Archive · 13 Sep 2026
Standing Calf Raises May Outperform Seated Raises for Growth
Seated calf raises are an exercise that works the calf muscles, especially the soleus.
Many gyms have a machine for this exercise.
The article says standing calf raises may be better for making most calf muscles bigger.
Bending the knee still helps involve the soleus muscle.
One study compared standing and seated calf raises.
The standing version produced larger increases in the lateral and medial gastrocnemius muscles.
Growth of the whole triceps surae was also greater after standing training.
However, the soleus grew by a similar amount with both exercises.
Seated calf raise machines are popular for training the soleus muscle.
Research cited in the article suggests standing calf raises may produce greater overall calf hypertrophy.
Bending the knee during calf raises helps target the soleus muscle.
Standing training produced greater volume increases in both gastrocnemius muscles than seated training.
Soleus growth was similar between standing and seated calf-raise training in the cited study.
- Who
- People performing calf-raise exercises and the researchers cited in the article.
- What
- The article compares seated and standing calf raises for calf-muscle growth.
- Where
- Gyms are mentioned as places where seated calf-raise machines are commonly found.
- Why
- Standing calf raises may provide greater growth in several calf muscles, while both versions similarly trained the soleus.
Seated Calf Raises
Standing Calf Raises
Muscle emphasis
Seated Calf Raises
Seated raises are useful for specifically training the soleus, and bending the knee helps work that muscle.
Standing Calf Raises
Standing raises may stimulate greater growth in the lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, and whole triceps surae.
Reported study results
Seated Calf Raises
The cited study found soleus growth was similar between seated and standing training.
Standing Calf Raises
The cited study found significantly greater volume increases in both gastrocnemius muscles and the whole triceps surae after standing training.
- Exercise discussed
- Seated calf raises
- Main muscle targeted
- Soleus
- Alternative emphasized
- Standing calf raises
- Lateral gastrocnemius growth
- 12.4% standing versus 1.7% seated
- Medial gastrocnemius growth
- 9.2% standing versus 0.6% seated
- Whole triceps surae growth
- 5.6% standing versus 2.1% seated
- Soleus growth
- 2.1% standing versus 2.9% seated; the difference was reported as similar