Which calf workout works better: starting short or going all the way then doing mini-reps?
Training beyond momentary failure: The effects of past-failure partials versus initial partials on calf muscle hypertrophy among a resistance-trained cohort
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People did calf raises two ways on each leg: one leg started with short reps at a stretched position, the other went full range and then added tiny extra reps after failure. After 8 weeks, both legs got stronger and bigger.
Surprising Findings
Initial partial reps from a stretched position may be slightly better for growth than full-ROM training with post-failure partials.
Most fitness advice pushes full range of motion as superior; this hints that starting in a stretched position — even without full ROM — might edge ahead.
Practical Takeaways
Try starting your calf workouts with partial reps from the bottom (fully stretched position) to potentially maximize growth stimulus.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People did calf raises two ways on each leg: one leg started with short reps at a stretched position, the other went full range and then added tiny extra reps after failure. After 8 weeks, both legs got stronger and bigger.
Surprising Findings
Initial partial reps from a stretched position may be slightly better for growth than full-ROM training with post-failure partials.
Most fitness advice pushes full range of motion as superior; this hints that starting in a stretched position — even without full ROM — might edge ahead.
Practical Takeaways
Try starting your calf workouts with partial reps from the bottom (fully stretched position) to potentially maximize growth stimulus.
Publication
Authors
Stian Larsen, Nordis Ø. Sandberg, Brad J. Schoenfeld, Andrea B. Fredriksen, Benjamin S. Fredriksen, Milo Wolf, Roland Van den Tillaar, Paul A. Swinton, Hallvard N. Falch
Related Content
Claims (5)
If you're someone who lifts weights and trains your calves twice a week, doing partial reps starting from your toes pulled all the way up to neutral might grow your calf muscles a tiny bit more than doing full reps plus extra partials at the top — but the difference is super small and not very certain.
If you keep doing extra calf exercises at the top of the movement after your regular sets are done, it still helps your calf muscles grow — and pretty well, too, over two months.
If you're someone who lifts weights, doing certain calf exercises only partway through the motion—starting with your toes pointed up and moving to neutral—might build a bit more muscle in your calf over eight weeks compared to doing the full movement, especially if you also do extra partial reps after failure. But the results aren’t totally clear yet.
If you're into lifting and want bigger calves, doing either full reps or starting with partial reps (and finishing with extra partials after failure) twice a week for eight weeks can give you noticeably bigger calf muscles.
If you're someone who lifts weights and does calf raises, doing partial reps that stretch the muscle might make your calf grow just a bit more than doing full reps and then finishing with partials after you're too tired to do full ones.