:

Find a point that feels like the end of a hard tempo run.

Mark this spot as your “medium” interval distance.

When you complete the hard workouts, you can use these reference points to ensure that you maintain a very hard effort.

The springboard

10 minutes easy warm up, 90 seconds easy (slowly moving out and stretching the bungee), 2 minute medium, 1 minute sprint, 1 min rest (let the bungee pull you back – this is kind of fun). Repeat 10 times. 10 minutes easy cool down.

The race simulation

10 minutes easy warm up, 90 seconds easy (slowly moving out and stretching the bungee), 5 minutes medium (focus and concentrate, just like during the hard part of a race), 30 seconds sprint, 2 minutes rest. Repeat 4 times. 10 minutes easy col down

The lactic acid

10 minutes easy warm up, 90 seconds easy (slowly moving out and stretching the bungee), 2 minutes sprint, 90 seconds rest. Repeat 12 times, 10 minutes easy cool down.

I guarantee that with the bungee, you’ll get your heart rate through the roof.

You can challenge yourself and make aqua jogging more fun by seeing how long you can stay at your maximum stretched distance or seeing how far you can push it.

Likewise, if you have a friend who is injured (or someone willing to be a good sport) you can try pulling each other across the pool for some competitive fun.

Cross training can be tough, especially when you’re injured or want to be increasing your volume faster.

However, I hope that providing a variety of workouts, either through the Fluid Running app (which also makes it easier to keep track of the workout while in the water) or on your own can add a fun challenge in the pool and you can emerge from your injury with minimal fitness loss.

Shin Strengthening at a Glance

This table shows what each exercise trains and why it matters for your shins.

What you train	Exercise	Why it matters
Calves (gastrocnemius)	Straight-leg eccentric calf raises	Calf strength and endurance steady the tibia on landing
Calves (soleus)	Bent-knee eccentric calf raises	Soleus force was 64% vs. 73% of body weight in legs with shin splints
Front of the shin	Heel walks	Tibialis anterior tested weaker, but it’s a small muscle
Hips	Side-lying hip abduction	Hip and core work cut overuse injuries 39% in new runners
Shin bone	Small hops	Fast, varied loads build bone more than running alone