Calf training: the soleus muscle and strength

Translated by Janar Rückenberg

For many people, calf training ends up at the very end of the plan, when the energy is already gone. But if you want strong, well-proportioned legs, you need to train your calves as seriously as your thighs, back or chest.

Here is a simple truth: the calf is not one muscle. Once you know how the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscle (lestlihas in Estonian) work, you can choose better exercises, repetitions and weights.

Why does calf training matter at all?

If you like wearing shorts and don’t want to stand in front of the mirror thinking your legs look somehow unfinished, your calves are the last thing you should neglect. A strong upper body with weak calves stands out immediately.

Your calves work every day: when you walk, climb stairs, stand and run. That is exactly why they are hard to surprise. A couple of ordinary, easy sets at the end of a workout may not give them anything new.

The structure of the calf matters here. It consists mainly of two different parts: the gastrocnemius, or musculus gastrocnemius, and the soleus, or musculus soleus. In everyday Estonian people often just talk about “the calf”, but in training it is worth telling the two apart.

Calf training and the soleus muscle

The gastrocnemius works harder when the leg is straight. That is why standing calf raises mainly affect this part. When you stand upright and rise onto the balls of your feet, the gastrocnemius takes the bigger training load.

The soleus works better when the leg is bent. You feel it most clearly in the seated calf raise, where the angle between the shin and the thigh is about 90 degrees. This is not a minor detail; it changes the effect of the exercise.

Older training texts often point out that many people have more fast-twitch muscle fibers in the gastrocnemius, while the soleus has more slow, endurance-oriented fibers. That doesn’t mean everyone’s plan has to be exactly the same. But it does give you a good direction.

The gastrocnemius handles greater resistance and a lower rep count well. The soleus often needs longer sets and a steadier burn. To be honest, calf training often only starts to work once the comfortable part is over.

How to structure calf training

Variety matters. You can’t say that 6–12 always suits the gastrocnemius and 12–20 always suits the soleus. On some days, go heavier and shorter. On other days, go longer, controlled and with the burn.

From the translator: personally, I have split my calf training across several rep ranges. I don’t always try to think separately about whether only the soleus or only the gastrocnemius is working. I train my calves both seated and standing, in the ranges 8–15, 12–20 and 15–25. Sometimes I also do longer sets, for example sets of 50 and 100.

In the long run, calf training doesn’t have to be complicated. In one workout all your repetitions might fall in the 15–25 range, and in the next one in the 12–20 range. In my experience, the 12–20 range is the sweet spot, both seated and standing.

And of course, supersets. In calf training you can’t get around them if you want to give the muscle a truly new training load.

A method for the seated calf raise

A good way to raise the intensity is to combine sets with rest pauses and drop sets. This works especially well on the seated calf raise.

Load a weight that takes you to failure at around 20–30 repetitions. Rest for 20 seconds, then do a new set to failure with the same weight. Then rest for another 20 seconds, reduce the weight and do two more sets with the same logic. Repeat this 4 times.

In total, that makes 8 working sets with 20 sec. rest intervals. It is brutal and painful, but this is exactly the kind of work that puts your calves to the test. Your body gets the training load, and so does your mind.

Negatives on the standing calf raise

With the standing calf raise, you can sometimes try negatives. The weight should be heavier than usual. Lift the weight up using both feet, then lower it slowly on one leg.

This doubles the effect of the load in the lowering phase. Since the gastrocnemius also needs a greater training load, this method suits it well. Keep the volume under control: 4–8 negatives per leg is enough.

Practical calf training according to Marek Kalmus

Marek Kalmus has commented that they train their calves every 7 days. They don’t claim this is the only right way, but it works for them. The idea is simple: the calf is a muscle like any other, and it needs recovery after a proper workout.

They essentially use 3 different workouts and vary them. One calf workout might include only variant 1, the next variant 3, and the one after that variant 2. The approach is creative, but the framework is clear.

• 1. Option: standing barbell calf raise 4 x (20 12).
• 2. Option: standing machine calf raise 4 x (20 12).
• 3. Option: seated machine calf raise 4 x (20 12).

On standing calf raises, Marek sometimes goes even lower, down to 12 reps, and then the resistance is naturally high. Marek also uses burnouts and drop sets. These bring an intensity to calf training that plain straight sets don’t always deliver.

Marek does only 4 working sets for calves, but they are truly working sets. On regular reps, Marek stresses clean execution: the calf works through the full range of motion, with a stretch at the bottom and a clear peak contraction at the top.

The rep range that works best for Marek is 20 12, usually 20, 18, 15, 12. It doesn’t have to suit everyone. But there’s a good lesson in it: choose reps you can control, and take every set truly to the end.

Translator’s note: this exact option wouldn’t suit me all the time, because I feel I have to play around with reps more to make my calves grow. I also feel I need to work my calves in every workout, both standing and seated. My approach works for me, Marek’s works for Marek. Nobody passes judgment on winners.

Calf training: what to watch for

Don’t be afraid of the burn. Your calves are working almost constantly whenever you’re on your feet. If your training is too easy, your body treats it like ordinary walking. So what actually happens? The muscle gets no reason to change.

If a painful, burning, unpleasant sensation shows up during a set, that doesn’t automatically mean the set has to end. Of course, we’re not talking about sharp injury pain. But the burn of a working muscle is often exactly where the part that drives development begins.

Keep the movement clean. Don’t bounce the weight up from the bottom. Lower your heel, feel the stretch, rise onto the balls of your feet and squeeze at the top. A short range of motion with a heavy weight may look impressive, but for the calf the work stays half done.

FAQ: calf training

Does the soleus muscle need its own exercise?

Yes, if you want to develop your calves fully. The seated calf raise loads the soleus better, because the knee is bent and the soleus muscle does more of the work.

Do you have to train calves with heavy weights?

Sometimes, yes. The gastrocnemius also needs heavier sets, but weight alone isn’t enough. Use both shorter and longer rep ranges.

Why won’t your calves grow?

Usually the cause is training that’s too comfortable: a partial range of motion, too little effort, or the same rep count all the time. Calf training takes both control and the nerve to go all the way to the end of a set.

Author: Janar Rückenberg

Come and train! ArtGym