Bodyweight Calf Raise

Muscles worked by the Bodyweight Calf Raise

Primary

CalvesGastrocnemius

Secondary

Soleus

Also called: calf, calves, gastrocnemius, gastroc.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Bodyweight Calf Raise

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart on a flat surface.
2. Push up onto the balls of your feet as high as possible.
3. Squeeze your calves at the top.
4. Lower your heels back to the floor under control.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Use light fingertip support for balance if needed.
• Control the lowering phase instead of dropping your heels quickly.
• Keep your ankles from rolling outward as you rise.

At a glance

Bodyweight Calf Raise in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Calf Raise
• Donkey Calf Raise
• Dumbbell Calf Raise
• Hack Squat Calf Raise
• Machine Calf Raise
• Seated Calf Raise
• Standing Calf Raise
• Banded Ankle Stretch

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "bodyweight-calf-raise",
  "name_en": "Bodyweight Calf Raise",
  "name_de": "Bodyweight Wadenheben",
  "name_es": "Elevación de Talones con Peso Corporal",
  "description_en": "A beginner-friendly calf raise using body weight only on flat ground, strengthening the gastrocnemius and soleus.",
  "description_de": "Eine einsteigerfreundliche Wadenübung ohne Geräte, bei der sich der Körper auf die Fußballen hochdrückt.",
  "description_es": "Una elevación de talones con el propio peso corporal, un ejercicio básico para fortalecer los gemelos.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "lower_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gastrocnemius"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "soleus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "calf-raise",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet hip-width apart on a flat surface.",
    "Push up onto the balls of your feet as high as possible.",
    "Squeeze your calves at the top.",
    "Lower your heels back to the floor under control.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stell dich hüftbreit auf eine ebene Fläche.",
    "Hebe dich so hoch wie möglich auf die Ballen deiner Füße.",
    "Spanne die Waden oben an.",
    "Senke die Fersen kontrolliert zurück zum Boden.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Colócate de pie con los pies separados al ancho de las caderas sobre una superficie plana.",
    "Sube de puntillas lo más alto posible.",
    "Aprieta los gemelos en la parte superior.",
    "Baja los talones al suelo de forma controlada.",
    "Repite el número deseado de repeticiones."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use light fingertip support for balance if needed.",
    "Control the lowering phase instead of dropping your heels quickly.",
    "Keep your ankles from rolling outward as you rise."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Führe die Bewegung langsam aus, statt zu wippen.",
    "Verteile den Druck gleichmäßig über die Fußballen.",
    "Halte die Knie durchgehend gestreckt, ohne sie zu verriegeln."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Reparte el peso entre todos los dedos al subir.",
    "Mantén las piernas rectas para centrar el trabajo en el gemelo.",
    "Fija la mirada en un punto para mantener el equilibrio."
  ],
  "met": 3.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/bodyweight-calf-raise-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/bodyweight-calf-raise-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "bodyweight-calf-raise");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.