Training guide
A calf raise machine loads the calf raise beyond your body weight: on the standing machine, pads rest on your shoulders while you rise onto the balls of your feet; on the leg press, you push the platform away with your toes. Both keep your knees straight, which is how the big calf muscle works best. Using the seated calf machine, with the pad on your knees? Our seated calf raise guide covers it.
Calves do grow on machines: the trials that grew them used a standing calf machine, a leg press and a Smith machine, with a slow stretch at the bottom of each rep and about 12 hard sets a week. They can be slow, and the stretch loads your Achilles tendon.
This guide shows the steps on the 3D figure, how deep and how fast, how many, and what to do about your Achilles, back and shoulders.
This guide covers the standing calf raise machine, calf raises on the leg press and the seated machine calf press, with the Smith machine as a version. For the seated calf raise machine, with the pad on your knees, see our seated calf raise guide.
Balls of your feet on the step, heels free, knees straight but not locked. Lower your heels into a comfortable stretch, pause, then rise as high as you can, about 2 seconds up and 2 down, as the 12-week trial did.
Source 4
On a standing calf machine, the gastrocnemius grew 9.2 to 12.4% in 12 weeks against 0.6 to 1.7% on a seated machine, while the soleus grew about the same with either (14 untrained adults). With the knee bent to 90 degrees, ankle force fell 31% in 30 men.
The biggest calf range trial used a leg press: 42 young women grew the inner calf 15.2% with raises in the stretched bottom half against 6.7% with full raises over 8 weeks. It's mainly one trial: in trained adults the edge for bottom-half reps was small and uncertain.
Achilles load climbs from about half your body weight in a seated heel raise to 7.3 times it in a hop, and a deeper stretch under load raises it, more so standing. Heavy slow calf training helped Achilles pain as much as heel drops. With pain where the tendon meets the heel, keep your heels level with the step.
3 sets of 10 to 15 on the standing machine or 12 to 20 on the leg press, the last set 0 to 2 reps short, 60 to 90 seconds' rest, about 6 hard calf sets a session twice a week with bent-knee raises after. Twelve hard calf sets a week grew calves more than six in one trial.
Source 11
From our move page (the pads at shoulder height, heels lowering below the step, rising as high as you can, knees straight but not locked, a pause at the top), an exercise instruction page for the pad height and foot alignment, and our calf raise guide's 2-second tempo, from the 12-week trial. Keeping the knees still and resting the weight before you step out are editorial.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Standing calf raise (machine)
From our move page (the balls of the feet on the lower edge, legs nearly straight, only the ankles moving, never taking the feet off a loaded platform) and a maker's instructions ("being careful that the ball of your foot does not lose contact with the footplate"). NASM's version says to "release the safety bars"; the wording about releasing the handles once your feet are set and setting the stops is our editorial reading of both.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Calf press on the leg press
The standing calf raise machine puts pads on your shoulders while you stand on a step: "Let the pads rest on your shoulders while standing straight on the platform." The leg press puts the balls of your feet on the bottom of the footplate. A dedicated calf press machine sits you with your legs out in front; ACE's version: "With the ball of the foot on the platform, press through the toes as far as possible, keeping legs straight." The Smith machine and donkey calf raises are versions of the standing raise. The seated calf machine, knees bent, has its own guide.
The gastrocnemius, the muscle you can see, crosses the knee and the ankle; the soleus underneath crosses only the ankle; both join the Achilles tendon. With the knee straight, the gastrocnemius gives "at least 40% of the total torque", and on MRI scans straight-knee work showed in the gastrocnemius and bent-knee work in the soleus.
The soleus is mostly slow fibres (about 70 to 85% in two studies) and the gastrocnemius about half. That's a mix, not a reason for 50-rep sets, as our calf raise guide says.
It loads your calves far beyond body weight without holding dumbbells or balancing a bar. The standing machine puts that load through your shoulders and spine; the leg press and calf press don't (our reading: nobody has measured it).
Easy two-leg calf raises from a step before the standing and Smith machines, and easy two-leg calf raises before the leg press and calf press, as their move pages say.
In 105 pairs of twins aged 10 to 14, genes explained 87 to 95% of the differences in limb girth, including the calf; girth includes fat and bone as well as muscle. Your genes set part of the outcome, and training still moves it.
Source 17
In 30 young men, ankle torque was 31% lower and gastrocnemius activity 35% lower with the knee bent to 90 degrees, with no sign that the soleus made up the difference. In 10 men, maximal torque fell to about 60% of its straight-knee value as the knee bent.
In 11 lifters, the soleus was best targeted with the knee at 90 degrees and the inner gastrocnemius with the leg straight; at a milder 45-degree bend, the shift was only 4 to 5% in 48 adults. These are effort measures over a few reps, not growth.
14 untrained adults trained one leg on a standing calf machine and the other on a seated one: 5 sets of 10 at 70% of maximum, 2 seconds up and 2 down, twice a week for 12 weeks. On MRI, the outer gastrocnemius grew 12.4% against 1.7%, the inner 9.2% against 0.6% and the whole calf 5.6% against 2.1%; the soleus grew 2.1% against 2.9%, no different. There was no control group.
Source 4
Make straight-knee raises (the standing machine, the leg press or the calf press) your main calf work, and add seated raises as an extra, as our calf raise and seated calf raise guides say.
42 young women did 3 sets of 15 to 20 on a pin-loaded horizontal leg press, 3 times a week for 8 weeks, through the bottom half, the full range or the top half. The inner calf grew 15.2%, 6.7% and 3.4%; the outer calf 14.9% with the bottom half against 6.2% with the top half and 7.3% with the full range. One trial.
Source 6
On a Smith machine, adding half reps in the stretch after failure grew the inner calf 9.6% against 6.7% in 23 untrained men over 10 weeks. In 23 trained adults, bottom-half partials had only a small, uncertain edge. With the total load lifted kept equal, 16 untrained men grew the same (8%) either way.
Across 16 studies, full range built more lower-limb muscle than partial range. The calf trials since suggest the stretched half is the part that matters most.
Source 23
An hour a day of calf stretching in a splint for 6 weeks thickened the calf and matched ordinary calf training in another trial, but the authors note it took up to 7 hours a week against about 45 minutes of training. Use the stretch at the bottom of each raise; it doesn't replace the raise.
Lower into a comfortable stretch below the step or platform every rep, pause, then rise all the way. When you can't rise fully any more, finish with a few half reps from the bottom, as our calf workout does. With pain where the Achilles meets the heel, keep your heels level instead.
Repetition durations from half a second to 8 seconds built similar muscle across 8 studies, and very slow reps (over 10 seconds) looked worse. The 12-week calf trial used 2 seconds up and 2 down. We found no calf-specific tempo trial.
A short pause at the bottom stops you bouncing out of the stretch, where the Achilles tendon's spring does some of the work (our reading; the bounce itself hasn't been tested).
On a leg press, toes out grew the inner calf more (8.4% against 3.8% toes in) and toes in the outer calf more (9.1% against 5.5%) in 22 young men over 9 weeks, and muscle activity studies of 20 and 33 adults pointed the same way. Toes forward, or a mix, is fine.
The growth trials were done on a standing calf machine, a leg press and a Smith machine. Twelve hard sets a week beat six in 61 untrained young women over 6 weeks (outer calf 14.3% against 8.1%, soleus 12.7% against 6.7%), and every group grew.
In 26 untrained men, light (20 to 30 reps) and heavy (6 to 10 reps) calf training grew both calf muscles alike; the authors wrote that "The triceps surae muscles respond robustly to regimented exercise". Across muscles, how hard the set is matters more than the load.
The 12-week trial's authors call the calf "relatively unresponsive to resistance training": the whole calf grew 5.6%. An older trial raised calf strength in 28 men and women over 8 weeks without a measurable change in size. Calves grow, at a pace that varies, as our calf raise guide says.
Across 13 studies of 1,016 adults, machines and free weights built strength and muscle alike head to head. None compared calf machines with a barbell, but the calf trials above were on machines.
In a self-selected online survey of 1,387 gym users, 18 of 349 who used the calf press machine (5%) linked it to pain, one of the lowest rates of the 49 exercises asked about. Nobody was examined and exposure wasn't counted, so it's a clue, not a risk.
Source 35
The standing calf machine, 3 sets of 10 to 15 with a full stretch at the bottom and a pause (our bodybuilding lower body workout); the calf press on the leg press, 3 sets of 12 to 20 (our leg press guide and machine leg workout); the machine calf press, 3 sets of 15, adding weight once 3 sets of 15 are easy (the move page's dose); the Smith machine calf raise, 2 sets of 12 to 15 (our Smith machine workout); donkey calf raises, 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 20 (our bigger calves guide's machine dose); and the seated calf machine, 3 sets of 12 to 20, for the bent-knee work after (our lower body gym workout).
3D demoStanding calf raise (machine)Intermediate · Strength machine
3D demoCalf press on the leg pressIntermediate · Strength machine
3D demoMachine calf pressBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoSmith machine calf raiseIntermediate · Strength machine + Weight plates
3D demoDonkey calf raiseIntermediate · Other / check instructions
3D demoSeated calf raise (machine)Beginner · Strength machineA load you can raise 12 to 20 times through the full range, with 3 or 4 reps to spare in your first two weeks, as our plans and seated calf raise guide advise.
3 sets of 10 to 15 on the standing machine (our bodybuilding lower body workout), 3 sets of 12 to 20 on the leg press (our leg press guide; NASM gives the same for leg press calf raises) or 2 sets of 12 to 15 on the Smith machine (our Smith machine workout). Stop the last set 0 to 2 reps short and the others 1 to 3, as our plans say for small moves. Calves grew with 10 reps at 70% of maximum and with sets of 15 to 20.
60 to 90 seconds, as our plans suggest for calf raises.
About 6 hard calf sets a session, twice a week: 3 straight-knee and 3 bent-knee. That's our calf raise guide's editorial starting point, from the trial where 12 weekly sets beat 6.
Source 11
When every set reaches the top of its range, add the smallest weight step and go back to the bottom of the range. Write your settings down: machines differ.
Lower slowly and pause rather than bouncing out of the stretch.
Rise as high as you can on every rep.
It turns the raise into a small squat. Lighten the load and keep your knees still.
If your heels barely move, the stack is too heavy. Take a full range with less weight.
Stand tall and let the pads rest on your shoulders.
On the leg press, keep the balls of your feet on the bottom edge throughout, in rubber-soled shoes on a clean, dry plate, as a maker advises.
Source 2
Seated raises barely grew the gastrocnemius; make straight-knee raises the main part.
Source 4
In 8 adults, Achilles load ranged from 0.5 times body weight in a seated heel raise to 7.3 times in a forward one-leg hop. In 21 men, seated and two-legged raises loaded the tendon least and one-legged raises most. In 18 adults, the extra load and the depth of the stretch predicted the tendon's peak force, and depth raised it twice as fast standing as seated.
A heavy standing machine with a deep stretch is probably among the harder calf exercises for the tendon. That's our inference: nobody has measured a calf machine. Build the load up gradually, and if your Achilles is sore, start seated or two-legged and keep the stretch shallow.
Across 27 studies of 264 healthy adults, tendons got stiffer with loading, more with higher-intensity loading.
Source 38
In 58 people with long-standing Achilles pain, 12 weeks of heavy slow calf training worked as well as heel drops at 12 and 52 weeks, and people completed more of their sessions (92% against 78%). A clinical review adds load to heel raises "with a weighted vest or backpack or while in a leg press or Smith machine", raising it "when 3 sets of 15 repetitions are performed easily". Keep pain at 5 out of 10 or less and settled by the next morning, as our Achilles guide says.
Keep your heels level with the step or platform rather than letting them sink below it, as our calf raise and Achilles guides advise.
We found no study of the load on your spine under a standing calf machine's pads. It's our inference that the load goes through your shoulders and spine, as it would carrying a bar.
Set the pads so you stand fully upright, keep your back tall and don't shrug into them. One maker angles its pads "to match the natural angle of shoulders". If your shoulders, neck or back still complain, use the leg press or calf press (our suggestion).
Source 40
The leg press, calf press and seated calf machine take the load off your spine (our reading). Stop anything that sends pain down a leg.
Aim for discomfort you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning, as our back pain guides say. Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down a leg are the exception: stop, and see our sciatica guide.
Warm up with ankle circles, 5 slow circles each way on each ankle (the move page's dose and our calf workout), and 15 easy calf raises on the floor (our calf workout). Single-leg raises from a step, 3 sets of 12 to 20 each leg, are the no-machine version (our calf workout). Tibialis raises, 1 to 2 sets of 15 to 20, train the front of the shin, and the two wall calf stretches, 30 seconds each leg, finish the session (our calf workout).
3D demoAnkle CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoTibialis raiseBeginner · No equipment
3D demoWall calf stretch (gastrocnemius)Beginner · A wall
3D demoSoleus wall stretchBeginner · A wallOur machine calf workout is a short session on the standing machine (or the leg press) and the seated machine. The bodybuilding lower body workout ends with the standing and seated machines, the machine leg workout with the leg press calf press, and the Smith machine workout with the Smith calf raise. With no machines, the calf workout uses a step.
A 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 60-minute lower-body session for muscle growth: hack squats, Romanian deadlifts, leg curls, leg extensions, hip thrusts and standing and seated calf raises.
60 minIntermediate11 movesCardio machine, A wallA 45-minute leg day on machines only: the leg press, then leg extensions and seated leg curls for the muscles it misses, hip abduction and calf presses.
45 minBeginner10 movesCardio machine, Strength machineA 50-minute full-body workout on one Smith machine: squats, bench presses, rows, Romanian deadlifts, split squats and calf raises, with the stops set for each.
50 minBeginner13 movesCardio machine, A bandA 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 gym lower body workout for legs and glutes: trap bar deadlifts, hip thrusts, reverse lunges, leg curls, hip abduction, calf raises and core.
50 minIntermediate13 movesOther / check instructions, A barbellThese plans train calves once or twice a week through their lower body sessions.
A 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 minAdvanced4 days a weekA 12-week gym plan to build muscle after your first months of lifting: upper and lower days, sets that rise in three phases, lighter weeks, food and sleep.
4 training days55 minIntermediateIf 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. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
Source 41
For chest pain that feels tight, heavy or squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw or back; a sudden, extremely painful headache, especially while straining; someone who faints while exercising; or palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Call 999 too if you have pain or swelling in a leg and you're also breathless or have chest pain: it could be a clot that has reached your lungs.
A sudden snap, pop or grinding at the back of the heel or calf, often feeling as if you've been hit or kicked there, then not being able to push off, walk on tiptoe or climb stairs, with swelling and bruising: it can be a ruptured Achilles tendon or a broken heel bone. Contact NHS 111 or go to A&E or a minor injuries unit. In the US, go to urgent care or the emergency department.
For throbbing pain in one leg, usually the calf or thigh, with swelling, red, blue or darkened skin or swollen veins: it can be a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It's more likely after surgery, bed rest or a long journey, in pregnancy or soon after a birth. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
Source 48
For cramps that disturb your sleep, last longer than 10 minutes or come with numbness or swelling; heel pain that hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it, or comes with tingling or diabetes; or calf pain that comes on walking and eases with rest.
Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip 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.
Source 44
Same day (call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell): after a big or unusual session, such as hundreds of pull-ups, push-ups, dips or curls, a challenge or a new class, muscle pain, swelling or weakness far worse than the session explains, and dark pee (red, brown, tea or cola coloured), sometimes starting hours or days later. Dark pee isn't always there, so muscles far sorer, more swollen or weaker than the session explains still need the same-day check. It can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.
Source 54
On the leg press, keep the balls of your feet firmly on the platform and set the stops; on the Smith machine, set the safety stops just below your lowest point; on the standing machine, rest the weight before you step out. With numb feet, check them for marks afterwards, as our calf raise guide advises.
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 hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), 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.
Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new or harder session is common and fades. Sharp pain, or pain that builds during a set or lingers into the next day, isn't: swap to an easier version, and see a clinician if it persists, as our plans advise. The NHS says to stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, and to get help from 111 if symptoms worry you or don't go away.
Source 57
Genes explain much of the difference in leg girth between people, and calves can be slow. But they grew in the recent machine trials, roughly 2 to 15% over 6 to 12 weeks depending on the trial and the muscle, and more with 12 hard sets a week than 6.
The growth trials were done on a standing calf machine, a leg press and a Smith machine, and machines and free weights build muscle alike head to head.
The biggest calf range trial was on a leg press. What matters is the straight knee and the stretch at the bottom.
Source 6
The stretch builds muscle when you control it. Bouncing hands work to the tendon's spring, and a deeper stretch under load raises the Achilles' load. Lower slowly and pause.
Calves grew with 10 reps at 70% of maximum and with sets of 15 to 20, and light and heavy loads grew them alike when the sets were hard.
We found no report of an Achilles rupture during a calf raise on a machine, and heavy slow calf training is a treatment for Achilles pain. Build the load gradually, and stop for a snap or a kick at the back of the heel.
Source 10
Set the shoulder pads so you stand fully upright, put the balls of your feet on the step with your heels free, and straighten up to lift the weight. Lower your heels slowly into a comfortable stretch, pause, then rise as high as you can, about 2 seconds each way.
Yes, and the biggest calf range trial used one. Put the balls of your feet on the bottom edge of the platform, legs nearly straight, and press the platform away by pointing your feet. Keep your knees still, never take your feet off a loaded platform, and set the stops so the sled can't drop far if a foot slips.
Mostly standing: straight-knee raises grew the big calf muscle about 9 to 12% in 12 weeks against under 2% seated, while the soleus grew about the same with either. Add seated raises as an extra; our seated calf raise guide covers that machine.
Yes, in small trials: calves grew in studies done on a standing calf machine, a leg press and a Smith machine, more with about 12 hard sets a week than 6. They can be slow and people differ, so give it 8 to 12 weeks.
It seems to: raises in the stretched bottom half grew the calves more than full or top-half raises in one leg press trial, though another trial in trained adults found only a small, uncertain edge. Lower slowly into a stretch and pause, unless your Achilles hurts where it meets the heel.
Heavy enough that the last set ends 0 to 2 reps short of failure in your rep range. Calves grew with 10 reps at 70% of maximum and with sets of 15 to 20, so the effort matters more than the number.
3 sets of 10 to 15 on the standing machine or 12 to 20 on the leg press, resting 60 to 90 seconds, twice a week, with a few sets of bent-knee raises after. About 12 hard calf sets a week grew calves more than 6 in a trial.
Forward is fine. Toes out grew the inner calf a little more and toes in the outer calf in one 9-week trial on a leg press, so a mix is fine too.
The standing machine puts the whole load through the pads on your shoulders. Set the pads so you stand fully upright and don't shrug into them; if they still hurt, or your back complains, use the leg press calf raise or the seated machine instead.
Often, yes: heavy slow calf training helped Achilles pain as much as heel drops, and clinicians load heel raises in a leg press or Smith machine once body weight is easy. Keep pain at 5 out of 10 or less and settled by the next morning, and with pain where the tendon meets the heel, keep your heels level.
It's a common, stable way to load your calves, and in one self-selected survey the calf press machine was rarely linked to pain. The risks are a foot slipping off a loaded platform and a sled that drops, so keep the balls of your feet firmly on the plate, your knees soft and the stops set.
Partly: genes explain much of the difference in leg girth between people, and some respond more slowly. But calves grew in every recent trial that trained them hard, so training still moves them; our bigger calves guide has the detail.
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.
