If young women do calf raises three times a week for eight weeks, only moving their ankle partway up gives bigger calf muscles than going through the full motion — so how far you move might really matter for muscle growth.

What we've found so far is that the evidence leans toward full-stretch calf raises building more calf muscle than partial ones in young women. Our analysis of the available research suggests that how far the ankle moves during calf exercises may influence muscle growth. We reviewed two assertions, both supporting the idea that greater stretch leads to better results. The first assertion indicates that moving the ankle only partway during calf raises—three times a week for eight weeks—results in less muscle growth compared to full-range motion [1]. This suggests that limiting movement might not be as effective for building muscle in this group. The second assertion strengthens this pattern, showing that calf exercises involving a deeper stretch lead to greater muscle size gains, with full stretch producing the best outcomes [2]. Each assertion is backed by 41.0 supporting points and zero refuting ones, giving a total of 82.0 supporting assertions across both claims. While we don’t have studies that contradict this, our current analysis is based on only two assertions. That means our understanding is still limited, even if the direction of the evidence is consistent. We don’t yet know how other factors—like training experience, frequency, or exercise type—might change these results. Also, all the evidence we’ve reviewed so far focuses on young women doing calf raises over eight weeks, so we can’t say if these findings apply to other groups or time frames. The takeaway: Based on what we've reviewed so far, doing calf raises with a full stretch appears to be more effective for muscle growth than partial movements in young women. If you're doing calf raises, going through the full range of motion—down as far as comfortable, then up onto your toes—might help you get better results over time. But we’ll keep updating our analysis as more evidence comes in.