Best Exercises for Strengthening Calves Muscles

Take your lower-body muscle gains to the next level by adding these effective calves exercises to your next workout!

Best Exercises for Strengthening Calves Muscles
María Rubio María Rubio
6 min read

If your goal is to have a strong and sculpted body, you need to make sure you’re not neglecting any muscle groups in your training so that your progress is well-balanced. You probably don’t want to have big rounded shoulders with little to no biceps or a small back – and the same goes for your legs!

Calves, in particular, are a muscle group that often gets overlooked because a lot of strength training routines mainly focus on the lower big three: glutes, quads, and hamstrings. But in order to get those sculpted legs that you dream of, giving your calves a good workout is key to making progress!

To help you achieve this, we’ve prepared a list of some of the best exercises for calves that you can add to your lower-body workouts. This way, you’ll get bigger and stronger legs that can support your workouts while looking great in the process!

Standing barbell calf raises

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Starting strong with a barbell exercise, this movement is an intermediate to advanced variation of the standard calf raises but takes it up a notch by adding a loaded barbell to maximize your gains.

How to do it:

  1. Load a barbell with the appropriate weight, place it on a squat rack, and then stand in front of it with your feet at a shoulder-width distance.
  2. Hinge at the hips and step under the barbell, placing it on your back right over your traps while you hold it with an overhand grip.
  3. Unrack the bar and take a step back from the squat rack, extending your hips so that you’re standing straight again.
  4. Begin the movement by lifting your heels off the floor as much as you can, so that you’re standing on your toes.
  5. Pause for a second while you squeeze your calves, then slowly go back to the starting position and repeat.

Jump squats

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While squats are a full-body compound movement, calves are not primary movers in this exercise, but you can increase their engagement by adding a jump at the top of the movement!

How to do it:

  1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart with your shoulders down and back.
  2. Begin the movement by going down into a squat position until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly lower, then press with the balls of your feet to extend your legs and jump as high as possible.
  3. Land on the balls of your feet and immediately go into a squat position again.
  4. Continue squatting and jumping without missing a beat until you’ve completed your reps.

Plie squats with calf raise

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Plie squats are a great lower-body exercise, and you can make them more challenging for your calves, inner thighs, and even your balance by adding a calf raise mid-exercise.

How to do it:

  1. Stand straight with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing out.
  2. Begin the movement by lowering yourself into a plie squat position with your legs as open as you can manage until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  3. While in the plie squat position, slowly raise your heels off the floor so that you’re standing on tiptoes without losing your balance.
  4. Squeeze your calf muscles in this position, then lower your heels back to the floor and go back up to the starting position before repeating.

High knees

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Some cardio exercises can be amazing for your calves, and high knees are a great example! This high-intensity movement will help you build both stronger calves and better cardiovascular endurance.

How to do it:

  1. Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart and your elbows bent at 90 degrees so that your arms are pointing down and your forearms are pointing forward.
  2. With your palms open and facing down, begin the movement by lifting your right knee until it touches your right hand, then lower it while immediately lifting the left knee and touching the left hand. Make sure to land on the balls of your feet to keep your calves engaged.
  3. Keep alternating quickly, jogging in place with high knees for the desired time until you’re done with the exercise.

Box jumps

Another explosive jumping exercise to strengthen your calves, this time using an elevated surface to jump on. You need enough lower-body strength to perform this exercise, so it’s considered an intermediate to advanced move.

How to do it:

  1. Find an elevated surface such as a plyo box or a bench that’s around knee height and stand in front of it with your feet shoulder-width apart. If it’s a box, make sure it’s properly secured so it doesn’t slip.
  2. Slightly bend your knees and begin the movement by pressing through the balls of your feet and jumping on top of the box explosively, swinging your arms for impulse.
  3. When you land on top of the box, immediately reverse the movement by jumping back down and landing on the balls of your feet.
  4. Repeat for the desired count until you’re done with the exercise.

Explosive step-ups

This is a great explosive movement that you can alternate with box jumps when you want to give your calves a good workout while still keeping the cardio element. Plus, it increases your agility and speed!

How to do it:

  1. Find an elevated surface that’s slightly lower than knee height, such as a bench, and stand straight in front of it with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Begin the movement by lifting your right knee and placing your right foot on the bench while you lean forward, then explosively lift your left knee to do the same.
  3. When your left foot goes past the bench, use the momentum to press through your right foot and jump on the bench, extending both legs.
  4. Without skipping a beat, bring your left foot back to the floor followed by your right foot, and repeat, alternating on each rep until you’re done.

Seated calf raises on leg press machine

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While the leg press machine is mostly popular for being a killer quad station, you can also get a great calf workout with it by pressing the platform with just the balls of your feet.

How to do it:

  1. Sit on the leg press machine, resting your upper body on the backrest while you hold the handles on both sides of your body for support.
  2. Place the balls of your feet shoulder-width apart on the platform in front of you, leaving your heels outside of the platform.
  3. Begin the movement by extending your legs and pressing the platform with the balls of your feet until your knees are almost locked, then extend your feet as if you’re standing on tiptoes on the platform.
  4. Squeeze your leg muscles for a second, then bring your feet back to a flat position and slowly bring the platform back before repeating.

Jump rope

Last but not least, while jump roping is usually seen exclusively as a cardio exercise, it can build significant strength in your lower body, particularly your calves since you stay on the balls of your feet the whole time.

How to do it:

  1. Find a jump rope that’s the right length for you and hold the handles on each hand with the rope behind you. You can also use a weighted rope for added resistance.
  2. Begin the movement by rotating your wrists so that the rope goes past your head and in front of you, then jump to let it pass under you. Make sure you’re jumping and landing with the balls of your feet without touching the floor with your heels.
  3. Keep swinging the rope and jumping at a constant pace without stopping, and keep your calves engaged for the desired amount of time until you’re done.

Take your lower-body gains to the max by training your calves

Adding these exercises to your workouts next time you have leg day will help you reach your lower-body goals much faster, whether you’re focused on strength, size, resistance, or all three. Plus, a lot of cardio workouts double as calf workouts, so you can also achieve your weight loss goals in the process!

Looking for someone to help you build an effective strength training routine?

Check out the One Fitness app! Iulia creates goal-focused workouts every week to help active people like you reach their fitness goals much faster by combining compound, isolated and unilateral exercises. Simply download the One Fitness app and try our 7-day free trial today!