The Study
Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is greater after standing versus seated calf-raise training
This study compares two types of leg exercises on the same person's legs to see which makes muscles grow more. It shows that standing calf raises might be better for muscle growth than sitting ones, but because it only looked at 14 people for a short time, we can't be 100% sure it would work the same for everyone.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Researchers tested whether doing calf raises while standing (knees straight) or sitting (knees bent) builds more muscle. They found that keeping the knees straight stretches the main calf muscles more, leading to much better growth.
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 545 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, this is highly significant for anyone trying to build calf size, as it shows that exercise posture and muscle stretch dramatically change results.
- 2Standing calf raises grew the main calf muscles by 12.4% and 9.2%, while sitting only grew them by 1.7% and 0.6%.
- 3The deeper calf muscle grew about 2-3% regardless of position.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Physiology
Year
2023
Authors
Momoka Kinoshita, S. Maeo, Yuuto Kobayashi, Yuuri Eihara, Munetaka Ono, Mauto Sato, Takashi Sugiyama, Hiroaki Kanehisa, Tadao Isaka
Related Content
Claims (8)
When trained individuals exercise biarticular muscles with their joints in positions that stretch the muscles more, those muscles grow larger than when exercised in positions where the muscles are less stretched.
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 calf raises while standing builds more lower leg muscle than doing them while sitting. Over three months, standing raises increased overall calf muscle size by 5.6% compared to just 2.1% for seated raises, mostly because the main calf muscle grew more with the standing version.
Doing calf raises while standing up with your knees straight builds more calf muscle than doing them while sitting down with your knees bent. Research shows that keeping your legs straight during the exercise leads to much bigger muscle growth over a few months.
Building muscle works best when you stretch it out during your exercises. For example, doing standing calf raises stretches the calf muscle more than seated ones, which leads to bigger muscle growth.
Doing leg exercises with your knees bent or straight builds the deep calf muscle about the same amount over 12 weeks. This means your deep calf muscle doesn't really care whether your knee is bent or straight when you're lifting weights.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.