Functional fitness

Benefits of Calf Raises: The Most Skipped Exercise in the Gym

Walter Rush · September 1, 2026 · 2 min read

Why I Encourage Every Client Do These, Even the Ones Who Hate Them

Calf raises get a bad reputation. People see them as a “beach muscle” exercise, something you throw in at the end of leg day if you have five minutes left and nothing better to do. After more than 30 years of training and coaching clients, I can tell you that thinking is a mistake, and it’s one I made myself early in my career before I understood how much your calves actually do for you.

Your calves, mainly the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, are working every single time you walk, climb stairs, or stand up from a chair. They’re part of what’s called your “second heart” function, helping pump blood back up from your lower legs to your heart. When calf strength declines, and it does decline with age if you’re not training it, balance gets worse and the risk of falls goes up. I’ve seen this play out with clients in their 60s and 70s especially, the ones who never trained calves specifically often struggle the most with stability on uneven ground.

Here’s a specific example. I had a former athlete, someone who used to play competitive tennis, come to me frustrated because her ankles felt “wobbly” during lateral movements. We added standing calf raises three times a week, 3 sets of 15-20 reps, focusing on a full range of motion with a two second pause at the top. Within about eight weeks she noticed a real difference in her push-off power and stability. It wasn’t a quick fix, calf muscles are stubborn and slow to grow compared to bigger muscle groups, but it worked.

A few specifics that matter more than people think. Doing calf raises with your knees slightly bent targets the soleus more, while straight leg raises hit the gastrocnemius harder, so honestly you kind of need both if you want complete lower leg development. I also tell clients not to bounce at the bottom, that’s cheating the movement and increases strain on the achilles tendon unnecessarily. Slow and controlled beats fast and sloppy every time, this is true for basically every exercise but especially this one.

There both a physical and I think even a bit of a spiritual lesson wrapped up in an exercise like this. Calf raises are small, repetitive, and unglamorous, kind of like a lot of the faithful, consistent work God calls us to do in life. Galatians 6:9 says “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Strong calves are built the same way strong character is, one rep, one day at a time, nobody notices until suddenly you do.

If you want a program that actually accounts for the small stuff like this, not just the flashy lifts, I’d love to help you build one through my online coaching, just email me anytime at Rushww1957@gmail.com. And if you’re looking for good equipment to train calves properly at home, a solid calf raise block or platform makes a real difference, you can check out what I recommend over at Rushfitnesstools.com. I’ve also got a few in-person morning coaching slots open right now in Sandy Springs, Georgia if hands-on training is more your style.

Thanks for reading this fitness blog, I hope you enjoy a healthy day, Walter