Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

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

Best exercises for

Calves

The stubborn ones. Ranked by what actually moves them.

Live ranking · updated by evidence & ratings

Calves workout My tier list
S
Leg Press Calf Raise
Standing Calf Raise
Smith Machine Calf Raise
Donkey Calf Raise
Single-Leg Calf Raise
A
Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbell Calf Raise
B
Tibialis Raise
C
Pogo Hops
D
—
F
—

Full ranking

  1. 1S
    Leg Press Calf Raise
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    95
    Research
    Lifters
  2. 2S
    Standing Calf Raise
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    95
    Research
    Lifters
  3. 3S
    Smith Machine Calf Raise
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    94
    Research
    Lifters
  4. 4S
    Donkey Calf Raise
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    90
    Research
    Lifters
  5. 5S
    Single-Leg Calf Raise
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    85
    Research
    Lifters
  6. 6A
    Seated Calf Raise
    Machine
    No ratings yet
    76
    Research
    Lifters
  7. 7A
    Dumbbell Calf Raise
    Dumbbell
    No ratings yet
    75
    Research
    Lifters
  8. 8B
    Tibialis Raise
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    64
    Research
    Lifters
  9. 9C
    Pogo Hops
    Bodyweight
    No ratings yet
    44
    Research
    Lifters

From the research

2.3×more inner-calf growth from calf raises in the stretched bottom half than from full reps.Kassiano et al., 2023 · 42 young women; 8 weeks.+12%outer-calf growth from standing calf raises, versus +2% from seated ones.Kinoshita et al., 2023 · 14 untrained adults, one leg each way; 12 weeks.

What is the best calves exercise?

Right now Leg Press Calf Raise ranks first, with an overall score of 95 from the research rubric. It’s followed by Standing Calf Raise and Smith Machine Calf Raise. The best choice for you depends on your equipment and how it feels on your joints, which is why every exercise links to alternatives.

Why it ranks: Same stretch advantage, and the setup used in that study.

How these scores are calculated →