Calves exercise
Donkey Calf Raise (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
How to do it
How do you do the Donkey Calf Raise?
- Stand on the block with the balls of your feet on the edge.
- Lean forward onto the front pad with the lever across your hips.
- Keep your back flat and a small bend in your knees.
- Lower your heels slowly, pause, then rise as high as you can.
- Hold the top for a moment, then lower slowly again.
Cues
- Flat back, legs still; only your ankles move.
- Push through the base of your big toe.
- Take at least two seconds to lower.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the back over the support.
- Bouncing at the bottom of each rep.
- Bending the knees to heave the weight up.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Donkey calf raise machine: a foot block, a padded lever that sits on the hips, and a front support with a pad or handles. Step onto the block with only the balls of the feet on it: the edge runs just behind the big-toe knuckle and the heels hang off. Feet hip-width apart, toes straight ahead. Bend forward from the hips to about 90° so the trunk is close to level, with a flat back, and rest the forearms on the front pad (or hold the handles). Position the lever pad across the hips and lower back, over the flat bone at the base of the spine, not on the ribs. Legs vertical, knees straight with a small soft bend.
The movement
Only the ankles move. The legs stay vertical, the knees keep their small bend, and the hips and lever pad ride straight up and down. Lower the heels slowly below the block until the calves are fully stretched, pause briefly, then push through the balls of the feet and rise as high as possible. Hold the top, then lower again. The back stays flat throughout; the shoulders stay level on the support.
End position
Bottom: heels below the block, ankle in about 20° of dorsiflexion. With the shoulders resting on a fixed support about 55 cm from the hips, that rise tips the trunk about 10° head-down at the top unless the elbows give. Scale with foot length.
Tempo
1.5 s up, 0.5 s hold at the top, 2.5 s down, 0.5 s pause in the stretch.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip flexion (trunk to thigh) | 90° | 80–100° | [1] |
| Trunk angle from horizontal at the start | 0° (level) | 0–15° above level | [1] |
| Knee flexion, held through the rep | 5° (slight bend) | 0–15° | [1] |
| Ankle dorsiflexion at the bottom | 20° | 10–25° | [2] |
| Ankle plantarflexion at the top | 30° | 25–40° | [2][3] |
| Feet spacing, centre to centre | hip width, about 20 cm | 15–25 cm | |
| Toe-out, each foot | 0° | 0–10° | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Donkey Calf Raise is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
