Target Training: Bigger Calves From All Angles

Targeting different areas of the calves is as easy as a simple sleight of foot.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated March 2, 2022

Take a poll among gym goers and ask them what the toughest bodypart is to get growing, and I bet at least 75% of them will say the calves. But perhaps the problem isn't the stubborness of this muscle group – maybe people just aren't training the calves the right way!

Known technically as the gastrocnemius muscles, the calves are composed of two different heads. (The soleus is also part of the calf musculature, but it's deep to the gastrocnemius and mostly hidden from view.) The medial head of the gastroc makes up the inner part of the calf, while the lateral head makes up the outer part. Both heads converge onto the Achilles tendon and work together to extend the foot at the ankle, such as during standing calf raises.

Yet despite the fact that the two calf heads work together, new research from Armstrong State University (Savannah, Georgia) shows that you can focus more on one head over the other by simply turning your toes in or out. This practice used to be considered "bro science," but now it's real science.

The Armstrong State team had weight-trained subjects do 10 reps of standing calf raises with their toes pointed straight ahead, turned in or turned out while they measured the muscle activity of the two different gastrocnemius muscle heads. They reported in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research that when subjects did calf raises with their toes pointed in, the muscle activity of the outer calves was significantly greater than the inner head, which means the outer head was doing the majority of the work.

Conversely, they found that when subjects did calf raises with their toes pointed out, the muscle activity of the inner calves was greater than the outer calves, meaning that the inner calves were doing the majority of the work.

They also found that when calf raises were performed with the toes pointed straight ahead, the medial head (inner calf) was doing the majority of the work. This was the most surprising finding in the study. You would think that with the toes pointed straight ahead, both heads of the gastroca would be evenly targeted. But as it turns out, the medial head, because it's generally bigger and stronger than the lateral (outer) head, takes on the brunt of the load.

Jim's Take-Home Point:

If you have one area of your calves lagging behind the other, you can focus more on that head by simply changing your foot position when you do calf raises. For most people, though, a good idea is to make sure you do some sets of calf raises with your toes pointed in to better hit the outer head of the calves. For example, on all calf exercises you do (not just standing calf raises, but other exercises like seated calf raises and leg press calf raises, too), try doing at least four sets – two sets with your toes pointed in and two sets with toes pointed forward. Or, to really hit all areas, do six sets – two sets with toes pointed in, two sets with toes pointed forward and two sets with toes pointed out.

Below is what a calf workout implementing these tips might look like. Do it 2-3 times per week. Tacking it onto the end of your leg workout after quads and hamstrings will work, but you can do it on an upper body day if you want, too. Also, you don't have to train calves last in your workout; if you want to prioritize it, do the calf routine first in your workout to ensure you're putting everything into it.

All Angles Calf Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Standing Calf Raise or Smith Machine Calf Raise	6*	15-20
Donkey Calf Raise or Leg Press Calf Raise	6*	25-30

*Perform the first two sets with toes pointed in, the next two sets with toes pointed straight ahead, and the last two sets with toes pointed out.

Workout Notes:

Feel free to plug in whatever calf exercises you want into this workout. Just make sure you keep it varied – don't do the same two calf exercises every workout. To promote growth in the calves, you need to constantly change things up. And even though I didn't list it (because it hits the soleus muscles more than the gastrocs), feel free to sub in seated calf raises.
Take every set to failure. The calves are constantly working throughout the day, so they need a lot of stimulation to grow.
Do every rep through a full range of motion. If you reach failure before hitting the prescribed rep count (15-20 or 25-30), it means you went too heavy. But that's okay – just drop the weight real quick and continue repping out until reaching failure again. Sometimes it takes a drop set to hit your reps!

Download This Workout

Reference:

Riemann, B. L., et al. Medial and lateral gastrocnemius activation differences during heel-raise exercise with three different foot positions. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Mar;25(3):634-9.

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