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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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Explore/Calves

Seated Calf Raise

MachineIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary

Works

Calves

You need

Seated calf raise

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
Knee pad
1Stretch
Knee pad
2Top
Main muscles
  1. 1Pads snug on your lower thighs
  2. 2Full stretch at the bottom
  3. 3Slow, controlled reps

Most common mistake

Treating it as a replacement for standing raises: it mostly trains the soleus.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #3 for running
  • Easy to keep adding weight
  • Easy on the joints and recovery
  • Carries straight over to running

Compare with

vs Dumbbell Calf Raisevs Donkey Calf Raisevs Single-Leg Calf Raise
A
For calves
#6 of 9
See the full list →
Research
76
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 761 study
Target tensionGood
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionExcellent
Low costExcellent

Bent knees take the gastrocnemius out, leaving mostly the soleus. In one study it barely grew the gastrocnemius at all.

  • Kinoshita et al., 2023 · Trial: Standing calf raises grew the gastrocnemius 9–12%; seated raises barely grew it (under 2%). Soleus growth was similar. (14 untrained adults, one leg each way; 12 weeks.)

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

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