Standing vs. Seated Calf Raises: Which Builds Bigger Calves?
Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is greater after standing versus seated calf-raise training
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Seated calf raises produced statistically negligible growth in the gastrocnemius (0.6–1.7%) despite 12 weeks of heavy, consistent training.
Most resistance training protocols yield noticeable hypertrophy in target muscles, but shortening the calf muscle during the exercise completely blunted growth.
Practical Takeaways
Prioritize standing calf raises with a full stretch at the bottom for maximum gastrocnemius growth, and keep seated raises only if you want to specifically target the soleus.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Seated calf raises produced statistically negligible growth in the gastrocnemius (0.6–1.7%) despite 12 weeks of heavy, consistent training.
Most resistance training protocols yield noticeable hypertrophy in target muscles, but shortening the calf muscle during the exercise completely blunted growth.
Practical Takeaways
Prioritize standing calf raises with a full stretch at the bottom for maximum gastrocnemius growth, and keep seated raises only if you want to specifically target the soleus.
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 (7)
Working your muscles while they are fully stretched builds more muscle than working them while they are shortened. This stretching advantage is especially noticeable in muscles that cross two joints, like the back of your lower leg, but doesn't seem to matter for muscles that only cross one joint.
Doing calf exercises while standing up builds more muscle in your lower legs than doing them while sitting down. Over three months, standing workouts can increase calf muscle size by about 10 to 12 percent, while sitting barely changes it at all.
Doing calf raises with your knees bent for 12 weeks doesn't seem to build much calf muscle, even if you train just as hard as you would for other muscles. This suggests that working your calves while they're shortened might not be the best way to make them grow.
Doing calf raises with your knees straight or bent builds the deep calf muscle about the same amount. This happens because that specific muscle doesn't care as much about how stretched it is when you push off, unlike the outer calf muscle. So, you don't need to change your knee angle to get the best results for this muscle.
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.