Calves can only be worked so many ways...generally with some form of calf raise.

So this exercise is a version of a calf raise - the unique part comes in two ways...you'll be using a shoulder press machine and you'll be doing it with your body at an angle (leaning forward).

This forward leaning body position puts a stretch on the calves without having to put your feet up on blocks - you achieve the stretch on a flat floor. This is a great exercise for runners as when you're running (especially at the start), your body SHOULD be forward at an angle.

You're going to hold the bottom of the shoulder press while doing a forward-leaning calf raise on the floor.

The demo is done rest-pause style...one set of as many reps as you can do, followed by 20 sec rest then more reps, then 20 sec rest then more reps then done.

This will hits your calves VERY strongly (especially if you've not done calf raises at an angle like this) and doesn't require a calf raise machine or block.

So set up in front of the shoulder press machine and make sure the weight stack is up and not resting on anything at any point of the calf raise movement. Now step your feet back a little bit so your body is at an angle.

Now do a calf raise, pushing yourself up and forward on your toes. Make sure and keep your body locked and straight.

That's it! Hit this one for higher reps (the rest-pause technique is GREAT on this one). You're also going to get some great isometric tension on your entire shoulder girdle at the same time with this exercise.