Single Leg Banded Calf Raise
In SetGrip: Banded Calf Raise (Single Leg)
- Primary muscleCalves
- EquipmentResistance Band
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeIsolation · Ankle extension
- Secondary muscles
- Ankles, Feet
- Body part
- Lower Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Unilateral (one leg at a time)
- Category
- Strength
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Looping the band under one foot instead of two roughly doubles the tension per calf while adding a balance demand that makes every rep slower and more honest. As with the two-leg banded raise, resistance peaks at the top of the movement, so squeeze there instead of rushing through it.
How to do the Single Leg Banded Calf Raise
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and place the band around the ball of your left foot.
- Hold onto a stable object for balance if needed.
- Slowly raise your left heel off the ground, lifting your body weight onto the ball of your foot.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your left heel back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch to the right leg.
Tip: Count two seconds up, hold one at the top and take three seconds down.
Muscles worked
Primary
Calves · Legs
Standing raises target the gastrocnemius while seated raises target the deeper soleus; either way you should feel a hard cramp-like squeeze at the top and a strong stretch at the bottom.
Secondary
- Ankles
- Feet
Common mistakes
- Bouncing out of the bottom — the Achilles tendon does the work if you rebound; pause at the bottom of the stretch for a count before pressing up.
- Cutting the range short — go all the way down until you feel a full stretch in the calf and all the way up onto the big toe.
- Rolling onto the outer foot — drive through the big toe side of the ball of the foot to keep the whole calf working.
- Too heavy, too fast — calves handle high loads but they respond to controlled reps with a slow descent, not bouncing partials.
Where it fits in a workout
Calf raises go at the end of a lower body session or between sets of an upper body lift. Superset seated and standing raises to hit both parts of the calf back to back.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without resistance band
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.