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Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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General training information, not medical advice. If something hurts, stop and see a professional.
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Explore/Calves

Donkey Calf Raise

MachineIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary

Works

Calves

You need

Standing calf raise

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Stretch
2Top
Main muscles
  1. 1Hinge forward at the hips
  2. 2Deep stretch at the bottom
  3. 3Rise high

Most common mistake

Bending the knees to cheat reps.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for calves
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched

Compare with

vs Smith Machine Calf Raisevs Single-Leg Calf Raisevs Leg Press Calf Raise
S
For calves
#4 of 9
See the full list →
Research
90
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 90
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchExcellent
ProgressionStrong
Low costStrong

Straight knees and a deep bottom position stretch the gastrocnemius well. Loading it needs a machine or a partner.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SSingle-Leg Calf RaiseDumbbell
  • ADumbbell Calf RaiseDumbbell
  • BTibialis RaiseBodyweight
  • SLeg Press Calf RaiseMachine

Takes

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