An arch control calf raise on a step is a single leg calf raise with only the front of your foot on the step, and the inner arch held up the whole time. You rise onto your toes, pause, then let the heel down slowly. It works the calf muscles and the deep muscle behind the shin that helps hold up the arch (tibialis posterior). In the video she faces the back of a chair and steadies herself with her fingertips on it.

How to do the arch control calf raise on a step

Place a low, stable step just in front of the back of a sturdy chair, a counter or a handrail. Stand on the step facing your support and rest your fingertips on it.
Put the ball and toes of your working foot on the step, so your heel and the back part of the foot hang over the edge. Bend your other knee and lift that foot up behind you, as she does in the video.
Shift all your weight onto the working foot. Set the inner arch so it stays lifted, rather than sagging toward the step.
Rise slowly onto the ball of the foot, keeping the arch up and the ankle steady, and hold at the top for a moment.
Lower the heel slowly and smoothly until it is about level with the step, as in the video, still holding the arch, then rise again.
Finish your repetitions on that leg, then change sides if your physio has asked you to work both.

What you should feel

Effort in the calf of the standing leg and along the inside of the ankle and arch, often building to a burn toward the end of a set.

Common mistakes

Letting the arch flatten and the ankle drop inward as the heel comes down.
Tipping onto the little toe side of the foot at the top.
Letting the heel fall quickly instead of lowering it slowly.
Leaning so hard on the chair that the calf does little of the work.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12 slow repetitions on each leg, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this, including how far your heel should lower.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in the Achilles tendon, heel, arch or along the inside of the ankle, or pain that builds with each repetition.
A sudden pop or snap at the back of your ankle or heel, a feeling that someone kicked you there, or sudden pain there after which you cannot push off or rise onto your toes on that leg. Stop, take the weight off that leg carefully and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still walk, as this can be a torn Achilles tendon.
Your calf or thigh becomes swollen, warm, tender, red or darker than usual, or has a throbbing or cramping pain that feels different from normal muscle ache. Stop and get medical advice the same day, as this can be a blood clot. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.

From the clinic

Use the bottom stair with a rail, or a step that cannot slide, and keep your fingertips on your support throughout. If you start to lose your balance, put the other foot down on the step at once. Work barefoot, as in the video, so you can see and feel your arch, or in flat shoes that grip, but not in socks or tights on a smooth step. If you have fallen in the past year or your balance is poor, ask your physio whether to begin on two feet or on flat floor.

Too hard on one leg? Start with calf raises on both feet, or a two-footed calf raise on a step, and try single leg heel raises on the floor before you move up to the step. Letting the heel sink below the step puts the Achilles tendon on stretch under load, which can flare pain where the tendon meets the heel bone, so only go that low if your physio adds it.

After an ankle fracture or ankle surgery, follow your surgeon's or physio's weight-bearing plan, and start this exercise only when they have cleared you. After an Achilles tendon repair, single leg work on a step comes late in rehab, so only start once your surgeon and physio agree the tendon is ready for it.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Arch control calf raise on a step