The Study
Medial and Lateral Gastrocnemius Activation Differences During Heel-Raise Exercise with Three Different Foot Positions
This study is like taking a snapshot of how muscles work during an exercise. It shows which muscles are more active when you change your foot position, but it doesn't prove that doing this will actually make those muscles grow stronger over time.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Researchers tested how turning your feet in or out while doing calf raises changes which calf muscles work harder. They measured muscle activity using sensors on 20 fit adults.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 527 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The findings show that simple foot adjustments can target specific calf muscles during workouts, though it is unclear if this leads to bigger muscles or more strength over time.
- 2Turning feet out made the inner calf muscle work more than the outer one.
- 3Turning feet in made the outer calf muscle work more than the inner one.
- 4Both effects happened when lifting and lowering the weight.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2011
Authors
B. Riemann, G. K. Limbaugh, Jayme D. Eitner, R. Lefavi
Related Content
Claims (3)
Turning your feet outward while doing calf raises makes the inner part of your calf muscle work harder than the outer part. This shows that how you position your feet changes exactly which calf muscles get targeted during the exercise.
Turning your feet inward while doing calf raises makes the outer part of your calf work harder than the inner part. This shows that changing how you position your feet can specifically target different calf muscles during workouts.
Changing how you point your feet while doing calf raises changes which calf muscles work harder right away, but we don't actually know if this makes your calves grow bigger, stronger, or less prone to injury over time.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.