--- title: "Calf exercises" description: "Calf raises standing, seated, with dumbbells and from a deficit. See on video how the straight-knee version differs from the bent-knee one." locale: en url: "https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves" count: 44 type: muscles code: CALVES --- # Calf exercises The calf really does one thing: it extends the ankle, which lifts the heel. The whole list is variations on that same raise, and they differ in two ways - whether the knee is straight or bent, and whether the heel has room to drop below the toes. With a straight knee the work goes mostly to the gastrocnemius, the head you see from the outside, because it crosses the knee joint and loses tension once the leg bends. With a bent knee you are left with the soleus underneath it. That is why the standing and the seated versions sit separately in the atlas and do not replace each other. ## Standing or seated? The difference comes from anatomy, not from preference. The gastrocnemius attaches above the knee, so bending the leg shortens it and cuts its contribution down hard. The soleus starts below the knee and works no matter how the leg is set. Hence the split in the list. Standing raises, whether with dumbbells, with a barbell, in a Smith machine or on the leg press, load both heads, but it is the gastrocnemius that gives the calf the shape you see from the side. Seated raises, with the weight resting on your knees or on a machine with a pad, are the only way to load the soleus without the other head taking part. If you only do one version it is usually the standing one, because it lets you use more weight. The seated version can be surprisingly hard with very little weight, and that is not a sign of weakness, just a different muscle under load. ## Do calves need training more often? This question comes up here more than for any other muscle, and the reason behind it is fairly mundane. The calf lifts your whole bodyweight with every step, so it is used to repeated, moderate loading - and two sets tacked onto the end of leg day can be a negligible stimulus for it. What you will see most often in practice is short doses several times a week, in higher rep ranges, with the heel dropping all the way in every rep. Treat that as an observation from gym floors, not as a rule. The thing that really does repeat consistently in these exercise descriptions is range of motion and tempo, not the number of sets. Jump rope, jumping jacks and skips are a separate matter, and they land under calves in the atlas too. They load the ankle fast and through a small range, so they do something different from a loaded raise. As a warm-up or as conditioning they work great, but they will not reproduce the full drop of the heel. ## Common mistakes - **Raises on flat ground** - On the floor your heel stops right away and you give up a good part of the range. Every elevated variation in the catalog repeats the same cue: the heel drops below the level of the toes. - **Bouncing out of the bottom** - The Achilles stores energy and will happily throw the weight back up for you. A brief pause at the bottom takes that job away from it and leaves it to the calf. - **Hanging off the support** - In the versions with a chair, a wall or a bench, the support is there for balance. Lean your weight on it and you subtract exactly as much load as you meant to add. ## By equipment - [Bodyweight](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/bodyweight) - 15 exercises - [Mat](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/mat) - 7 exercises - [Dumbbell](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/dumbbell) - 7 exercises - [Resistance band](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/resistance-band) - 4 exercises - [Jump rope](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/jump-rope) - 3 exercises - [Barbell](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/barbell) - 3 exercises - [Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/machine) - 1 exercises - [Smith machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/smith-machine) - 1 exercises - [Cable](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/cable) - 1 exercises - [Pull-up bar](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/pull-up-bar) - 1 exercises - [Bench](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/calves/bench) - 1 exercises ## All Calf exercises - [Calf Raise Leg Press Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-raise-leg-press-machine) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Seated Calf Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/seated-calf-machine) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Standing Calf Raises Smith Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/standing-calf-raises-smith-machine) - Calves · Resistance band - [Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-standing-calf-raise) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Bodyweight Standing Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/bodyweight-standing-calf-raise) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Barbell Standing Leg Calf Raises](https://hi.fitness/exercises/barbell-standing-leg-calf-raises) - Calves · Barbell - [Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-seated-calf-raise) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Elevated Standing Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/elevated-standing-calf-raise) - Calves · Pull-up bar - [Donkey Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/donkey-calf-raise) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Single Leg Calf Raise Leg Press Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/single-leg-calf-raise-leg-press-machine) - Calves · Machine - [Smith Machine Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/smith-machine-calf-raise) - Calves · Smith machine - [Bodyweight Calf Raises](https://hi.fitness/exercises/bodyweight-calf-raises) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Dumbbell Standing Single Leg Calf Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-standing-single-leg-calf-raise) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise on Step](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-standing-calf-raise-on-step) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Seated Calf Raises Dumbbell on Knee](https://hi.fitness/exercises/seated-calf-raises-dumbbell-on-knee) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Barbell Seated on Knee Calve Raises](https://hi.fitness/exercises/barbell-seated-on-knee-calve-raises) - Calves · Barbell - [Calf Raise on Hack Squat Machine](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-raise-on-hack-squat-machine) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Cable Calve Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/cable-calve-raise) - Calves · Cable - [Standing Calf Raise Resistance Band](https://hi.fitness/exercises/standing-calf-raise-resistance-band) - Calves · Resistance band - [Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raise Wall Support](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-single-leg-calf-raise-wall-support) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Dumbbell Seated One Leg Calf Raise Hammer Grip](https://hi.fitness/exercises/dumbbell-seated-one-leg-calf-raise-hammer-grip) - Calves · Dumbbell - [Calf Raise with Wall Support](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-raise-with-wall-support) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Calf Raise from Deficit with Chair Supported](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-raise-from-deficit-with-chair-supported) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Resistance Band Calf Press Sitting on Chair](https://hi.fitness/exercises/resistance-band-calf-press-sitting-on-chair) - Calves · Resistance band - [Band Two Legs Calf Raise - (Band Under Both Legs) Version 2](https://hi.fitness/exercises/band-two-legs-calf-raise-band-under-both-legs-version-2) - Calves · Resistance band - [Barbell Calf Jump](https://hi.fitness/exercises/barbell-calf-jump) - Calves · Barbell - [Calf Raise Clap](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-raise-clap) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Jump Rope Basic Jump](https://hi.fitness/exercises/jump-rope-basic-jump) - Calves · Jump rope - [Jump Rope Alternating Foot](https://hi.fitness/exercises/jump-rope-alternating-foot) - Calves · Jump rope - [Jumping Jack](https://hi.fitness/exercises/jumping-jack) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Skipping](https://hi.fitness/exercises/skipping) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Jump Rope Double Bounce](https://hi.fitness/exercises/jump-rope-double-bounce) - Calves · Jump rope - [Fast Feet](https://hi.fitness/exercises/fast-feet) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Calf Stretch with Hands Against Wall](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-stretch-with-hands-against-wall) - Calves · Mat - [Standing Gastrocnemius Stretch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/standing-gastrocnemius-stretch) - Calves · Bench - [Calves Stretch on Stairs](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calves-stretch-on-stairs) - Calves · Mat - [Lunging Straight Leg Calf Stretch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/lunging-straight-leg-calf-stretch) - Calves · Mat - [Seated Calf Stretch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/seated-calf-stretch) - Calves · Mat - [Seated Straight Leg Calf Stretch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/seated-straight-leg-calf-stretch) - Calves · Mat - [Crouching Heel Back Calf Stretch](https://hi.fitness/exercises/crouching-heel-back-calf-stretch) - Calves · Mat - [Calf Stretch with Rope](https://hi.fitness/exercises/calf-stretch-with-rope) - Calves · Mat - [Ankle Circles](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ankle-circles) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Ankle - Plantar Flexion](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ankle-plantar-flexion) - Calves · Bodyweight - [Ankle - Dorsal Flexion](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ankle-dorsal-flexion) - Calves · Bodyweight