You can build the same amount of calf muscle by doing shorter, harder reps that go only partway up—instead of full reps—while doing about half as many sets. It’s like getting the same result with less work.

Studies on this specific calf exercise technique only show it builds muscle in people who are new to working out, and we don't have enough proof yet that it works the same way for experienced lifters, other body parts, or longer training programs.

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 partial reps after you can't finish a full rep might build muscle twice as fast per set compared to doing full reps, even if you're lifting the same total weight. It’s like squeezing more muscle growth out of each workout.

If you do calf raises until you can't do another rep—whether you go all the way up or only partway—you'll end up with the same muscle growth in your calves after 10 weeks, as long as you do the same total amount of work.

If untrained guys do calf raises and keep going with shorter movements after they can't do full ones anymore, their muscles grow twice as fast per set compared to stopping at failure with full movements — as long as the total workout load is the same.