Seated Heel Raise
Learn how to do a seated heel raise to strengthen the calf, with setup, dosage, key cues, common mistakes, and progression guidance.
How to Do the Exercise
Setup
Sit upright with both feet flat on the floor and knees comfortably bent.
How to perform it
Press through the balls of the feet to lift both heels, pause briefly at the top, then lower slowly to the floor.
Dosage
3 sets, 12–15 repetitions, Tempo 2-1-2, Rest 45–60 seconds
What to Focus On
Key cues
- Press through the forefoot
- Lift both heels smoothly
- Pause briefly at the top
- Lower slowly
Why use it
Builds low-load calf capacity in a seated position.
When to use it
Useful when calf strengthening is appropriate but full standing body-weight loading is not desired.
Common mistakes
- Bouncing the heels
- Rolling the ankles outward
- Using momentum
- Letting the feet slide
Know When to Progress or Scale Back
Use your movement quality and symptom response to decide whether the current version still fits.
Progress when
- Heel height stays consistent through the full set
- The repetitions remain smooth
- Symptoms settle appropriately afterward
Scale back if
- Heel height falls off substantially
- Ankle or calf symptoms meaningfully worsen
- The movement cannot be performed smoothly
Was This the Right Challenge Today?
Use the same three signals that matter inside Therapeutic Edge recovery plans: how challenging the exercise felt, how well you controlled it, and how your body responded afterward.
Answer after the exercise and, when possible, after you know your later or next-day response. This checks one exercise today; it does not change or save a rehab plan.
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