If untrained guys do calf raises with their toes pointed up, they might build more muscle per rep because the muscle is stretched and working harder at that angle.

If you're a guy new to calf workouts, doing extra partial reps after hitting failure on full calf raises doesn’t give you more muscle growth — it’s just as good as sticking to full reps, and both methods boost calf size by about 8% in 10 weeks.

Doing calf raises at the bottom part of the movement — where your calf is stretched — might build more calf muscle in young women than doing the full raise, according to this claim.

Doing calf raises through a shorter range of motion, when the muscle is more stretched, might build more calf muscle in young women compared to doing full up-and-down reps — especially in the inner part of the calf.

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.

Doing calf raises where you don’t lift your heel all the way up — but start from a stretched position — builds more calf muscle in young women than doing full or shortened versions of the move.