Rocking Standing Calf Raise
Trains the Calves.
- Equipment
- A barbell
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand with a barbell across your upper back and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
- Stand tall with your knees straight but not locked.
- Rock back onto your heels, lifting the balls of your feet off the floor.
- Rock forward onto the balls of your feet and press up as high as you can go.
- Hold briefly at the top.
- Rock back through flat feet onto the heels again to start the next repetition.
Common mistakes
- Bending the knees to press up. A straight knee is what makes this a gastrocnemius exercise, because the muscle crosses the knee as well as the ankle; bending it takes the muscle out of position.
- Skipping the rock back onto the heels. Rocking back is what this version adds over a standard standing raise — it works the front of the shin as well and gives the calf a longer path to travel through.
- Doing it on a step. The rock back is the source of the range here, and it needs a flat floor; a step and a rock together is a good way to lose your balance under a bar.
- Cutting the top short. The range at the ankle is small, and the last inch at the top is the part most often given away.