Changing the way you point your feet while doing calf raises can target different parts of your calf muscle. Pointing your toes outward mainly builds the inner part of your calf, while pointing them inward mainly builds the outer part. This gives you a simple way to shape your calves exactly how you want them.

40

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

40

Community contributions welcome

40

Different Foot Positioning During Calf Training to Induce Portion-Specific Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2020 Aug

Changing the direction your feet point while doing calf raises can actually target different parts of your calf muscle. Pointing them out grows the inner calf more, while pointing them in grows the outer calf more.

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

Different Foot Positioning During Calf Training to Induce Portion-Specific Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy.

Score: 40

DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000003674

Science Topic

Does foot position during calf raises selectively target the medial or lateral head of the calf muscle?

Supported

Our current analysis shows that foot position during calf raises appears to shift focus between different parts of the calf muscle. The evidence we've reviewed leans toward the idea that changing how you point your toes can help you emphasize either the inner or outer section of the muscle. What we've found so far is that 40 studies support, 0 studies refute this approach. When you point your toes outward during the exercise, the evidence suggests the inner part of the calf receives more attention [1]. When you point your toes inward, the focus shifts toward the outer section. This gives you a straightforward way to adjust your training based on your goals. Our analysis is based on what we have reviewed so far, and we know this view will improve as more data becomes available. We do not claim this is a final answer, but the pattern we see points toward targeted muscle engagement based on foot angle. Not enough evidence exists yet to say exactly how much each position changes overall muscle growth, but the current findings give you a clear starting point. If you want to emphasize the inner calf, try turning your feet slightly outward. If you prefer to focus on the outer calf, turn your feet inward instead. Keep your movements controlled and adjust your stance gradually to see how your body responds.

2 items of evidenceView full answer

Similar Assertions

Changing how you point your feet while doing calf raises changes which parts of your calf muscle work the hardest. This means you can easily tweak your workout form to target specific areas of your calves and fix any strength imbalances.

26

0

82%

Doing specific calf exercises for nine weeks can make the calf muscles bigger, but exactly how much they grow depends on how you position your feet during the workout. This shows that small changes in your exercise form can target different parts of the muscle differently.

40

0

81%

When doing calf raises, pointing your toes inward builds more muscle in the outer part of your calf than pointing them out or straight ahead. Over nine weeks of training, this inward position can increase that specific muscle by about 9%, while other toe positions only add around 5-6%.

40

0

80%

Turning your feet outward while doing calf raises actually works the inner part of your calf muscle more than keeping your feet straight or turned in. This means if you want to specifically build up the inside of your calves, adjusting your foot angle during exercises could help.

26

0

79%

Doing calf raises while standing builds more calf muscle than doing them while sitting. This happens because changing the angle of your knee changes how much your calf muscles grow, making standing calf raises much more effective for building size.

45

0

79%