Secondly, do not bounce at the bottom of the movement. The achilles tendon which attaches the calf muscles to the calcaneus (heel) has a tendency to rupture under extreme loads and fast velocities. If you perform the exercise slowly and pause at the bottom, this should never happen unless you have a had a previously severe injury to the achilles heel.

Another reason may the fact that because of the mechanical advantage of the achilles tendon complex (what is called a second class lever), we have the potential to lift large amounts of weight. Some bodybuilders and weightlifters have been known to lift in excess of 1200 pounds. Many people are reluctant to lift upwards of 300-400 pounds, despite the fact that they are capable of lifting 6-8 repetitions of that weight.

Fortunately for most athletes, despite the use of the calves primarily with jumping, having large, super-strong calves is not a necessity. After all, if large, strong calves were THAT important in sports, bodybuilders would be the most highly recruited pro basketball players wouldn't they?

For athletes, training the calves may only be necessary to achieve a baseline level of strength. In this case, the standing calf raise is really all you need.

For bodybuilders, it is much more important to train the calves in every way possible. To make standing calf raises more effective, shorten your rest time between sets and incorporate more eccentric (negatives) movements one session every 3-4 weeks or so.