SEATED CALF RAISE

Place a wooden block a foot or so in front of a box or chair. Take a band, remove the handles, and hook the ends together via clips to form a loop/circular band. Secure the middle of the band below the wooden block, sit down on the box/seat, and pull the band over the tops of your knees (clips on top) to create tension. (If you don't have a block, put your feet on the floor and run the band underneath the balls of your feet.) Perform seated calf raises in this position: Lower your heels to the floor, then extend your ankles (technically "plantarflexion") to go up on your toes as high as possible. Squeeze the contraction in the calves at the top, then slowly lower back down.Tips: Proper leg position is knees directly over the balls of your feet. Shift the block forward or back to achieve this.

Sit on the end of a flat bench or seat and place the balls of your feet on a raised surface (like a wood block) so that your heels are suspended. Place a pair barbell (straight bar or EZ-bar, whatever your preference) on your lower quads, just above your knees, and begin with your heels below the level of the platform so you feel a stretch in your calves. Extend your ankles to push the dumbbells up as high as you can up onto on your tiptoes. Squeeze your calves, then lower back down.

Sit on the end of a flat bench or seat and place the balls of your feet on a raised surface (like a wood block) so that your heels are suspended. Place a pair of relatively heavy dumbbells on your lower quads, just above your knees, and begin with your heels below the level of the platform so you feel a stretch in your calves. Extend your ankles to push the dumbbells up as high as you can up onto on your tiptoes. Squeeze your calves, then lower back down.

A.K.A. Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise

Place a flat bench in a Smith machine and set a block or foot plate (or if you have neither, try 25-pound plates) about one foot in front of the bench. You can also use the floor or the frame of the bench, as pictured. Sit on the bench with the unlatched bar resting on your thighs (a few inches up from your knee caps). The balls of your feet are on the plates and your heels are on the floor. Lift your heels by contracting the calf muscles to raise the weight as high as you can on the balls of your feet. Hold this position for a second, flexing your calf muscles, then lower your heels back to the starting position.

A.K.A. Seated Calf Raise

Position yourself on a seated calf machine. Place your toes on the platform and push your toes down so that your heels become raised so that you are on your toes.