Standing Calf Raise Machine

How to adjust

Set the shoulder pad height so it sits snugly on your shoulders/traps when standing tall on the platform.
Load weight plates onto the posts and secure them with plate collars.

Step onto the platform with the balls of your feet on the edge, heels hanging freely off.
Stand tall with your shoulders under the pads.
Lower your heels below the platform edge for a stretch, then rise up onto your toes as high as possible.
Pause briefly at the top, then lower under control.
At the end of the set — or the moment your calves give out mid-set — lower your heels under control, stand flat-footed and walk your feet back onto the middle of the platform so the shoulder pads settle onto their stops; only once the weight is resting do you duck out from under the pads.

Check the shoulder pads are seated correctly and stand tall with soft knees before starting, since the load transmits straight down through your spine.
Shaking calves or a rep you can no longer complete means ending the set and getting out of the machine as described, not grinding out one more: heels dropping fast below the platform edge under a loaded yoke is how the Achilles gets strained.
Hold the front rail lightly for balance.
Control the full range; don't bounce out of the bottom stretch.