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The Best Calf Exercises, Ranked

Five calf exercises for straight and bent knees in the order worth trying them, plus every other calf exercise in the library.

5 ranked picks10 exercises

By Jobri Fitness

The short answer

Do a straight-knee calf raise for the gastrocnemius and a bent-knee one for the soleus, and use the full range: a deep stretch at the bottom and a pause at the top.

The 5 best calf exercises

  1. Standing Calf Raise

    Machine

    The main calf exercise: with straight knees it trains the large gastrocnemius, and a machine makes it easy to load heavy.

    How to do it: Standing Calf Raise

    Also with: Dumbbell, Barbell, Smith machine, Bodyweight

  2. Seated Calf Raise

    Machine

    With your knees bent, the soleus does more of the work, so it's the natural second calf exercise.

    How to do it: Seated Calf Raise

    Also with: Dumbbell, Barbell

  3. Calf Raise on the Leg Press

    Machine

    A practical alternative when your gym has no standing calf machine: push through the balls of your feet on the sled.

    How to do it: Calf Raise on the Leg Press

    Machine only

  4. Single-Leg Calf Raise

    Dumbbell

    One leg at a time on a step: bodyweight alone is often enough load, and it shows if one side lags.

    How to do it: Single-Leg Calf Raise

    Also with: Bodyweight

  5. Rotary Calf Machine

    Machine

    A guided machine variant that's quick to set up and easy to load.

    How to do it: Rotary Calf Machine

    Machine only

How these are ranked

The order covers both calf muscles first: a standing raise with straight knees, then a seated one with bent knees. The alternatives after them work when your gym lacks a machine or you want to train one leg at a time. If a lower pick fits your gym better, use it.

How much calf work you need

The number of hard sets you do each week matters more than which exercise you pick. How many sets per week to build muscle covers the numbers, and how to get bigger legs puts them into a plan. The training volume calculator counts your weekly sets per muscle, and the workout plan generator builds a week around them.

All 10 calf exercises

  • Calf Raise on the Hacksquat
  • Calf Raise on the Leg Press
  • Jumping Jack
  • Rotary Calf Machine
  • Seated Calf Raise
  • Seated Single-Leg Calf Raise
  • Single-Leg Calf Raise
  • Single-Leg Rotary Calf Machine
  • Standing Calf Raise
  • Tibialis Raise

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