Equipment
The seated calf raise machine trains the calves with your knees bent, which shifts much of the work to the soleus, the deeper calf muscle that standing raises train less.
Written by the GymStreak coaching teamUpdated
01
You sit with a padded lever resting on your thighs and the balls of your feet on a step. Raising your heels lifts the lever. Because the knee is bent, the gastrocnemius (which crosses the knee) is slackened and the soleus does more of the work.
02
Let your heels drop below the step for a full stretch, pause, then rise as high as you can on the balls of your feet. Keep the tempo controlled rather than bouncing. Calves often respond well to higher reps and short pauses at the top and bottom.
03
Pair seated raises with a standing or leg-press calf raise so both calf muscles are covered.
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