{"id":3084,"date":"2025-02-07T02:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T02:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/mastering-the-donkey-calf-raise-technique.html"},"modified":"2025-02-07T02:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T02:00:15","slug":"mastering-the-donkey-calf-raise-technique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/mastering-the-donkey-calf-raise-technique.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering the Donkey Calf Raise Technique"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re bored to death with\u00a0standing calf raises, it may be time to swap them out with something a little more interesting: The donkey calf raise.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know about this twist on the classic standing calf raise.<\/p>\n<h2>Donkey Calf Raise: Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Place an aerobic step or weight plate on the floor a couple of feet behind a railing or other sturdy, waist-high object.<\/li>\n<li>Holding the railing with both hands, fold forward at your hip joints, and place the balls of your feet on the far edge of the step.<\/li>\n<li>Slowly lower your heels as far as possible toward the floor, pausing for a one-count in the stretched position.<\/li>\n<li>Lift your heels as high as possible, squeezing your calves at the top of the move, and hold for a one-count.<\/li>\n<li>Take a full three-count to lower your heels to the floor, and repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Muscles Targeted By the Donkey Calf Raise<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-144292 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/20105755\/how-to-slim-calves-calf-muscles.jpeg\" alt=\"calf muscles | donkey calf raise\" width=\"600\" height=\"394\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>The donkey calf raise exercise targets the two major muscles of the calf: the gastrocnemius\u00a0(or simply gastroc) and the\u00a0soleus.<\/p>\n<h3>Gastrocnemius<\/h3>\n<p>The donkey calf raise primarily hits the gastroc, says\u00a0Jennifer Novak, MS, CSCS, performance recovery coach and founder of PEAK Symmetry Performance Strategies.<\/p>\n<p>When well-developed, the gastroc is the outwardly visible muscle you see when you look at someone\u2019s calves.<\/p>\n<p>It has two heads \u2014 a medial and a lateral \u2014 and crosses the knee joint, which means it helps to bend the knee and flex the foot downward (known as plantarflexion), according to Novak.<\/p>\n<p>The gastroc is also roughly 50\/50 slow-twitch versus fast-twitch\u00a0muscle fibers, giving it a greater percentage of the latter than the soleus, and subsequently more explosive capacity.<\/p>\n<h3>Soleus<\/h3>\n<p>The soleus, which is situated under the gastroc, doesn\u2019t cross the knee joint. So its function is limited solely to helping flex the foot downward (a.k.a. plantarflexion).<\/p>\n<p>And where the gastroc\u2019s composition is evenly split between fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibers, the soleus is\u00a0majority slow-twitch muscle fiber, according to Novak.<\/p>\n<p>As such, the soleus helps more with endurance-focused activities, like standing, walking and jogging.<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of the Donkey Calf Raise<\/h2>\n<p>Incorporating donkey calf raises into your strength routine is a great way to beef up your gastroc and soleus, which will boost your performance in other sports and activities: \u201cWe need to train these muscles because plantarflexion of the foot is a key component of gait and sport movement,\u201d Novak says.<\/p>\n<p>Having strong gastroc and soleus muscles may also support your Achilles tendon, helping this band of thick tissue do its job better.<\/p>\n<p>Your calf muscles unite to form your Achilles tendon \u2014\u00a0the largest tendon in your body.<\/p>\n<p>The Achilles tendon, in turn, connects your calf muscles to your heel bone, and provides the spring-like energy you need to accelerate, decelerate, and land safely during power moves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the Achilles possesses an ideal amount of elasticity, it can dissipate force applied to the muscles, thereby potentially lowering the risk of muscle injury, like a strain or a tear,\u201d Novak explains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re bored to death with\u00a0standing calf raises, it may be time to swap them out with something a little more interesting: The donkey calf raise. Here\u2019s what you need to know about this twist on the classic standing calf raise. Donkey Calf Raise: Step-by-Step Instructions Place an aerobic step or weight plate on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}