This is how you grow strong calves.It's like the skipped child at the gym, like the Bounty in the celebrations box, like English licorice in a candy bag: it's the calf muscle, a muscle that we too often skip when training.Time to make short work of that and chisel those lower legs into a masterpiece, with the calf raise.Although the calves are already included in many movements and exercises, it does not hurt to train them separately.By isolating the calf muscles you not only make them stronger, but you also work on a complete physique.How often do we see athletes with an upper body like Zeus but with the lower legs of a five-year-old.That must come to an end.That's why the calf raise is a good first step, if done properly.Technique takes precedence in this exercise: too often athletes bounce (read: bounce) up and down a few times quickly at the end of their workout.But that's not a calf raise, then you're mainly stressing your tendons.This is how you train the calf muscles the right way:A variation on the calf raises is the donkey calf raise.Research shows that this is the calf exercise for maximum muscle activation.The great thing is that you can easily set it up in a smith machine, or just with a bench and an elevation:Also check out these 5 exercises for strong calves.You regularly see athletes performing the calf raise seated.The big difference between a standing and seated calf raise is in the muscles you train.When you stand, you mainly train the gastrocnemicus - the large calf muscle that forms the two-shaped hump on the back of your leg.If you sit down, you mainly grab the soleus.That is a smaller, flat calf muscle that lies under the gastrocnemicus.Both are important for a good set of lower legs, so regularly alternate the standing calf raise with the seated calf raise.These are the best leg exercises in a row.