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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
S
For running
#3 of 19
See the full list →
Research
86
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 86
TransferExcellent
Injury protectionStrong
PracticalityStrong

Bent-knee raises target the soleus, the main force producer in running.

Research behind these criteria

  • Transfer: Seitz et al., 2014 · Markovic, 2007 · Blagrove et al., 2018 · Rønnestad & Mujika, 2014
  • Injury protection: Lauersen et al., 2014 · van Dyk et al., 2019 · Harøy et al., 2019 · Webster & Hewett, 2018
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SSingle-Leg Calf RaiseDumbbell
  • SBulgarian Split SquatDumbbell
  • SPogo HopsBodyweight
  • BLeg PressMachine

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