Universal Bench Machine Calf Raises

Why Is This Exercise So Effective?

The soleus muscles are best worked in a position where your knees are bent as much as possible. This exercise accomplishes that peak contraction position while also providing a powerful stretch at the other end.

How To Do It

Lie down in a sphinx position (on your stomach) on a flat bench with the balls of your feet underneath the handle of a bench machine. The best place to set your feet is on the U part where the handle bars attach to the main spar coming off the machine, though you can place both your feet on one handle of the machine (this works better on a non-rotating handle).

• You can get a spotter to move the handle up into position or do it yourself by setting the pin so a few notches are showing (do this by pulling the pin out, raising the handles, then sliding the pin back in). How far up you lift the handles will depend on the machine you are working with.
  
  
• Put your feet in position then work yourself under the bar a little more, moving your knees closer to the stack. It will look as though you are walking backwards on your knees while bouncing the stack up and down.
  
  
• Press the weight up with your feet and squeeze hard at the top.
  
  
• This position allows the lactic acid to be flushed automatically by gravity from your calves. Flushing the lactic acid in this way enables the calves to fail because of muscular failure, not lactic acid buildup. In regular calf exercises, with the body in the upright position, all that lactic acid must be cleared via blood circulation while gravity keeps it there.

How to incorporate this exercise into your workouts:

This exercise can be placed anywhere in your workouts.

• It is especially effective, however, placed after an exercise that strongly emphasizes the stretch position of the calves.
  
  
• This is because the majority of the tension placed on the calves during this exercise occurs at the contraction.
  
  
• The contraction you will get in this exercise is about the most you can get from the soleus.

Common Errors

1. Not squeezing at the top

The best part of this exercise is the squeeze at the top of the movement. You are focusing on the contracted position of the soleus with this exercise so squeeze for all you’re worth.

2. Bouncing out of the bottom

Feel the stretch at the bottom and do not allow yourself to bounce the weight. This not only decreases the effectiveness of the exercise, it can lead to injury.

Tricks

1. Feel the stretch

At the end of the set, just let the weight stretch your calves until you can’t take it anymore. To increase the stretch, contract your tibialis anterior muscles on the front of your shins. This will force the calves to relax and will increase the stretch.

2. Hitting the contraction harder

To hit the contracted position harder, try this technique.

• When you are in the top contracted position, grasp the bench with both your hands.
  
  
• Push yourself up off the bench like a push-up.
  
  
• Try to force your hamstrings towards your calves as close as they will go.
  
  
• The greater the amount of flexion (bend) in your knee, the stronger the contraction will be in the soleus muscle.
  
  
• Hold that contraction for a second, then lower your body to the bench. Finish the rep as normal.
  
  
• Repeat on the next rep.

3. Using the Smith machine

This exercise can also be done on the Smith machine by setting the bar on the safety stops instead of on the hooks. This allows you get under the bar and execute the exercise without having to hook and unhook the bar. Be careful of the bar spinning.

Incline Bench Universal Bench Calf Raises

This exercise can also be done with your body on an incline bench instead of a flat bench.

• This will decrease the angle of flexion (bend) at the knees, increasing the contraction of the soleus.
  
  
• This happens because the smaller the knee angle, the closer the soleus is to it’s completely contracted position.
  
  
• Doing an exercise in that anatomically-maximized position is incredibly effective.
  
  
• Be aware that you won’t get a whole lot of stretch on the muscle in this position but the contraction you get will more than make up for it.