If you're new to working out, stopping calf raises at the top (when your toes are pointed) leads to less muscle growth than keeping the set going with small up-and-down movements at the bottom (when your foot is pulled up). Over 10 weeks, the first way gives 6.7% growth, the second gives 9.6%.

Doing more calf exercises per week (going from 6 to 12 sets) doesn't actually make your calf muscles grow bigger. In a short 6-week program, women who did fewer sets saw the same muscle growth as those who did more, meaning calves might not need as much training to grow.

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.

Doing seated calf raises while keeping your knees bent (short muscle length) twice a week for three months won't really build up your calf muscles. Research indicates this specific method only leads to tiny, unnoticeable muscle growth.

Doing 12 calf raises a week for six weeks builds more lower leg muscle than doing just 6 a week for women who haven't trained before. This shows that doing more sets directly leads to bigger muscle growth in that area.

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.