Do you feel your calves rising in your glutes? Don’t worry, it’s normal (but here’s the catch)

The glutes and hamstrings are activated to some extent during calf raises. Your glutes will not be isolated, but will contract to keep you in a standing position. However, if you somehow hang on the hips, the buttocks will be activated to a much greater degree. Additionally, if you are lifting a heavy weight in your calves, there is a tendency to lift some of that weight using your hips or knees, which will increase the impact of your glutes or hamstrings.

Do calf raises do your glutes?

Leg raises isolate the major muscles in the leg, which are the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantar muscles. But you may notice other muscles of the posterior chain (the muscles that make up the lower back half of the body) working as well, such as your glutes and hamstrings. This is more noticeable if these muscles are weak.

The glutes and hamstrings are activated during calf raises

The thing to be aware of is that your glutes and hamstrings are activated to some extent during a calf raise.

Well, actually, this happens more when you do standing calf raises.

Basically, in order to remain in a standing position when “holding” a load, both your glutes and hamstrings will undergo an isometric contraction.

This is true any time you “weight” something while in a standing position.

So, having a heavy bar on the back of your shoulders before squatting will cause your glutes and hamstrings to contract isometrically.

Performing a standing bicep curl will do the same thing, but to a lesser extent.

Even carrying two bags of shopping will again involve isometric contraction of your glutes and hamstrings.

Now, actually, your glutes (or hamstrings) are not actively involved in the calf raise.

However, I think it is important to stress that it will be “activated” in some way.

If not, as soon as you pick up a load you will collapse and fall to the ground.

Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but I hope you get my point.

So, whether you’re performing one-handed dumbbell raises, using a barbell, or using a leg raise machine, your glutes will be stimulated.

In reality, this means that you should never feel your glutes during a seated calf raise, but I know some people do.

I will touch on this point shortly.

You stop at your hips

Although calf raises seem very simple in terms of execution, that does not mean that they are never performed with poor technique.

In fact, I would classify calf raises as one of those exercises where it is very common to not feel the calf movement due to incorrect form.

I talked earlier about pushing through the toes, rather than lifting through the heel My article about calf raises hurting your feet.

This is just one mistake among many that can prevent you from feeling the calf raise in the target muscle, namely the calf.

Something I see often is people using their hips during calf raises.

This is most commonly done by hinging slightly at the hips.

In fact, if you’re doing this, you probably don’t even realize it.

The movement can usually be so slight that it is not noticeable.

It’s as if you’ve managed to get your body into a modified Romanian deadlift position.

Therefore, the hips are pushed slightly back and the torso leans slightly forward.

By doing this, you are activating your glutes for a much greater effect.

This is why you may feel it in your glutes if you adopt this body position during a seated calf raise.

In fact, this also brings the hip flexors into the equation, which is why some people complain of tight hip flexors, or sore hip flexors when they do calf raises.

Additionally, this hip hinge stance may also cause the knees to bend, which will then activate the hamstrings to greater effect.

All of these little indiscretions take the impact of the movement away from the calf and put stress on various other parts of the body.

This is usually why you feel the “burn” in your buttocks rather than your calves.

You are using too much weight

I would say the main reason your hips or knees come into the equation during a calf raise is because you are trying to lift too much weight.

In fact, you can usually cheat on calf raises again, without even noticing that you’re doing it.

This is why I generally think it’s best to completely lift your body weight before adding weight.

You may actually find that you are cheating while using nothing but your own body weight, so you have no hope of performing the exercise correctly when using additional load.

Anyway, back to the point, are you perhaps using too much weight during your calf raise?

the Obviously the calves are very small muscles compared to the quads And other leg muscles.

Therefore, it is fairly common to let the larger muscles, such as the glutes, take over during a set.

Once you do this, you will no longer be training your calves, and your glutes (or other leg muscles) will receive all the stimulation from your movement.

You will be able to tell if you are using too much weight, as there is a tendency to bend at the knees, or hinge back at the hips.

In addition to using a lighter weight, I would also suggest activating the mind-muscle connection to start with.

You can do this by doing several repetitions of bodyweight calf exercises first (or using the calf strength test I mentioned above) and really focusing on using your calves.

So, don’t put pressure on your toes, just lift your heels.

Perform each rep in a slow, controlled manner.

Continue at the top of the movement for a count of 3 and really contract your leg muscles.

Once you have completed a few bodyweight reps, you can then add weight.

However, focus on using the exact same technique mentioned above.

So, keep it slow and controlled, hold it at the top, and really squeeze your leg muscles.

You’ll find that if you’re trying to speed through your reps at a frenetic pace, it usually means you’re using too much weight.

This is when you over-activate your glutes.

Try variations of the calf raise

One thing I will say is that calves usually respond better to variety.

So, looking at the example above of potentially using too much weight, you can change that in subsequent workouts.

So, you might do your first calf exercise in the 8-12 rep range, then another later in the week in the 15-25 rep range.

You can also change the foot position with each set.

So, have your toes pointing forward on one set, pointing inward on the next, and pointing outward on another.

You can also change the equipment (or lack thereof) you use for your leg raises.

I know a lot of people who do calf raises on a leg press (or squat) machine when compared to any other method.

There is usually no involvement of the glutes at all and the calves are exposed to real knocking.

I’ve already talked about using bodyweight leg exercises in addition to weights.

💪 Complete calf workout routine 🦵
He practices	Actors/groups	Primary muscles	Secondary muscles
Lift the weight of the standing plate	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Stomach	Solius
Lift the weight of the board while sitting	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Solius	Stomach
Single leg leg lift	10-12 reps, 3 sets for each leg	Solius	Stomach
Raise one leg while standing	10-12 reps, 3 sets for each leg	Stomach	Solius
Pulse rises	15-20 reps, 3-4 sets	Gastrocnemius and Soleus on equal footing
1.5 Calf raise	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Stomach	Solius
3-Leg lift method	12 reps (each direction), 3 sets	Gastrocnemius and Soleus are isoforms, with emphasis on different fibers due to direction changes
Raise the leg against the wall	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Stomach	Solius
Squat calf raise	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Stomach	The soleus and quadriceps muscles act as stabilizers
Calf lift hold	Hold for 30-60 seconds, 3 sets	Gastrocnemius and Soleus on equal footing
Toe walking	30-60 seconds or specified distance, 3 sets	Stomach	Solius
Calf raises to bridge the glutes	12-15 reps, 3-4 sets	Solius	Stomach and buttocks
Bridge and raise the buttocks with one leg	10-12 reps, 3 sets for each leg	soleus and buttocks	Stomach
Calf raise circuits	10-12 reps (each direction), 3 sets	Gastrocnemius and Soleus are equal, with a circular motion engaging different fibers
Brought to you by mybodyweightexercises.com

Additionally, you can change the type of download you use.

You have the option of lifting dumbbells with one hand, or dumbbells with two hands, with a barbell, Smith machine, sandbags, resistance bands, and of course leg raise machines while sitting or standing.

Basically, if your glutes are already feeling the burn with your favorite calf raise variation, try something else.

I know we tend to look for the “best exercise” for all different parts of the body.

When it comes to calves, we often see standing calf raises as the best way to train the calf muscle Calf muscleand sits down to train Solius.

However, a little variety can help activate your leg muscles again and take the pressure off your glutes.

Key learning points

• Your glutes will always be activated in some way during a standing calf raise.
• If you feel your glutes, you’re probably hinging on your hips or using too much weight.
• Make sure your body remains completely straight for each repetition.
• Do not bend at the knees or hips when performing leg raises.
• Perform leg raises in a slow, controlled manner.
• Contract your calves at the top of the movement.
• Try leg raises using weights or your own body weight and also change the position of your feet to hit different parts of your leg muscles.

If you know you know, check My article about calf raises making you feel like you need to pee!