Calves: what works?!

rigs03

Member
Is Anyone else arch nemesis in the body building world their calves? I swear it is the one thing I just can't seem to get to grow. I know there are all kinds of different methods and theories on this, crazy high reps, heavy weight low reps, etc etc.

What has worked for YOU???

I came across this DC cardio style of growing your calves why I I guess is pretty popular. I'll copy and paste it below-- has anyone ever done this or anything like it? I'm thinking about trying it since nothing else seems to work too well for me.


DC CALF TRAINING:

Has anyone ever tried using a treadmill at full incline for a calf exercise? What were the results?

Dante of DC training has a cardio protocol he has his trainees do on their off days if they have shitty calves. It seems like it might work.

Here's Dante's post on how to do it:
----

Boy you guys are in trouble because Ill probably just use this thread to ramble on and jump from one topic to another.

Ok lets see here....

Calves: I wasnt ever going to put this on the net because its very hard to describe and I usually only used it with people in person (and i would say about 4-5 trainees online)....but what the hell....lets try it.

You got weak calves....they suck....you know it, your girlfriend knows it, Jill Pettengill that hot blonde in high school you had the fever for knew it, and your lifting partner that you blow away in spades on all bodyparts except calves knows it (thats why he wears shorts 24/7 around you.)

Hmmmmmm lets think it out.....who has good calves?

a) genetically gifted people who have no idea where they came from, never had to bust their ass for them but love to give calf training advice to everyone who will listen....even though it wont do jack crap for you.

b) fat people (almost universally) and I surmise you would too if you had to one leg calf raise a great deal of bodyweight all the time when walking (remember this concept for below though)

c) geeks - guys who walk up on their toes since kindergarten, yes they look a little light in their loafers and like they just came from a starring role in Peter Pan but no doubt.....those geeky toewalkers got some gastrocs and soleus's to be proud of. (remember this concept for below though also)


So what does the above (a b c) do for you?

Dante wants you to do cardio on your days off training correct? You have to do it anyway AND YOUR CALVES SUCK! Hmmmmm....

So Im going to show you a way to get those babies up bigtime and kill 2 birds with one stone.

****Please be very hydrated and take some Taurine before you do this ok---there is a very good chance you will cramp if you dont (Trust me on this as someone who has been doing this for years.....learn this lesson from someone its happened to...me...taurine + water especially if you are using creatine)

Allright you now do your cardio like this if you have suckass calves ok

We are going to start out so you dont kill yourself

Incline at 15 (yes the highest it will go), MPH at 3.0......I want semi-long strides and a slightly concious effort to push with your big toe during these long strides ok......and here is the key below--this is what must be done and the problem of why i never have described this on the net (and i still dont know if you guys are going to get it)

Lean forward so you are leaning over the (push button display board)...in fact you know what i would like you to do if possible so you are positioned just right? Bring your arms up on the display board and i want them straight out in front of you all the way to the crook of the elbow hanging off the top of the display board ok?

Grasp your thumb with your other hand if you have to...whatever feels right.

So stand up straight from the computer right now--and then put your arms straight out in front of you----see the crook of your elbow (where bicep and forearm meet)----that is going to be where the top of the treadmill display board is--at that crook--you probably are going to have to put a towel up there because you are going to be huffing and puffing and sweating. To accomplish that you are going to have to lean forward a little bit but i dont want you resting totally on the display board--i just want to put you in a mechanical position for your calves on the highest incline using one calf at a time ("oh dante i see what you are doing you freaking **&%$&^ slavedriver!")

So we are in position now....ready?

6 minutes at 15 incline and 3.0mph
4 minutes at 15 incline and 2.5mph
3 minutes at 15 incline and 2.0mph
2 minutes at 15 incline and 1.5mph

and you might think those slower mph is going to make it much much easier---oh it is on your breathing but not on your calves.

So 15 minutes is what you will start out with and lets see who has balls or not....and then with time you could work your way up to whatever you wanted to do....but remember your going to be expending alot of energy in this 15 minutes so i would never be doing 45 minutes cardio like this.

i honestly think you could get great benefit sticking at 20 minutes with this and do a

10 minutes / 15 / 3.5mph
5 minutes / 15 / 2.5 mph
5 minutes / 15 / 1.5mph

or if absolutely topped out (and i dont think this is neccessary but for someone who does alot of cardio or needs alot of cardio and also needs some calves you could try this)

10 minutes / 15 / 3.5mph
10 minutes / 15 / 2.5 mph
10 minutes / 15 / 1.5mph

Id be personally destroyed with that at 275lbs bodyweight - but hey it really is up to you guys here on the timing you want to do---i just want the mechanics of it done right.

Try the 15 minutes first on your next cardio day and tell me how it goes--you are probably going to be pretty darn spent.

This is my promise to you---I promise you bigger calves with this in a short timespan if you do it mechanically correct---I PROMISE YOU THAT---actually I absolutely guarentee that.

And as you get larger and weigh more and keep doing this they are going to keep getting larger if you keep doing it.

Once again (water and taurine).....this would be the time to put some glycerol in your daily water intake if you are going to do these things.

again in my personal opinion 20 minutes tops would probably be all that is needed here but Ill let you guys do your thing and decide how you want to do it timing wise....just promise me you do it as I described above.

out...

PS: no you dont have to wear a Peter Pan outfit during it....and Jill Pettengill isnt that hot anymore so stop sweating her.


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my calves arent my best feature but i do standing calf raises at work while im standing around...i do reps of 20 with a 4 second pause at the top...probably 5-6 sets a day...evryday almost...you would be amazed on the pump you get out of them doing it like that....obviously I do other shit on leg day but this is just something ive been trying over the last month or so...

i have a ecto body type and my calves are lagging...
 
Yeah man mine are too. Legs overall are good but the calves just won't seem to grow with them. So when I wear looser basketball shorts etc to the gym i look like "that guy" lol
 
I can do about 450-500 on standing calve raises, my calves haven't grown at all size wise either
 
If you had to estimate.. How many sets and reps per session?
A rough estimate.. 6 sets of 30 reps with as much weight as you can handle. That's just an estimate though. My way of making sure calves grow is just frequency. Like yesterday I did chest and triceps and between every set I did on press, flys, DB, exc. I was doing calve raises instead of just resting.
 
Whoremoans is right. Heavy weight until it burns like crazy. Mine give me hell. and won't grow nearly as easily as anything else. I usually do 8-10 reps of 15-20 with as much weight as I can handle and get decent results. The key is consistency. Every other day is the minimum. Next to abs, they have to be the easiest muscle group to "just hit tomorrow". lol
 
I wear shorts in the gym as a fucking reminder that my legs need work...it worked for Arnold and ill be damned its gonna work for me....when Im doing any excersise regardless of body part I flex as hard as i possibly can and focus entirely on hitting that particular muscle im working....Ive also been doing alot of time under tension stuff...you wont be able to go as heavy but god damn you will feel the burn...its been said before and ill say it again...sometimes, not all times but "less is more" I go deep and stretch low and flex hard on the way up for everything....its been treating me well...rome wasnt built in a day...

Goodluck brother


Yeah man mine are too. Legs overall are good but the calves just won't seem to grow with them. So when I wear looser basketball shorts etc to the gym i look like "that guy" lol
 
Heavy statics with drop sets and pulse. So basically 8-10 reps heavy say 400lbs stop and hold for 30 secs then pulse rep for30 seconds. Drop weigh by 20 % repeat then drop by another 20%. You have to hold and pulse the idea is forcing as much blood into that sucker those muscle fibers need to be broken down to grow. This is your last set on calf raises. Btw I dint have a problem with my calves but this does work.
 
Really appreciating the responses brothers. Will be putting it all into practice.

I just wish they would grow proportionately with just squats lol
 
I'm convinced the main reason we have a hard time growing calves is we treat them like an ad hoc muscle group. Think about how many exercises and reps you do for quads or hams on any given leg day, and compare that to what you do for calves. We neglect them. I'm as guilty as anyone.
 
Sorry man. I fall in to category A.

Is their any way I can shrink them? I feel guilty wearing these things in public

The stares are unsettling and I just want to be normal. Help a bro out plz:D
 
I train them daily! Different exercises and rep ranges, of course. However, calves get trained pretty much 6 days a week (I normally take a day off).
 
I'm convinced the main reason we have a hard time growing calves is we treat them like an ad hoc muscle group. Think about how many exercises and reps you do for quads or hams on any given leg day, and compare that to what you do for calves. We neglect them. I'm as guilty as anyone.
I think I'm going to start my leg workouts with calves for a while and see how that goes. It does end up being a half assed tacked on thing at the end of leg day usually.
 
All great advice! In my opinion, calves are a tricky muscle to train as they are exposed to stimulus everyday when you walk. What they are not used to is a stretched position, so in my training I really try focus on the stretch portion of the exercise. I like to hold the weight in the stretched position for 2-3 seconds, feel them stretch, and contract the muscle very slowly. I personally train claves 3 days a week. Stretching your calves in between sets can also be helpful. You can also try different rep ranges, foot positions, and my personal favorite, drop sets. Good luck with your training!
calf_scr3.jpg
 
All great advice! In my opinion, calves are a tricky muscle to train as they are exposed to stimulus everyday when you walk. What they are not used to is a stretched position, so in my training I really try focus on the stretch portion of the exercise. I like to hold the weight in the stretched position for 2-3 seconds, feel them stretch, and contract the muscle very slowly. I personally train claves 3 days a week. Stretching your calves in between sets can also be helpful. You can also try different rep ranges, foot positions, and my personal favorite, drop sets. Good luck with your training!
calf_scr3.jpg
Flex, your avi. is the superman logo Lee Priest always uses, and this is identical to Lee Priest's calf advice... HMMM. ;)
 
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