How to do it
- Sit with the pad across your thighs and the balls of your feet on the platform.
- Drop the heels into a deep stretch.
- Press up as high as you can and hold the contraction.
Cues that matter
- The bent knee takes the gastroc out and isolates the soleus.
- The soleus loves higher reps — 12 to 20.
Common mistakes
- Skipping it because it is not the flashy calf exercise — the soleus is half your calf.
- Cutting the stretch at the bottom.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Calves
- Soleus
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Seated Calf Raise in a session, with 75 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 6–8 reps
- Build muscle
- 10–15 reps
- Endurance
- 15–25 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the calves with different equipment — for a day the machine is taken, or a gym that does not have one.