Building Calves...

[Lil-BIG-Man]

My calves are my weakest area and i was wondering if i should work them out like any other body part (3-4 excerises w/ 3-4 sets) or should i do one excerise with 5 sets everday? Or what do you guys do to grow your calves? Thanks.

 

[Haggard]

My calves are my weakest area and i was wondering if i should work them out like any other body part (3-4 excerises w/ 3-4 sets) or should i do one excerise with 5 sets everday? Or what do you guys do to grow your calves? Thanks.

Look down at the bottom of the page you will find a thread that says.....Reps for calves...or something like that.

 

[Freddy]

Hogg has the best training advice for calves. Do a search for everything he has to say on the topic. But, as Haggard said, a good start is the previous calves thread.

 

[Lil-BIG-Man]

Thanks guys...i didn't see the previous post.

 

[steve miller]

i have noticed that my calves have grown considerable since started deadlifting 2x per week ...maybe its just coincidence but i doubt it

 

[Hogg]

i have noticed that my calves have grown considerable since started deadlifting 2x per week ...maybe its just coincidence but i doubt it

Bingo, heavy floor work wherein your calves are called in to stablize your body through the movement. There is definitely a correlation.

 

[iggy]

i forgot where i heard this, but they said to pick a weight that you could do 10 reps, then use that weight to do 70 reps, doing as many sets as needed to get 70 reps with minimal rest. you will feel it in the morning, trust me.

 

[wolfman]

Right now, as unconventional as it may be, I'm experimenting with training calves everyday... I'll choose a different exercise each day and perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps all pyramided in weight...Then my last set will be the same weight as the 3rd set but I'll do two drop sets to failure...So far, so good

-wolfman

 

[Bob Smith]

I would train calves 2-3x/wk. Either heavy/light, or using an HST routine specifically for calves.

 

[Grizzly]

Skipping rope does wonders. I haven't trained my calves in months up months, but they're getting nicer from all the rope I jump.

 

[Freddy]

Skipping rope does wonders. I haven't trained my calves in months up months, but they're getting nicer from all the rope I jump.

Thats a good post.

Normally, any form of lower body or full body GPP will build calves.

I liked MD's "grab a 45 pound plate and run around a track course" tactic. He claimed it inflated his calves pretty well, and I imagine it would work for others.

 

[Stones34]

I have small calves compared to my thighs. I have done many different calf routines - varying load, intensity, volume, etc. Nothing seemed to work as well as I wanted it to. However, I have recently started doing spring intervals twice a week for cardio work. My calves have grown more from this than any routine that I have tried. Not sure why???

 

[Freddy]

I have small calves compared to my thighs. I have done many different calf routines - varying load, intensity, volume, etc. Nothing seemed to work as well as I wanted it to. However, I have recently started doing spring intervals twice a week for cardio work. My calves have grown more from this than any routine that I have tried. Not sure why???

Again....lower body GPP.

 

[Grizzly]

What does GPP stand for? I've spent too much time fighting, so all I can think of is "Ground and Pound and then Pound some more."

 

[Freddy]

What does GPP stand for? I've spent too much time fighting, so all I can think of is "Ground and Pound and then Pound some more."

"General Physical Preperation".

Stuff like sled dragging, farmers walks, weighted stair climbs, weighted sprints, sprints, jumping rope, walking, throwing, ultra-light workouts, and any active recovery workout is a type of GPP workout.

Training for GPP will increase your general fitness level, your tolerance for volume, your recovery, your joint health, etc.

 

[Bob Smith]

Along with what Freddy said, try walking on a treadmill at a steep incline. It'll help with cardio, plus burn the hell out of your calves.

Stones, sprinting is anaerobic, similar to lifting, which is why your calves would have grown from it. Pick a training routine for your calves and then stick with it for 4-8 weeks. Youll be able to tell during that time if it works for you.

 

[Ramstein II]

calf training

I agree that natural movments, like sprinting can hypertrophy the calves. But, I'd recommend training them like any other bodypart. So many times guys tell me their calves won't grow. Then, I find out they train them once a week with high reps for like 3 sets. Come on. Not saying that's anyone here, but just an observation.

I've been guilty of this myself. Now, I train 5-10 sets with heavy donkey calf raises 2 x a week. I've had good results. Probably more striations and vascularity than growth, but I'll take it. The reps are 8-10 and slow and controlled.

One more thing. The most calf growth I ever had was when I bulked up about 30lbs over my norm for about 1.5 years. Didn't train calves at all. Calf growth was 1 inch from carrying that weight everyday for that amount of time. I kept about .5 of that growth. Now, they're growing slowly, slowly, but surely with the heavy donkeys.

 

[Stones34]

Bob, I just get so impatient because my calves won't stay up with the rest of my lower body and so I think there is a problem with my routine. So I switch it. If I understand what you're saying, you're suggesting that I need to stay with it longer?

Thanks!