A calf raise on a step is a calf raise with your heels hanging off the back edge of a step. In the video the heels lower to about the level of the step, and later your physio may let them sink a little below it for a bigger range. You face a wall with both hands on it for balance and keep your knees straight. It usually comes in once calf raises on the floor feel easy.

How to do the calf raise on a step

Put a low, stable step close to a wall, or use the bottom stair next to a rail. Stand on it facing the wall and rest both hands on the wall.
Walk your feet back until the balls of your feet are on the step and your heels hang off the back edge.
Keep your knees straight and rise onto the balls of your feet, as high as you can control.
Pause briefly at the top.
Lower your heels slowly until they are about level with the step, as in the video, then rise again.

What you should feel

Your calves working on the way up, and sometimes a light stretch at the back of the calf at the bottom. Nothing sharp at the back of the heel.

Common mistakes

Dropping the heels quickly into the bottom position, or bouncing there.
Letting the heels sink below the step before your physio has added that stage.
Bending the knees to get higher.
Standing so far back that your feet could slip off the step.

How often

A common starting point is 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this, including whether your heels should later go below the step.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in the Achilles tendon, heel or calf, especially at the bottom of the movement.
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

Sinking the heels below the step is a later stage, and it does not suit everyone. If your pain sits right where the Achilles tendon joins the heel bone, loading the tendon in that stretched position often aggravates it. For that kind of pain your physio may keep you at step level, or on flat floor with calf raises. After an Achilles tendon repair, letting the heel sink below the step stretches the healing tendon, so only do this at the stage your surgeon's protocol and your physio allow.

Use a step that does not slide, with bare feet or shoes that grip, and keep your hands on the wall or rail throughout. When both feet feel easy, the eccentric calf raise is a common next step, with the slow lowering done on one leg.

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.

Calf raise on a step