Seated calf raise: how to do it
Main muscles: Soleus. Helpers: Gastrocnemius (calves). Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Machine
Reps
10–15
Rest
75 s
Muscle group
Legs
How to do it
- Knees bent to 90°, pad above the knees.
- With a bent knee the soleus does the work — slow tempo, full range.
- Pause at the top and at the bottom.
Common mistakes
Rushing, bouncing the weight.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Soleus
- Secondary
- Gastrocnemius (calves)
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Upper/lower, 4 days3 × 10–15
- 5-day split3 × 10–15
Alternatives: similar exercises
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
Free forever for the first 500