How to do the Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise: Grab your dumbbells and something to elevate your heels, such as weight plates or an exercise step. Set the plates up directly underneath your hips. Grab your dumbbells and step onto the plates, placing the balls of your feet on the edge. Your heel should hang off the edge and touch the floor.

Standing dumbbell calf raise increases strength of the calve muscles in the lower leg. Instructions With a dumbbell in each hand, rest the ball of each foot on a weight plate. Keep your torso upright and rest your heels firmly on floor. Press the balls of your feet into the weight plate and rise up on your toes as high as possible.

Holding a dumbbell or a weight plate, stand on one leg on a calf raise platform or an exercise step, foot position with the ball of the left foot flat on the surface. Knee position should be directly over the ankles. Lower until the calf is in its deepest stretched position at the bottom of its entire range of motion.

The one-leg calf raise holding a dumbbell is a great exercise for working the calves at home without machines. Set up by grasping a dumbbell in your right hand and standing on the edge of a calf raise block or step with the balls of your feet on the edge. Take your right leg and hook it behind your left. Let your left heel drop as far as possible.