Health & Fitness

The 18 Best Calf Exercises to Bulk Up Skinny Legs

Westend61 / Getty Images

by Men's Fitness Editors

You might not want straight-up tree trunks for legs, but if you’re craving more solid muscle mass—especially in the notoriously tough-to-build calves—you need targeted calf exercises, aside from just hammering your lower body in colossal leg-day workouts.

Calves can be especially tough. We’ve heard plenty of lifters complain that they just don’t have the right genetics to build big calf muscles. But these stubborn muscles can grow, if you approach your workouts the right way.

Here, we’ve compiled some of the greatest muscle-building calf exercises you can do to add some definition to your skinny legs. Try these on for size.

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1. Jumping Jack

Stand with your feet together and arms at your sides. Jump and spread your legs outside shoulder width as you clap your hands overhead. Jump and return your hands and feet to the starting position.

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2. Seated Calf Raise (Toes Out)

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench and rest the balls of your feet on a block or step (and hold dumbbells on your thighs for resistance). Your knees should be bent 90 degrees and your toes turned out about 15 degrees. Allow your heels to drift toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your calves. Now drive the balls of your feet into the platform and raise your heels as high as possible.

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3. Seal Jump

Perform jumping jacks but extend your arms out to your sides as you jump your feet out. When you jump back, clap your hands together in front of your body.

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4. Seated Calf Raise (Toes Neutral)

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench and rest the balls of your feet on a block or step (and hold dumbbells on your thighs for resistance). Your knees should be bent 90 degrees and your toes pointing straight ahead. Allow your heels to drift toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your calves. Now drive the balls of your feet into the platform and raise your heels as high as possible.

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5. Seated Calf Raise (Toes In)

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench and rest the balls of your feet on a block or step (and hold dumbbells on your thighs for resistance). Your knees should be bent 90 degrees and your toes turned inward 15 degrees. Allow your heels to drift toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your calves. Now drive the balls of your feet into the platform and raise your heels as high as possible.

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6. Ankle Mobilization

Place your toes on a mat or block so they’re elevated above your heels. Bend one knee, pushing it forward so you feel a stretch in your calf. Draw your leg back, repeat for reps, then switch legs.

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7. Single-Leg Calf Raise

Stand on a block or step with one leg, your weight resting on the ball of your foot. Wrap your free foot around the back of the working leg. Allow your body to sink toward the floor and stretch your calf. Hold for one second and then drive the ball of your foot into the surface as you raise your heel up. Hold the top position for two seconds.

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8. Hole Calf Raise

Stand on the same elevated surface with feet shoulder width and toes turned out. Lower yourself into the bottom position of a squat (called “the hole”). Perform a calf raise, coming up as high as you can on the balls of your feet without extending your hips or legs.

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9. Tiptoe Walk

Stand on your tiptoes and walk. Don’t let your heels touch the floor at any time. If you can, do these barefoot for greater muscle activation.

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10. Jumping Calf Raise

Stand tall with feet flat on the floor and jump using only your calves. Land softly, absorbing the force by dropping into a half squat. Try to land quietly.

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11. Standing Calf Raise

Use a standing calf raise machine or stand on a block or step with a dumbbell in one hand while holding on to something for support with the other. Lower your heels toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your calves. Drive the balls of your feet into the foot plate and contract your calves, raising your heels as high as possible. Control the descent on each rep.

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12. Seated Calf Raise Machine

Use a seated calf raise machine or sit on a bench and rest the balls of your feet on a block or step (and hold dumbbells on your thighs for resistance). Perform a calf raise as described above, but with hips and knees bent 90 degrees.

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13. Lateral Lunge to Curtsy

Stand holding or plate or dumbell, or perform without weight. Step your right foot out to the side, as you hinge your hips back, and come into a lateral lunge. Push off this foot and rise to standing, then immediately bring your right leg into a curtsy lunge, drawing it behind your lunge. Alternate legs.

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14. Agility Ladder

Stand at one end of an agility ladder, laid flat on the floor. If you don’t have an agility ladder, creating lines with tape or chalk on the floor is a great alternative. Run (or hop) from one end of the agility ladder to the other. That’s one rep.

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15. Bosu Ball Squat

Place a Bosu dome-side down. Carefully stand on the ball and get your balance. Slowly lower into a squat under control.

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16. Sprinting

Find a track, then do 55-, 100-, or 200-meter sprint repeats. Focus on hitting top speed, propelling yourself by staying on your toes. You can also work on a straight, flat stretch of road and estimate those aforementioned distances by time if you know your splits. Sprinting—like any high-intensity activity—requires a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibers; it boosts protein synthesis, and increase the production of human growth hormone (HGH) in your body, which builds muscle.

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17. StairMaster

While plugging away on the StairMaster might not seem like the most entertaining workout, it’s a great way to develop more muscular calves, as it works the entire back of your legs.

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18. Farmer's Walk

Stand tall with a weight in each hand. Maintain a tall chest, retract shoulder blades, and keep weights from resting on thighs. Walk forward, and, instead of using choppy heel-to-toe steps, walk on your toes to engage your calves more. Ensure your head is facing forward and your posture is rigid.

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