How to do the Standing Calf Raise
Step by step
- Stand tall with the balls of your feet on a step or the floor, feet hip-width apart.
- Rest a hand on a wall or rail for light balance.
- Press through the balls of your feet to lift your heels as high as possible.
- Pause and squeeze your calves at the top.
- Lower your heels slowly to a full stretch before the next rep.
The thing people get wrong
Move slowly and use the full range rather than bouncing. Keep your knees straight but not locked hard.
Coaching cue
Push evenly through your big toe rather than rolling out to the outside edge of your foot.
Make it easier or harder
- Harder: Do one leg at a time.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Calves
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.