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Back to Study: Resistance Training Beyond Momentary Failure: The ...
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Analysis v1
Strong Support

If you're someone who lifts weights and you do calf raises using only part of the motion for 8 weeks, your calf muscles might grow a little more than if you do full-range reps plus extra partials at the end—but the difference is so small that we can't be sure it's real.

60
Pro
0
Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

60

Community contributions welcome

60

Resistance Training Beyond Momentary Failure: The Effects of Past‐Failure Partials Versus Initial Partials on Calf Muscle Hypertrophy Among a Resistance‐Trained Cohort

Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2025 Sep

This study found that doing calf raises only partway up at the start might make your calf muscles grow a tiny bit more than doing full movements and then pushing past failure, but the difference is so small that we can't be totally sure it's real.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Resistance Training Beyond Momentary Failure: The Effects of Past‐Failure Partials Versus Initial Partials on Calf Muscle Hypertrophy Among a Resistance‐Trained Cohort

Score: 60
DOI: 10.1002/ejsc.70030

Science Topic

Do partial range calf raises build bigger calves than full range with past-failure partials?

Supported
Calf Raise Range

We analyzed one assertion about partial versus full-range calf raises and found no studies that contradict it. What we’ve found so far suggests that doing partial-range calf raises for eight weeks might lead to slightly more muscle growth than doing full-range reps plus extra partials at the end—but the difference is so small that we can’t say for sure it’s meaningful [1]. There are no studies showing the opposite, but there’s also no strong evidence that the effect is real or consistent across people. The data we’ve reviewed is limited to just this one assertion, and it doesn’t include measurements of muscle size, training volume, or individual responses. Without more detailed data, we can’t tell if the tiny potential difference comes from the range of motion, fatigue patterns, or something else. We don’t know if this applies to beginners, advanced lifters, or different types of calf exercises. For now, the evidence doesn’t point to one method being clearly better. If you’re doing calf raises, focusing on consistent effort and proper form—whether partial or full range—may matter more than the exact movement pattern.

2 items of evidenceView full answer

Similar Assertions

If you're someone who lifts weights and trains your calves twice a week, doing partial reps starting from your toes pulled all the way up to neutral might grow your calf muscles a tiny bit more than doing full reps plus extra partials at the top — but the difference is super small and not very certain.

51
0
90%

If young women do calf exercises with their toes pointed down and only move partway up, they’ll build more calf muscle in 8 weeks than if they do the full movement — 15% more growth compared to smaller gains with other methods.

41
0
88%

If untrained guys keep doing partial calf raises after they can't do full ones anymore, their calf muscles get slightly thicker — about 0.6 mm more on average — compared to stopping completely.

60
0
86%

If you're someone who lifts weights and does calf raises, doing partial reps that stretch the muscle might make your calf grow just a bit more than doing full reps and then finishing with partials after you're too tired to do full ones.

41
51
85%

If untrained men do calf raises by pushing past their normal limit while their calves are stretched, they'll likely build more calf muscle over 10 weeks than if they just stop when they can't lift the weight anymore in a shortened position.

60
0
85%