Single-Leg Seated Calf Raise
Trains the Soleus.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells, either a flat bench or an adjustable bench, and either a box or a weight plate
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Sit on a bench with the ball of one foot on a block or a weight plate, heel hanging off.
- Rest a dumbbell on that thigh, close to the knee, and hold it there.
- Let the heel drop below the block until you feel a stretch through the calf.
- Press up onto the ball of the foot as high as it will go.
- Hold briefly at the top.
- Lower under control back into the stretch, then finish the side before swapping.
Common mistakes
- Resting the dumbbell over the knee rather than on the thigh. On the thigh it loads the calf; over the knee it presses on the joint.
- Expecting it to train the same muscle as a standing raise. The bent knee is what makes this a soleus exercise — the gastrocnemius crosses the knee and a bent knee takes it out of a position to work.
- Bouncing out of the bottom. The stretch stores energy in the tendon, and bouncing off it means the calf never produces force from a dead position.
- Cutting the top short. The range at the ankle is small to begin with, and the last inch is the part most often skipped.
Muscles worked
Primary
- SoleusCalves