Training guide
Your calves are two muscles: the gastrocnemius, which works best with your knee straight, and the soleus underneath, which works whatever your knee does. Strengthening them takes straight-knee calf raises, building to one leg off a step, with a few bent-knee raises and, for running and sport, springy work last, about twice a week.
In a 12-week trial, standing raises grew the main calf muscle 9 to 12% while seated raises barely did, and 12 hard sets a week grew the calves more than 6. Strong calves are part of running fitness, but no trial shows they prevent running injuries, and calf raises on their own haven't been shown to prevent falls.
This guide covers what your calves do, the calf strengthening exercises with doses, how many single-leg raises you should manage, running, your Achilles and balance, and the signs, such as a snap at the back of the heel or one swollen calf, that need help first. Our calf workout puts it into one session.
The gastrocnemius crosses the knee and works hardest with it straight; the soleus underneath crosses only the ankle. In a 12-week trial, standing raises grew the gastrocnemius 9 to 12% against under 2% for seated raises, while the soleus grew about the same either way. Make straight-knee raises the main lift and seated raises the extra.
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Twelve sets a week grew the calves more than 6 in a 6-week trial (12.0% against 6.9%), and light and heavy loads grew them alike when the sets went to failure. Strength can rise before any change in size shows.
Two or 3 sets of 10 to 20 straight-knee raises, single-leg from a step once you can, plus a few bent-knee sets, twice a week, the last set 0 to 2 reps short of failure, as our calf raise guide and plans' notes suggest. The NHS starts with 5 slow raises holding a chair.
Healthy adults under 60 averaged about 28 single-leg raises in a row in one study, and larger studies found middle figures of 21 to 25. Fewer is a reason to train, not to worry.
The calves do much of the supporting and pushing off when you run, but no trial shows that calf strengthening prevents running injuries. Foot and ankle exercises on their own haven't been shown to cut falls; programmes that mix balance, functional and strength work cut them by about a third.
A snap at the back of the heel, one swollen, throbbing calf, or calf pain on walking that eases with rest needs checking first: see the warning signs below.
The gastrocnemius, with its two heads, is the bulge you can see. It crosses the knee and the ankle, so it works hardest with a straight knee and slackens when the knee bends. The soleus lies underneath and crosses only the ankle, so it works whatever your knee does. Both join the Achilles tendon. Our gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris pages have the anatomy.
Our editorial grouping: force, to rise onto your toes and push off (raises with a straight and a bent knee); endurance, for walking, running and hiking (the single-leg raise test below); and springiness, for running and jumping (bounces and hops, added last).
In a computer model of running, the soleus and gastrocnemius were the greatest contributors to support and push-off in the second half of each step on the ground.
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In lab studies, the Achilles took about half your body weight in a seated raise and up to 7.3 times your body weight in a forward single-leg hop. In 21 men, a single-leg standing raise loaded it about 13 times more than a seated raise. That's why the ladder runs from seated raises to two legs, one leg, added weight and, last, hops.
In 566 adults, men did more single-leg raises than women (a median of 24 against 21), but women over 60 outdid men over 60, and in 500 adults, being less active, female or heavier went with fewer reps while age didn't. Men aged 65 to 81 still raised calf strength by about 22% in 16 weeks. Calf size is partly inherited (a heritability of 0.18 to 0.23 in one large family study), yet trained adults still grew their calves about 7 to 10% in 8 weeks.
This guide is about strength for everyday life, running and sport. Our bigger calves guide covers size, and our calf raise guide teaches the move itself.
Most of these trials are small, short and in untrained young adults; the falls evidence, later on, is the exception.
In 14 untrained adults (7 women) training one leg standing and one seated, 5 sets of 10 at 70% of their maximum twice a week for 12 weeks, the gastrocnemius grew 9.2 to 12.4% with standing raises against 0.6 to 1.7% with seated raises, while the soleus grew about equally (2.1% against 2.9%).
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In 61 untrained young women training 3 days a week for 6 weeks, 12 sets a week grew the whole calf 12.0% against 6.9% for 6 sets; 9 sets didn't clearly differ from either. The trial measured muscle thickness, not strength.
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In 26 untrained men training one leg light (20 to 30 reps) and one heavy (6 to 10 reps), with every set to failure, for 8 weeks, the calves grew alike and strength rose by about 10% in both legs. Across muscles, light and heavy loads build similar muscle when the sets are hard, while heavier loads build more maximal strength.
In 42 young women, raises through the bottom half of the range grew the inner calf 15.2% in 8 weeks against 6.7% for full raises; in 23 trained adults the edge was small and uncertain. Lower into a full, comfortable stretch on every rep.
In 28 men and women doing 24 heavy calf sessions over 8 weeks, calf strength rose with no measurable growth in the muscle.
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In 16 men aged 65 to 81, calf raises and leg presses at 80% of their maximum 3 times a week for 16 weeks raised calf strength 21.6%, calf power 33.1% and calf muscle size 5.0%. There was no comparison group.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and the NHS ask adults for strength work for all the major muscle groups, the legs included, on 2 or more days a week, and adults 65 and over for activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days. In the 2026 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) overview of 137 reviews, strength rose most with heavier loads, a full range, 2 to 3 sets and 2 or more sessions a week.
Twice a week, at least a day apart, as our bigger calves guide and calf workout suggest. The trials that grew calves trained them 2 or 3 times a week.
Two or 3 sets of 10 to 20 straight-knee raises, plus a few bent-knee sets (our calf raise guide's editorial starting point). Single-leg raises from a step, 3 sets of 12 to 20 each leg, as our calf workout does. If you're new to it, start with the NHS's 5 slow raises holding a chair and build to 10 to 20.
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Take the last set to 0 to 2 reps short of failure and the others to 1 to 3, which our guides call RIR (reps in reserve: how many more reps you could have done). In your first two weeks, stop every set with 3 or 4 to spare. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets, as our plans' notes say.
Add reps until you reach 20, then hold a dumbbell or wear a loaded backpack, then move to a calf machine, as our calf raise guide suggests. About 12 hard sets a week grew the calves most in one trial, but fewer still work.
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Strength rose within 8 weeks in a trial, and size changed over 6 to 12 weeks. Count your single-leg raises every 4 weeks, as our bigger calves guide suggests.
This site's suggested rule: pain during exercise up to 5 out of 10, back to its usual level by the next morning, and not creeping up week on week. If it is worse the next morning, lighten the load for a few sessions rather than stopping.
With pain where the Achilles meets the heel, do every raise on flat ground and lower only to the floor, as our Achilles guide says. After an Achilles rupture, follow your team's stages.
Our editorial order, the shape of our calf workout, with doses from our calf raise, bigger calves and ankles guides and our plans' notes. With pain where the Achilles meets the heel, stay on flat ground, as our Achilles guide says. Our calf raise guide teaches the move shown.
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The movement on the figure: Single-leg calf raise from a step
From a counter to one leg on a step: slow calf raises on both feet, then single-leg raises from a step, 3 sets of 12 to 20 each leg (our calf workout), then holding a dumbbell or wearing a loaded backpack once 20 are easy (our calf raise guide). The calf raise on a dumbbell: the move page's dose is 3 sets of 15 each leg; once that is easy, hold a weight or wear a loaded backpack (the Achilles loading programme in Silbernagel 2020). In a gym, the standing calf machine, the leg press calf press or the Smith machine, 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 20 (our calf raise guide). Lower into the stretch, pause, and don't bounce. There's no 3D demo of a single-leg raise on flat ground: the step version shows the same action.
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise on a dumbbellIntermediate · A dumbbell + A wall
3D demoStanding dumbbell calf raiseIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoStanding calf raise (machine)Intermediate · Strength machine
3D demoCalf press on the leg pressIntermediate · Strength machine
3D demoSmith machine calf raiseIntermediate · Strength machine + Weight platesSeated calf raises with a weight on your knee, 3 sets of 12 to 20 each leg (our calf workout). Standing raises grew the soleus about as much in a 12-week trial, so these are an extra, not a replacement; they also suit sore knees and shaky balance (our calf raise guide).
Ankle bounces, 2 sets of 20 (our ankles guide), then pogo hops, 3 sets of 20, and skipping, 3 sets of 20 m (our calf pain and Achilles guides' return stages). Skipping with a rope: the move page's dose is 5 rounds of 30 to 60 seconds with equal rest (our editorial starting point), adding no more than a few minutes in all each week. Single-leg hop and stick, 2 sets of 3 forward and 3 sideways each leg, for active people (our ankles guide). Leave hopping until single-leg raises with extra weight feel easy, as our bigger calves guide says.
Tibialis raises, 1 to 2 sets of 15 to 20 (our calf workout); one-leg stands next to a counter, 2 holds of 30 seconds each side (our legs guide); heel walks (our ankles guide); and the two calf stretches, 30 seconds each leg, after the session (our calf workout).
Stand on one leg with your fingertips on a wall and rise as high as you can, as many times as you can at a steady pace. In 203 adults aged 20 to 59 the average was 27.9, and the authors suggest 25 as the mark of normal.
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In 566 adults aged 20 to 81 the median was 24 for men and 21 for women, women over 60 outdid men over 60, and retests varied by about 6 reps. In 500 adults aged 18 to 81 the median was 25 on the dominant leg and 24 on the other, with no link to age in that active group.
A review of 49 articles found the methods so varied that no definitive normal values could be set. Compare yourself with yourself, and one leg with the other; our calf raise guide has more on the test.
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Thirty-nine runners with Achilles tendinopathy were weaker in both calves than 38 without it, and in 69 army cadets, lower calf strength predicted Achilles overuse injuries, though the cut-off was useless as a screening test. Links like these aren't proof that strengthening prevents injury.
We found no trial showing that calf strengthening prevents running injuries. Reviews rate the risk-factor evidence limited to very low, calf endurance didn't predict leg pain over a season in 59 college runners, and preventive tendon exercises didn't reduce injuries in 209 professional footballers.
Train calves because running needs them: two short sessions a week of single-leg raises, straight and bent knee, building to added weight, then ankle bounces and pogo hops (our suggestion). Our strength training plan for runners and injury prevention exercises for runners put them in a week.
In 16 trials of 651 older people, foot and ankle exercises raised calf strength a little and balance with the eyes open, but no effect on falls was shown. In 176 people aged about 80, weak toes and disabling foot pain predicted falls, and in 101 older adults who hadn't fallen, leg strength didn't predict who would.
Across 108 trials of 23,407 people, exercise cut the rate of falls by 23%, and programmes mixing balance, functional and strength work by about a third. The Otago home exercise programme cut falls in 233 women over 80, and a podiatry package that included foot and ankle exercises cut them in 305 people with foot pain, though its parts can't be separated. Do calf raises at a counter inside strength and balance work, not instead of it.
Across 10 studies of 5,397 athletes, older age and a previous calf strain were the strongest risk factors for a new one, and in elite athletics, age and a previous leg injury mattered, not sex. We found no trial of calf strengthening to prevent strains; expert clinicians use targets such as at least 30 single-leg raises but say one prevention programme may not suit everyone.
A step and a wall are all you need: single-leg raises from the bottom stair, a dumbbell or loaded backpack once 20 are easy, and seated raises with a weight on your knee. Our calf workout puts them together.
The calf workout is the main session, and the machine calf workout is its gym version. The foot and ankle routine and the seniors' sessions add balance; the bounce and load starter and the runners' sessions add springy work; the tendon strengthening workout loads the Achilles slowly and heavily. The calf pump exercises are for circulation, not strength.
A 25-minute calf workout with a step and a dumbbell: single-leg raises for the big calf muscle, then seated raises for the soleus, with gym swaps for each move.
25 minIntermediate7 movesA wall, A stepA 20-minute calf session on gym machines: straight-knee raises on the standing machine or leg press, then bent-knee raises on the seated calf machine.
20 minBeginner7 movesA wall, Strength machineA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA beginner's springy session: calf strength first, then heel drops, calf springs and gentle bounces, building towards skipping and pogo hops.
20 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A stepFoot, calf, balance and hop exercises taken from the running trials with positive results, in a 25-minute home routine for 3 or 4 days a week.
25 minBeginner11 movesOther / check instructions, A bench or boxA 40-minute strength workout for runners at home: hops, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg deadlifts, step-ups, calf raises and side planks.
40 minIntermediate15 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 40-minute strength and balance session for over-65s, built from the Otago home programme and NHS exercises, using a chair, a counter and a step.
40 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 20-minute seated workout for older adults who cannot stand for long: marching, leg and arm strength, posture, and sit-to-stands that lead back to standing.
20 minBeginner11 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 35-minute editorial session for healthy tendons: calf and Spanish squat holds, heavy slow leg and calf lifts, then springs once the heavy work is easy.
35 minIntermediate13 movesA wall, A bandA 15-minute calf pump routine for varicose veins and heavy, swollen legs: ankle pumps, calf raises, a brisk walk, calf stretches and legs up to finish.
15 minBeginner10 movesA bench or box, A wallEach has calf raises once or twice a week, as our calf raise guide suggests.
A 12-week strength plan for runners: two sessions a week of heavy lifts, single-leg work, calf raises and hops, fitted around your runs.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginner4 days a weekA 4-day upper/lower split: two upper body and two lower body gym days, each muscle trained twice a week, with sets, reps and progression.
4 training days50 minIntermediate6 days a weekA 6-day push/pull/legs plan for experienced lifters: two push, two pull and two leg days, with sets, reps, rest and lighter weeks.
6 training days55 minAdvancedAchilles pain during or after calf raises should stay at about 5 out of 10 or less and settle by the next morning, as our Achilles tendinopathy guide says. See a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps getting worse.
Our Achilles tendinopathy guide has the stages.
Follow your team's stages, which build calf strength over months; our Achilles rupture guide covers them.
Mild discomfort during exercise, up to about 3 to 4 out of 10 (this site's suggestion), is acceptable if it settles within the day. Sharp pain, or a limp afterwards, means drop back a step for a few days.
Older age and a previous calf strain are the strongest risk factors for a future calf strain, in a review of 10 mostly high-risk-of-bias studies. If you have strained a calf before, keep the stage 3 strength work going once you are back.
Rise only as high as is comfortable, short of full tiptoe, or use seated raises (our suggestion).
Stop if you feel dizzy or light-headed. Keep a counter or wall within reach, and have someone nearby for the hardest moves if you've fallen recently (our suggestion, as in our older adults guide).
The exceptions: pain in one spot on a bone should be pain-free, because it could be a stress fracture; burning, tingling or numbness means stop that movement; and if your feet are numb, pain won't warn you, so check your skin after exercise.
A sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone: go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111, the same day, as our Achilles rupture guide explains. In the US, go to urgent care or the emergency department.
A suspected rupture that was never examined, or a weak push-off weeks after what seemed to be a sprain or calf strain: ask for an assessment. A rupture found late may need different treatment.
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Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. It could be a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis, DVT), which is more likely while you're moving about much less than usual or after a hospital stay.
Also call 999 for pain and swelling in one leg with breathlessness or chest pain: it can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: sudden, severe pain in a muscle, which may be worse when you stretch it, with swelling, numbness, weakness or pins and needles, or tightness or difficulty moving the leg. This can be acute compartment syndrome, which needs surgery as soon as possible. It usually follows an injury or a bandage or cast that is too tight, but rarely it can follow very hard exercise. Do not drive yourself to A&E.
Call 999 or go to A&E: a leg that is suddenly cold, pale, numb, weak or very painful. A sudden loss of blood supply to a leg is a vascular emergency.
A sudden sharp pain in the calf as you push off can be a strain. Stop, and see our calf pain guide.
Calf pain that comes on with walking and eases when you rest needs a GP check; our calf pain when walking guide explains why.
Pain that comes on when you walk a set distance and goes after a few minutes' rest, especially if you smoke or have diabetes. Exercise treats it well, but it needs a diagnosis first.
Cramps that disturb your sleep, last longer than 10 minutes, or come with numbness or swelling.
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Pain that is getting worse week on week despite cutting back, or is stopping your normal activities.
Pain in one spot on a bone that's worse with jumping or running, eases with rest and hurts when you press it: stop jumping, as it can be a stress fracture, and see a GP. See a GP too for heel pain that hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, or shin pain that's getting worse or isn't improving.
Call NHS 111 (in the US, your doctor or urgent care) for severe muscle pain and weakness with dark (cola-coloured) or reduced urine after unusually hard training. This can be rhabdomyolysis, which can harm the kidneys and needs prompt care.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
A dull ache in your muscles for a day or two after something new is normal. Joint pain that's sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day means switching to the easier option, and seeing a GP or physiotherapist if it carries on (our plans' rule). Our muscle soreness guide has more.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
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See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
Calf size is partly inherited, and calves can grow more slowly than other muscles, but they grew in every trial that trained them hard: 9 to 15% in the gastrocnemius over 8 to 12 weeks, and 12% for the whole calf with 12 sets a week in 6 weeks. Strength can rise even before the size shows.
No trial shows it. Weaker calves go with Achilles pain, and low calf strength predicted Achilles overuse in army cadets, but the reviews rate the evidence limited to very low, calf endurance didn't predict leg pain in college runners, and preventive tendon exercises didn't prevent injuries in footballers. Strong calves are part of running fitness; protection is unproven.
On their own, foot and ankle exercises raised calf strength and balance a little, with no effect on falls shown. Balance and functional exercise, with strength, is what cut falls.
The soleus grew about as much with standing raises (2.1%) as with seated ones (2.9%) in a 12-week trial, and standing raises grew the gastrocnemius too. Keep seated raises as the extra.
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They grew with sets of 10 at 70% of the maximum, with sets of 15 to 20, and with light or heavy loads alike, as long as the sets were hard.
The trials that grew calves trained them 2 or 3 times a week, and our bigger calves guide explains that how often matters little once the weekly sets are the same. Every day isn't needed.
Calf raises with a straight knee, building to single-leg raises off a step, plus a few seated (bent-knee) raises: 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 20, twice a week. Add weight once 20 reps are easy. In a 12-week trial, standing raises grew the main calf muscle 9 to 12% while seated raises barely did.
All you need is a step and a wall: single-leg raises with your heel dropping below the step, then a dumbbell or a loaded backpack when 20 are easy. Seated raises with a weight on your knee cover the soleus. Our calf workout puts them together.
Twice a week, single-leg raises with a straight and a bent knee, building to added weight, then ankle bounces and pogo hops once that's easy. The calves do much of the pushing off in running, but no trial shows that calf strengthening prevents running injuries, so train them for fitness rather than as a guarantee.
Healthy adults aged 20 to 59 averaged about 28 single-leg raises in a row in one study, and 25 is used as the mark of normal. In two larger studies the middle figure was 21 to 25. Methods vary, so compare yourself with yourself.
Mostly standing: they grew the main calf muscle 9 to 12% in 12 weeks against under 2% for seated raises, and the deeper soleus grew about the same with either. Seated raises are a useful extra, and kind to sore knees and shaky balance.
Twice a week, a day or two apart. The trials that strengthened calves trained them 2 or 3 times a week, and every day isn't needed.
Either, if the sets are hard: light and heavy calf training grew the calves and raised strength alike in a trial. Across muscles, heavier loads build more maximal strength.
Start with the NHS's 5 slow calf raises holding a chair, build to 10 to 20, then one leg at a time, and pair them with balance work. Men aged 65 to 81 raised calf strength by about 22% in 16 weeks, and programmes mixing balance and strength work cut falls by about a third.
They help you push off and steady yourself, but foot and ankle exercises on their own haven't been shown to cut falls. Balance practice combined with strength work did.
Strength can rise within 8 weeks, sometimes before the muscle looks any bigger, and the size trials ran 6 to 12 weeks. Count your single-leg raises every 4 weeks.
Usually: heavy slow calf raises helped Achilles tendon pain as much as heel drops in a trial. Keep pain at 5 out of 10 or less and settled by the next morning, and see our Achilles tendinopathy guide. A snap at the back of the heel needs a same-day check: see the warning signs.
Bent-knee raises, seated with a weight on your knee, plus your standing raises, which grew the soleus just as much in a trial. Our soleus page has the anatomy.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
