If young women do calf raises with their ankle stretched more, they might build more calf muscle than if they do the same move with a less stretched ankle — after 8 weeks, the stretched version led to almost twice as much muscle growth in one study.

What we've found so far suggests that doing calf raises with the ankle more stretched — meaning at a longer muscle length — may lead to greater calf muscle growth in young women compared to doing them with less stretch [1]. Our current analysis shows the evidence leans toward this idea. We reviewed one key finding from a single study involving young women who performed calf raises either with a greater stretch at the ankle or with less stretch [1]. After 8 weeks, those who did the exercise with more stretch saw nearly twice as much muscle growth in their calves compared to those who used a shorter muscle length [1]. This suggests that the position of the ankle during the exercise might influence how much muscle builds over time. However, this is based on just one assertion from the data, and no studies in our analysis refuted the idea [1]. While the evidence we’ve reviewed so far leans toward longer muscle length calf raises being more effective for muscle growth in this group, we don’t yet have enough studies to be confident this will hold true across different people or training routines. We don’t know if other factors — like how the exercise is performed, how often, or how long — might change the results. Also, since only one assertion was analyzed, our view is still limited. The takeaway: If you're a young woman looking to build calf muscle, doing calf raises with a greater stretch at the ankle — such as using a step to lower the heel further — might help you gain more muscle over time, based on what we’ve seen so far. But we’re still learning, and future evidence could change how we understand this.