Single-Leg Calf Raise
CalvesIsolationLegsBodyweightIntermediate
The classic heel raise on one leg. With your whole bodyweight on a single foot it loads far more than the two-legged version, and it forces the ankle to stabilise rather than just travel up and down.
How to perform
- 1.Rest one hand on a wall for balance, not to push.
- 2.Lift the other foot and stand on one leg with the ball of your foot on a step.
- 3.Drop the heel as far as it will go.
- 4.Rise onto your toes as high as you can.
- 5.Hold for a second at the top and lower slowly.
Common mistakes
- ●Loading the wall hand and turning it into half an exercise
- ●Bouncing at the bottom instead of stretching
- ●Bending the knee, which hands the work to the soleus
- ●Doing only half the way up
Proper technique
It is the natural next step once the two-legged version stops being hard: no weight needed, just remove a leg. Use a step so the heel can drop below the forefoot, which is where half the stimulus comes from.
Variants
Other exercises that work the same primary muscle.
muscle map
primary
secondary
Primary
- Gastrocnemius
Secondary
- Soleus
- Tibialis posterior