Skip to content

Seated Calf Raise

Exercise Summary
Primary Muscle(s) Calves
Secondary Muscle(s) None
Equipment Machine
Emphasis Isolation
Type Push

Seated Calf Raise Instructions

  • Situate your body inside the machine.
  • Have your heels off the foot pad to achieve a full range-of-motion.
  • In a controlled manner, flex/extend at the ankle through a full range-of-motion.
  • Actively control the concentric and eccentric portion of the exercise.
    • At the top of the exercise, think about driving your heel into the back of your knee.
    • You are conscientiously shortening and lengthening the musculature of the calf to control the movement.
      • Don't just press the balls of your feet into the foot pad.
  • Don't bounce the weight up. Really emphasize controlling the exercise with your calves.
    • As you fatigue, negate the feeling of lifting the weight with assistance from your quads. This will negate full calf activation.

*Tips*

  • Don't go heavy on this movement. Focus on putting the calves through a full range of motion.
    • Full Plantar Flexion & Dorsiflexion
  • Establish a strong mind-muscle connection and be deliberate with each repetition. 
  • Experiment with different rep schemes and various time-under-tension protocols. 
  • Don't actively point your feet internally or externally. This will have no real effect on the execution of the exercise.
Previous article Chin-up