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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

Standing Calf Raise

MachineIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary

Works

Calves

You need

Standing calf raise

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
Shoulder pads
1Stretch
Shoulder pads
2Top
Main muscles
  1. 1Balls of the feet on the edge
  2. 2Pause in the deep stretch at the bottom
  3. 3Rise all the way up

Most common mistake

Bouncing through tiny reps with no stretch.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #2 for calves
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched
  • Easy to keep adding weight

Compare with

vs Leg Press Calf Raisevs Smith Machine Calf Raisevs Donkey Calf Raise
S
For calves
#2 of 9
See the full list →
Research
95
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 952 studies
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchExcellent
ProgressionExcellent
Low costStrong

Straight knees keep the gastrocnemius stretched: standing raises grew it 9–12% where seated raises barely did, and bottom-range reps grew it twice as much as full reps.

  • 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.)
  • Kassiano et al., 2023 · Trial: Calf raises in the stretched (bottom) range grew the medial gastrocnemius more than full or top-range reps (+15.2% vs +6.7% and +3.4%). (42 young women; 8 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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