The Forgotten Exercise — Donkey Calf Raise

In 1966, a nineteen-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger travelled from Austria to London to compete in his first international competition — the NABBA Mr. Universe. He lost. He lost to an American named Chet Yorton, whose physique represented something Arnold had not yet understood: that no single body part could be neglected without the whole suffering. Yorton had a pair of calves that stood in sharp contrast to everything above them. Arnold, like most European bodybuilders of the era, had largely ignored his. He left London having learned the most important lesson of his career.

His response was characteristic. He cut every pair of training sweatpants he owned at the knee — deliberately exposing his weakest body part at every session, every day, until it was no longer his weakest. He sought out Reg Park, his earliest bodybuilding inspiration, and asked for guidance. Park's advice was simple: train your calves as you would any other body part that your career depends on. Do not tack them onto the end of a session. Make them a priority. Go heavy. Go hard.

The exercises Arnold used to build what eventually became one of the most impressive pairs of calves in competitive bodybuilding included standing calf raises, seated calf raises, and the exercise that is the subject of this article — the donkey calf raise, performed with training partners sitting on his back for resistance because no dedicated machine existed at the time. The photographs exist. The calves that resulted also exist. The exercise has largely disappeared.

Why the Bent-Over Position Matters

The calves are among the most stubborn muscle groups to develop, and the reason has a straightforward anatomical explanation. The gastrocnemius — the larger, visible muscle that gives the calf its shape — is a two-joint muscle. It crosses both the ankle and the knee, originating above the knee joint on the back of the femur and inserting at the heel via the Achilles tendon. Because it crosses two joints, its position at both joints affects how much of the muscle is actually working during any calf raise exercise.

In a standard standing calf raise, the hip is upright and the gastrocnemius is not under stretch from its upper attachment. The range of motion is limited to the ankle. In the donkey calf raise, the lifter is hinged forward at the hips — torso roughly parallel to the floor — which pulls the upper attachment of the gastrocnemius away from the heel, placing it under a pre-stretch before the ankle even begins to move. The result is a significantly greater range of motion, a deeper stretch at the bottom of the movement, and a more intense contraction at the top. The position changes what is possible for the muscle, not just how much weight is being used.

"I feel that is still the best exercise to build your calves."

— Jay Cutler, four-time Mr. Olympia, on the donkey calf raise

Jay Cutler — four-time Mr. Olympia and one of the most successful competitive bodybuilders of the modern era — described putting two training partners on his back between squat sets to perform donkey calf raises. Not one. Two. His assessment of the exercise was unambiguous: nothing else he had done produced the same result. This is not a fringe opinion from a forgotten figure. This is the considered view of someone whose career depended on having the most developed physique on stage.

What It Works

The primary muscles are the gastrocnemius — both the medial and lateral heads — and the soleus, the flatter muscle beneath the gastrocnemius that makes up the lower portion of the calf. Calf raises performed with the legs relatively straight, as in the donkey position, emphasise the gastrocnemius more than the soleus. The soleus is better targeted when the knee is bent, as in seated calf raises. A complete calf training programme includes both positions for complete development.

The donkey calf raise also provides a benefit that standing and seated raises on machines typically do not — a genuine, full-range stretch at the bottom of each rep when the feet are elevated on a platform. The greater the range of motion, the more the calves will develop. This requires getting a full stretch at the bottom and going all the way up to the top and squeezing hard. The machine versions of standing and seated calf raises often do not allow the full depth that a proper donkey calf raise with elevated feet produces.

The Technique

Find a platform — a step, a weight plate, the edge of a box — that provides adequate height for a full stretch at the bottom. Stand with the balls of the feet on the edge, heels hanging below. Hinge at the hips until the torso is roughly parallel to the floor, or close to it. Hold a support in front — a bench, a rack or any stable surface at appropriate height. The back should be flat, the core braced, the knees relatively straight throughout.

For resistance, a training partner can sit or lean on the lower back and hips. Their weight becomes the load for the exercise, with the advantage that the load shifts naturally as the angle changes. If a training partner is not available, a weight belt with plates hanging from it, a loaded rucksack worn backwards, or a dedicated donkey calf raise machine where one exists all achieve the same loading. Bodyweight alone, done through the full range with complete control, is a perfectly valid starting point and more demanding than most people expect.

Lower the heels as far as possible below the platform level. The stretch through the calf at the bottom should be felt genuinely and held briefly. Then rise fully onto the balls of the feet, squeezing at the top. The tempo should be controlled throughout — a slow, deliberate descent and a full, held contraction at the top. This is not an exercise for bouncing through the range. The stretch and the contraction are the point.

Why Most People Get It Wrong

Insufficient range of motion. A calf raise performed without a full stretch at the bottom and a full contraction at the top is a partial repetition producing partial results. The platform is essential. Without it, the range available at the ankle is limited and the primary advantage of the exercise is lost.

Standing too upright. The bent-over position is not incidental. It is the mechanism by which the exercise produces its superior stretch. A lifter who remains upright is performing a standing calf raise with poor form, not a donkey calf raise.

Bouncing through the stretch. Using momentum to bounce out of the stretched position eliminates the eccentric loading and the time under tension that drives development. The calves respond poorly to speed and well to time under tension at full range. Lower slowly, hold the stretch, rise fully, hold the contraction.

Treating them as an afterthought. Arnold trained his calves six days a week with the same intensity he brought to his chest and back. The person who performs two sets of calf raises at the end of a leg session, occasionally, and wonders why their calves do not develop, already has the answer. Calves respond to volume, frequency and full range of motion. They do not respond to being treated as optional.

Why It Disappeared

The donkey calf raise requires either a training partner or specialist equipment. Most commercial gyms have neither. The machine versions that existed in the golden era gyms have been replaced by standing and seated calf raise machines that are easier to use, require no partner and occupy less floor space. The social dynamics of asking someone to sit on your back in a modern commercial gym present an obvious barrier. The exercise looks unusual to anyone who has not seen it before, which in a culture where training is documented and judged on appearance as much as results, is enough to end most people's interest.

None of these are good reasons to abandon an exercise that produces results its replacements cannot fully replicate. The photographs of Arnold's calves, built with this exercise among others, make the argument better than any research paper could. The assessment of Jay Cutler — a man whose career depended on having the best physique on stage — makes it plainer still.

How to Start

Find a step or platform. Stand on the edge, balls of the feet, heels below. Hinge forward, hold a support, and perform 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps with a controlled tempo through the full range. A training partner sitting on the lower back adds resistance when bodyweight is no longer challenging. If a partner is not available, a weight belt worn at the hips with plates attached, or a loaded rucksack worn low, provides the same loading effect.

The calves respond to frequency as much as to intensity. Three sessions a week, each including donkey calf raises through a full range of motion, will produce visible development over months that standing machine raises alone have not produced. The method is not complicated. It is just no longer fashionable. That is the only reason it is not being done.