How To Do Calf Raises The Correct Way, According To Trainers

Meet the experts: India McPeak, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, former collegiate gymnast, and currently working on her masters in sports and exercise nutrition. Jacquelyn Baston, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Triple Fit in Chicago.

How To Do Calf Raises With Proper Form

How to:

1. Stand on a flat surface with toes pointed straight ahead. Optional: Hold a dumbbell in each hand for added challenge.
2. Lift heels off floor to flex calf muscles.
3. Pause, then slowly return heels to floor. That’s 1 rep.

Pro tip: Watch your ankles. If this area is weak, your ankles may roll in or out which can create imbalances and lead to injury at the ankles and knees, Baston says. It might be a good idea to do ankle-strengthening exercises before you start bringing calf raises into your workouts or standing next to a wall for balance if necessary.

Benefits Of Calf Raises

Calf raises are one way to strengthen your calf muscles. When you work the gastrocnemius and the soleus (two muscles that attach to the heel bone via your Achilles tendon and make up your calves), these are the major perks you can expect.

1. Boost balance. Calf raises are great for improving ankle stability, strength, and, therefore, overall balance, says Gabrielle Savary, CPT, a trainer and creator of Grow With Gab. And, balance is *super* important in your everyday life in terms of preventing slips and falls. It’s even linked with longevity, according to a 2022 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study found that people who could balance on one foot for just ten seconds had half the risk of all-cause mortality than those who couldn’t.
2. Improve power and performance. If your workouts include a lot of explosive movements like jumping, calf raises will give you more oomph, says Savary. That added ankle stability helps with power, agility, acceleration, landings and takeoffs. Basically, don’t underestimate the importance of agile ankles. Ankle proprioception—which plays a big role in balance control and how your joints move—is “significantly predictive of sport performance level, extending up to Olympic level,” per a 2015 review that compared 100 athletes across swimming, soccer, gymnastics, badminton, and dance in Biochemistry Research International.
3. Increase overall strength. Ankle support is also crucial for heavy lower body lifts, says Baston, which can help you get after some of those bigger moves in the gym that much better. Calf raises can help you rock a Romanian deadlift, squat like a pro, and more because of their stabilizing benefits.

How To Make Calf Raises Part Of Your Routine

One great thing about this move is you can do it pretty much anywhere. (Baston says she likes to do them while brushing her teeth.) If you want to bring calf raises into your structured workout, though, aim to incorporate them two to three days per week. Start with two sets of 10 to 15 reps, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets. You should feel a burn (but not pain) by the end of each set; if not, up your rep count, Baston says.

Because calf raises are a single-joint, isolation exercise, it’s important to pair them with other movements that strengthen the joints this muscle group is attached to, Baston says. In this case, that’s the ankle joint below and the knee above.

Start by adding calf raises as a superset following squats or lunges. As you become stronger, you can start pairing the burner with plyometric movements that isolate the calf muscle further, like jumping rope or jump squats. You can also make it harder, by performing calf raises standing on one leg or holding a dumbbell in your hands. (These knee strengthening exercises also pair well with calf raises.)

One more thing: be sure you stretch after a workout that includes this move. “This is a muscle group that can have a hard time recovering and lead to injury in the arches of the feet, like plantar fasciitis, if you don’t stretch it after,” Baston says. Wall lunges and downward dog post-workout should do the trick.

Best Calf Raise Variations For An Added Challenge

Increase The Range Of Motion

Stand on the edge of a step or plate on the balls of your feet with your feet parallel and toes pointing directly ahead. Slowly lower your heels down as far as you can, before lifting back onto your toes as high as possible. If you need extra support, McPeak suggests standing next to a wall or squat rack for balance. “Using full range of motion will help you achieve greater strength gains and healthier tendons,” says McPeak. This variation also stretches the Achilles tendon.

Add Resistance

To level up your calf raises, McPeak recommends holding two dumbbells by your side or a barbell on your back (think back squat positioning). Keep your midsection engaged for a subtle core workout. In addition, you can do an isometric calf raise where you lift your heels and hold the position for a fast and furious burn.

Bend Your Knees

Instead of doing calf raises with straight legs (which primarily target the gastrocnemius), try slightly bending your knees to activate the soleus muscle, says McPeak. Both muscles are just as important to train, she says, but remember to keep your ankles strong and avoid rolling them in or out.

Try It On One Leg

All the above variations can be done on a single leg for increased difficulty. Make sure to build strength and stability with body weight variations first, says McPeak. And again, if you’re aiming for one leg at a time but need some support, hold onto something sturdy to take pressure off your calves.

Common Calf Raises Mistakes

1. Cutting range of motion. “The most common mistake I see people make is going too fast and cutting the range of motion short,” says McPeak. It’s more important to slow down and get full range of motion with proper form than use heavier weights and compensate on depth in the ankle joint, she explains.
2. Rolling ankles in or out. It may sound like a broken record, but keeping your ankles strong, feet parallel, and weight evenly distributed across the balls of your feet and toes will reduce injury and increase strength. If you feel your ankles rolling, McPeak suggests squeezing a tennis ball between your heels during calf raises to help strengthen the tendons that run down the inside of your ankle.
3. Rushing movement. “Focusing on the pace of the movement is so beneficial for tendon health, mobility, and further strength gains, ” says McPeak. A good rule of thumb is “2-1-2-1,” she explains. Take two seconds to lift to full extension, one second pause at the top, two seconds to lower back down, and one second pause at the bottom before repeating.


Andi Breitowich is a Chicago-based writer and graduate student at Northwestern Medill. She’s a mass consumer of social media and cares about women’s rights, holistic wellness, and non-stigmatizing reproductive care. As a former collegiate pole vaulter, she has a love for all things fitness and is currently obsessed with Peloton Tread workouts and hot yoga.  



Olivia Luppino is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. She spends most of her time interviewing expert sources about the latest fitness trends, nutrition tips, and practical advice for living a healthier life. Olivia previously wrote for New York Magazine’s The Cut, PS (formerly POPSUGAR), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests. She’s currently training for her first half marathon, inspired by her many colleagues at WH who have run one.