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Resources

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Evidence

Studies
Expert Opinions
RCT
Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is greater after standing versus seated calf-raise training
2023
·
Frontiers in Physiology
·
14 untrained adults
RCT
Loaded inter-set stretch may selectively enhance muscular adaptations of the plantar flexors
2022
·
PLOS ONE
·
21 young men
RCT
Do the anatomical and physiological properties of a muscle determine its adaptive response to different loading protocols?
2020
·
Physiological Reports
·
26 untrained men completed
EMG + Ultrasound
Effect of different ankle- and knee-joint positions on gastrocnemius medialis fascicle length and EMG activity during isometric plantar flexion
2006
·
Journal of Biomechanics
·
22 male runners
Exercise Physiologist
Training the Calves
2009
·
Lyle McDonald
·
Article
BSc Biochemistry / Pro Natural Bodybuilder
Get NOTICEABLY BIGGER Calves With This Technique
2025
·
Jeff Nippard
·
YouTube
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Calves (Soleus)

Calves (Soleus)

The definitive ranking of the best bodypart exercises for building muscle

Portrait of Ismail Benmbarek, curator of this exercise ranking
Curated by
Ismail Benmbarek
·
Portrait of , reviewer of this exercise ranking
Reviewed by
Ranking basis
Scores rated from 1–5
·
Last updated:
Rank
#
Exercise
Type
Score

Scoring

Weighted composite score reflecting each exercise’s hypertrophy efficiency, joint safety, stability, and real-world practicality

GPE

✧ Gains Per Effort

Measures how much muscle growth you get for the effort invested.
High scores = efficient exercises that yield maximum hypertrophy with minimal fatigue.

MMC

✧ Mind-Muscle Connection

Rates how easily the target muscle can be felt and isolated.
High scores = strong internal focus and tension control during execution.

Joints

✧ Joint Friendliness

Evaluates stress on joints and connective tissue.
High scores = smooth, joint-friendly motion with low irritation risk.

Ceiling

✧ Progression Ceiling

Reflects how far the movement can be progressively overloaded.
High scores = scalable long-term potential before plateauing.

Curve

✧ Resistance Curve Quality

Compares the exercise's resistance curve to the muscle’s natural strength profile.
High scores = aligns with muscle's strength curve + consistent resistance through the full range of motion.

Stable

✧ Stability Requirement

Assesses how much external stability the exercise provides.
High scores = highly stable setups that let you focus purely on output.

Setup

✧ Setup Friction

Assesses the time, coordination, and physical effort required to set up and initiate the exercise.
High scores = minimal friction before the first rep.

Equip

✧ Equipment Accessibility

Measures how easy it is to perform with common gym equipment.
High scores = simple setups available in most training environments.

ROM

✧ Range of Motion Clarity

Rates how clearly the start and end of the range are defined.
High scores = clean, repeatable reps with obvious mechanical endpoints.

Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise
Bodyweight
???
4.25
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Gains Per Effort

Unilateral execution concentrates the load on one soleus, but side-to-side time and positioning reduce overall efficiency.

4.25
4.5
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Mind-Muscle Connection

Working one side at a time makes the target calf easy to isolate and feel.

4.50
4.75
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Joint Friendliness

The unilateral setup typically uses modest loading and allows easy self-adjustment, making it highly forgiving.

4.75
3.25
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Progression Ceiling

Progression is practical at first, but implement handling and unilateral loading become limiting as strength increases.

3.25
4.25
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Resistance Curve Quality

Provides effective plantarflexion resistance without a particularly optimized external torque profile.

4.25
4.5
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Stability Requirement

The seated base is stable, though unilateral loading creates some extra foot and ankle control demand.

4.50
4.75
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Setup Friction

Requires minimal equipment and only simple positioning for one leg at a time.

4.75
5
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Equipment Accessibility

Can be performed with basic equipment available in virtually any gym.

5.00
3.5
/
5
·
Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise

Range of Motion Clarity

The bottom stretch and top contraction are self-selected, with no hard mechanical endpoint.

3.50
Seated Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Bodyweight
???
4
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Gains Per Effort

Effectively trains the soleus, but the generic setup usually relies on modest improvised loading and offers less efficient overload than dedicated variations.

4.00
4.25
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Mind-Muscle Connection

The soleus is easy to feel in the seated position, though the unspecified loading method can make execution less direct.

4.25
4.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Joint Friendliness

The seated position and typically modest loads make the movement highly forgiving for most lifters.

4.75
2.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Progression Ceiling

Without a defined heavy-loading implement, progressive overload becomes awkward relatively quickly.

2.75
4.25
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Resistance Curve Quality

The basic seated plantarflexion pattern loads the soleus effectively but does not optimize the external resistance profile.

4.25
4.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Stability Requirement

The seated position provides high external stability with little balance demand.

4.75
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Setup Friction

The generic version requires almost no formal setup beyond a seat and some form of resistance.

5.00
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Equipment Accessibility

It can be improvised with basic equipment or household loading methods.

5.00
3.5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise

Range of Motion Clarity

Neither the bottom stretch nor top contraction has a hard stop, so endpoint depth remains subjective.

3.50
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbells
???
4.25
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Gains Per Effort

Produces good soleus stimulus with little systemic fatigue, but handling and positioning the dumbbell adds some non-target effort.

4.25
4.5
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Mind-Muscle Connection

The seated position makes the soleus easy to feel, with little distraction from other musculature.

4.50
4.75
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Joint Friendliness

Moderate loading and a self-selected setup make this highly forgiving for most lifters.

4.75
3.5
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Progression Ceiling

Loading is straightforward initially, but very heavy dumbbells become awkward to position and eventually limit progression.

3.50
4.25
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Resistance Curve Quality

The load provides effective plantarflexion resistance but offers no special leverage advantage or optimized profile.

4.25
4.75
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Stability Requirement

The seated position is highly stable, with only minor effort needed to keep the dumbbell positioned.

4.75
4.25
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Setup Friction

Requires a bench, a raised foot surface, and getting a heavy dumbbell securely onto the thigh.

4.25
5
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Equipment Accessibility

Dumbbells and benches are available in nearly every gym.

5.00
3.75
/
5
·
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Range of Motion Clarity

Both the bottom stretch and top contraction remain judgment-based rather than mechanically fixed.

3.75
Barbell Seated Calf Raise
Barbell Seated Calf Raise
Barbell
???
4.5
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Gains Per Effort

Strong soleus loading with low systemic fatigue, though bar positioning and stabilization create more non-target effort than machine options.

4.50
4.5
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Mind-Muscle Connection

The soleus is easy to feel, but managing the bar across the thighs slightly reduces local focus.

4.50
4.25
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Joint Friendliness

The movement itself is joint-friendly, but heavy bar pressure on the distal thighs or knees can become uncomfortable.

4.25
4.25
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Progression Ceiling

A barbell supports substantial loading, but getting heavy loads into position becomes awkward and increasingly impractical.

4.25
4.5
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Resistance Curve Quality

The direct vertical load creates strong plantarflexion resistance through most of the working range.

4.50
4.75
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Stability Requirement

The seated position is highly stable, though the lifter still has to keep the bar balanced across the thighs.

4.75
3.25
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Setup Friction

Bench, bar, padding, loading, and safe bar placement make setup noticeably cumbersome.

3.25
5
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Equipment Accessibility

A barbell, plates, and bench are available in nearly every resistance-training gym.

5.00
3.75
/
5
·
Barbell Seated Calf Raise

Range of Motion Clarity

The heel-drop and top-contraction endpoints are visible but not defined by hard stops.

3.75
Seated Calf Raise Machine
Seated Calf Raise Machine
Machine
???
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Gains Per Effort

Direct seated plantarflexion with the knee flexed maximizes soleus involvement while minimizing non-target fatigue.

5.00
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Mind-Muscle Connection

The dedicated seated setup makes soleus tension extremely easy to isolate and feel.

5.00
4.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Joint Friendliness

The supported position is highly forgiving, with little spinal or balance demand and only modest ankle or forefoot stress.

4.75
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Progression Ceiling

The machine allows heavy, incremental loading for years with virtually no practical progression bottleneck.

5.00
4.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Resistance Curve Quality

Most dedicated machines maintain strong plantarflexion resistance through a large portion of the ankle range.

4.75
5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Stability Requirement

The seated machine setup removes essentially all balance and body-position demands.

5.00
4.75
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Setup Friction

Setup is limited to adjusting the knee pad, seat position, and foot placement.

4.75
3.5
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Equipment Accessibility

Dedicated seated calf raise machines are common in well-equipped gyms but not universal.

3.50
4
/
5
·
Seated Calf Raise Machine

Range of Motion Clarity

The top and bottom positions are visually clear, but neither endpoint is mechanically fixed.

4.00
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise
Smith Machine
???
4.75
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Gains Per Effort

The Smith path provides high soleus stimulus with very little wasted effort, though the improvised setup adds some friction.

4.75
4.75
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Mind-Muscle Connection

The guided load keeps attention on ankle plantarflexion and makes soleus tension easy to feel.

4.75
4.5
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Joint Friendliness

Generally comfortable, though bar pressure over the thighs or knees and foot positioning can become irritating under heavy loads.

4.50
4.75
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Progression Ceiling

Highly loadable with precise increments, though pad comfort and setup practicality can cap loading before a dedicated machine does.

4.75
4.5
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Resistance Curve Quality

The vertical loading profile gives strong resistance through plantarflexion, though it is not perfectly matched to soleus strength.

4.50
5
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Stability Requirement

The Smith path and seated position eliminate almost all balance demands.

5.00
3.5
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Setup Friction

Requires a bench, step or platform, bar-height setup, and padding over the thighs.

3.50
3.75
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Equipment Accessibility

Smith machines are common but not available in every gym.

3.75
3.75
/
5
·
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Range of Motion Clarity

Both heel drop and peak plantarflexion remain self-selected rather than mechanically fixed.

3.75

Learn about these bodypart exercises

5
/
5
·
Default

Mind-Muscle Connection

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What is the bodypart?

In Plain English

The soleus is the broad, flat calf muscle that sits beneath the gastrocnemius (the bulky upper calf). Although it’s mostly hidden from view, it makes up much of your calf’s thickness and stays active almost every time you’re on your feet.

🏞️ BODY MEDIA

Technical Definition

The soleus is a deep posterior compartment muscle that originates from the tibia and fibula before inserting into the Achilles tendon. Unlike the gastrocnemius, it crosses only the ankle joint, making it a pure ankle plantarflexor regardless of knee position.

Why does the bodypart matter?

Fills the lower half of the calf

As the soleus grows, the calf holds its size lower down the leg before narrowing into the Achilles tendon. This creates a longer-looking calf with a smoother, more gradual taper toward the ankle instead of an abrupt drop-off beneath the gastrocnemius.

🏞️ BODY MEDIA

Keeps you moving for hours

Unlike the gastrocnemius, which excels during explosive efforts, the soleus is built for relentless endurance. It works continuously while standing, walking, hiking, and maintaining an upright posture, quietly producing thousands of low-force contractions throughout the day without fatiguing.

🏞️ BODY MEDIA

Key functions of the bodypart

Illustration of the foot pointing downward at the ankle to demonstrate ankle plantarflexion.

Ankle Plantarflexion

Points the foot downward at the ankle, lifting the heel and driving the forefoot away from the shin as when rising onto your toes.

What makes a good bodypart Exercise?

criteria

How to program bodypart training

How we choose: Most rep ranges can build muscle when taken close enough to failure, so there is no universal “hypertrophy range.” We start within 5–30 reps, then narrow it based on one question: what range lets the target muscle, rather than your joints, supporting muscles or overall fatigue, end the set? We also favor ranges wide enough to make load progression smooth.

15–25 reps

The soleus is exceptionally well suited to higher-rep work. Compared with the gastrocnemius, it has a much greater proportion of fatigue-resistant slow-twitch fibers and is built to sustain plantarflexion repeatedly during standing and locomotion. It also produces less peak force than the gastroc, so there is less reason to force it into very heavy loading.

15–25 reps lets fatigue accumulate where the soleus excels: sustained, repeated force production. Heavy low-rep seated calf raises can certainly grow it, but they increase absolute loading through the ankle and Achilles without exploiting any clear hypertrophy advantage. Higher reps keep the soleus locally limiting, make controlled full-ROM repetitions easier to maintain, and provide a long progression runway before load needs to increase.

How we measure stimulus: Sets only matter in context of effort. We therefore use growth-promoting reps (GPRs): the final hard reps near failure, capped at ~5 per set. RIR (reps in reserve) determines how many you collect: train closer to failure and you need fewer sets; stop earlier and you need more. Target ~20 GPRs per session. Closely related subregions may share this budget, like the chest, while functionally distinct ones, like the deltoid heads, do not.

4 hard sets per session · 0 RIR

Soleus-focused calf raises are ideal candidates for failure. They are stable, highly local and impose almost no meaningful systemic fatigue. Taking each set to 0 RIR therefore extracts the maximum stimulus from relatively few sets without the downstream performance cost that makes repeated failure problematic on compound movements.

At 0 RIR, each productive set can contribute roughly the maximum ~5 GPRs. Four sets × ~5 GPRs = ~20 GPRs.

The important constraint is that the soleus and gastroc share a single calf GPR budget. Bent-knee work strongly reduces the gastrocnemius’ mechanical contribution and therefore biases the soleus, but straight-leg calf work already trains the soleus substantially. If standing calf raises have supplied a large calf stimulus, you do not begin seated calf work with a fresh 20-GPR soleus allowance.

A soleus priority means allocating more of the shared calf budget to bent-knee work, not doubling the total calf workload.

How we choose: Frequency is not about fitting a muscle into a weekly split. It is about how soon that muscle can produce another high-quality growth stimulus after the previous one. We account for muscular recovery, joint and connective-tissue stress, systemic fatigue and the exercises typically used to train it. Closely related subregions may also share a recovery clock, so training one can delay readiness of the others.

Every 2 days

The soleus is one of the body’s most fatigue-resistant muscles, but our frequency recommendation follows recovery from a full hypertrophy session, not its ability to contract repeatedly during everyday movement. Four genuinely maximal sets create a much larger local stimulus than walking or standing. About 48 hours gives that fatigue time to resolve while still exploiting the soleus’ unusually high capacity for frequent work.

The soleus and gastroc share the same calf recovery clock. They contribute differently depending on knee position, but both load the plantarflexor system and ultimately transmit force through the Achilles tendon. Hard training for either therefore matters when deciding when the calves are ready again.

Think calves every two days, then decide whether that exposure should bias the gastroc, soleus, or both.

Common mistakes lifters make with bodypart training

Stopping Too Far From Failure

Muscle growth doesn’t begin with your first repetition—it accelerates as repetitions become increasingly difficult. Consistently stopping with 3–4 reps in reserve leaves many of the most stimulative reps on the table.

Not Respecting the Stack

Back extension, excessive arching, or flaring the ribcage changes movement mechanics and makes it harder to keep tension where you want it. Keep your head, upper back, and pelvis stacked to improve force transfer and target muscle recruitment.

Confusing “Hard” With “Effective”

A set can burn, elevate your heart rate, and feel brutally difficult while producing relatively little hypertrophic stimulus. The best indicator of an effective set is approaching true muscular failure, not discomfort.

Chasing the Logbook Instead of Stimulus

Progressive overload is the result of effective training, not the objective itself. Altering technique, shortening the range of motion, or using momentum just to set a personal record creates the illusion of progress without improving the stimulus.

Using Inconsistent Technique

Changing your technique from rep to rep or workout to workout makes progress impossible to interpret. Consistent execution produces reliable data, and reliable data drives better programming.

Thinking in Sets

Not all sets contribute equally to muscle growth. The further you stop from failure, the more sets you’ll need to achieve the same overall training stimulus. The goal is 20 growth-promoting reps per muscle per session, with a set to failure giving you the maximum of 5 GPRs.

Forcing Exercises That Don’t Fit You

The objectively “best” exercise is rarely the one that produces the best growth for every lifter. Enjoyability, joint comfort, stability, and individual mechanics matter.

Using Narrow Rep Ranges

A wider rep range gives you room to progress naturally. Treating every exercise as “3×10” often forces premature load increases or unnecessary stagnation.

Forcing “Optimal” Frequency

A muscle recovering every two days does not mean it must be trained every two days. The final 10–20% of theoretical optimization often demands disproportionate complexity. Use the highest frequency your schedule and joints can sustain consistently.

Ignoring Joint Stress

A movement can stimulate the target muscle while quietly exceeding your joints’ tolerance. That is not effective training. Tendon irritation, recurring pain and forced layoffs erase far more progress than a slightly less “optimal” exercise ever will. Availability is the prerequisite for progression.

Overhauling Your Program at the First Plateau

One stalled lift is not proof that your program has failed. When progress stalls, troubleshoot in order: sleep → calories → protein → stress → technique → intensity → volume → intensifiers. Only after every box is checked should you change your exercises, frequency, or programming.

Choosing Arbitrary Rep Ranges

All rep ranges from roughly 5–30 reps can build muscle, but not every exercise performs equally well across that spectrum. Choose a rep range where the target muscle, rather than your joints, supporting muscles, or systemic fatigue, is what ends the set.

Bodypart strength curve

A strength curve represents how a muscle’s relative force-producing capacity changes as it moves from a lengthened position to a shortened position.

The graph below shows this muscle’s generalized strength profile. While the exact curve varies between exercises and individuals, it provides a useful model for understanding how different resistance profiles interact with the muscle across its range of motion.

Understanding where a muscle is naturally strong or weak helps explain why exercises whose resistance profile broadly aligns with that strength profile often provide more consistent tension throughout the range of motion.

Strength Curve

How force output changes from the lengthened to shortened position.

Force Range of Motion Lengthened Shortened

Interpretation

A smooth, lengthened-biased descending curve. Similar to the gastrocnemius, but broader and less steep because the soleus crosses only the ankle and is unaffected by knee position. Human soleus data indicate that it largely operates on the ascending limb of its force–length relationship, supporting greater force capacity at longer muscle lengths.

  • Strongest: The soleus produces its greatest force while relatively lengthened, with the ankle dorsiflexed and the muscle positioned to generate high plantarflexion force.
  • Weakest: Force capacity declines as the ankle moves into plantarflexion and the soleus shortens, although the loss is less extreme than in the gastrocnemius.
  • Exercise Selection: The best soleus exercises provide substantial resistance in the stretched position and continue loading the muscle through the middle of plantarflexion. Resistance concentrated near the top of the movement places the greatest demand where the soleus is naturally weaker.
  • Nuance: Unlike the gastrocnemius, the soleus does not cross the knee. Bending the knee reduces gastrocnemius contribution without materially changing the soleus’s own length across that joint.

Recommended Equipment

📈 Progression Pick

Micro Gainz Olympic 1.25LB Fractional Weight Plates

Micro Gainz

Adds just 2.5 lb to a barbell or plate-loaded movement, allowing strength to progress smoothly once conventional weight jumps become too aggressive.

View Product
🏠 Home Gym Pick

Flex Wedge 2.0

Exponent Edge

Provides seven adjustable platform angles for calf raises, tibialis work, heel-elevated squats and deficit movements, replacing several fixed wedges and blocks with one heavy-duty platform.

View Product
🏠 Home Gym Pick

X3 Smith Machine Functional Trainer Squat Rack

MAXUM Fitness

Combines a Smith machine, dual adjustable cable stacks, rack and pull-up station in one footprint, covering an unusually broad range of stable barbell, cable and bodyweight hypertrophy work.

View Product

Related muscles

Calves (Gastroc)

The two-headed superficial calf muscle forming the back of the lower leg.

View Exercise Ranking

Tibialis

The muscle running along the front of the shin, beside the tibia.

View Exercise Ranking

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