Single-Leg Dumbbell Calf Raise

How to do it

1. Stand on one foot with its ball on a step or block, heel hanging off the edge, and hook the other foot behind your ankle.
2. Hold a dumbbell at your side in the hand on the same side as the working leg, and rest the other hand on a rail or wall.
3. Keep the working knee straight but not locked.
4. Let the heel drop below the step until you feel a stretch through the calf.
5. Press up onto the ball of the foot as high as it will go, and hold briefly at the top.
6. Lower under control back into the stretch, then finish the side before swapping.

Common mistakes

• Bending the knee to get up. The gastrocnemius crosses the knee as well as the ankle, and a straight knee is what keeps it in a position to work; a bent knee is what the seated version is for.
• Leaning on the rail or wall. The hand is there for balance, not support; pushing down through it takes load off the calf, and on one leg the temptation is greater.
• Letting the ankle roll outward at the top. One foot gives the ankle more room to wobble, and tipping onto the outside edge shortens the press; drive up through the big-toe side of the foot.
• Bouncing out of the bottom. The stretch stores energy in the tendon, and bouncing off it means the calf never has to start the press from a standstill.

Muscles worked

Primary

• GastrocnemiusCalves