How to Do the Lever Seated Calf Press

Building strong, muscular calf muscles takes a lot of time and the right kind of exercises to really target this hard-to-train area. The best way to do this is to use equipment specifically designed to do calf exercises. One such exercise is the lever seated calf press. If you have access to one, your calves will greatly benefit from this simple but effective movement.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Adjust seat of the lever seated calf press machine so your legs are fully extended with balls of feet against the lever. Allow heels to hang off of lever.
2. Set desired weight. Note that building calf muscles takes heavy weights, so set accordingly. Make sure you can perform the desired number of repetitions and maintain the correct form with the selected weight; if not, lower the weight.
3. Sit on your seat. Place your feet on the lever. Press your lower back firmly against the seat. Grasp the handles on either side of the seat.
4. Push your toes forward to move the lever and extend your calf muscles. Keep legs straight or, if need be, bend knees only slightly.
5. Allow lever to move back to starting position, stretching your calves again. Hold for two to three seconds, then push lever out with toes again. Repeat until desired number of repetitions is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• After each set on the lever seated calf press, stretch your calf muscles for 30 seconds. Wait two minutes between sets.
• For great results, after the first set, drop the weight 30 percent on each subsequent set and perform the exercise to failure.