I hate my calves!!

[bigrobbie]

I hate my calf muscles! I am not blessed with the genetics I wish I had. I have a short head on my gastrocnemius making my calves appear smaller than they are. I actually know many share my pain and while I can't help much...I can give a couple tips to possibly get you closer to a cow guy, no longer that

scrawny calf!

First: Calf Anatomy ...

Your calves are in fact made of two muscles.

Gastrocnemius -

This muscle attaches at the heel on bottom and all the way to the back of the knee (obviously at the top). Its function is to raise the heel off ground from a standing position. The gastrocnemius is a type 2, or fast twitch muscle.

Soleus-

This muscle is under the gastrocnemius on the lower rear of leg. It also lifts the heel, however- it does so from a seated position. The soleus is a type 1 or slow twitch muscle. Soleus actually makes up over half (approx. 65%) of the calf muscle.

Tip#1:

Train calves first, before larger muscle group(s). According to a study by the Journal of Strength &Conditioning Research, the order you exercise muscle groups impacts growth. The muscle group trained at the beginning of routine gained more in terms of mass.

Tip#2:

Concentrate on full range of motion. Research done in Europe on effects of range of motion on growth determined that partial or medium reps yeild less in the growth department. So don't slam the calf machine with 5 plates and grunt out 3 quarter reps and think your getting somewhere!

Tip#3:

High reps for maximum gains. I read that Branch Warren and Erik Frankhouser both recommended as well as utilized high rep training to bulk up calves.

Tip#4:

Volume for volume! Studies have shown high volume sets increase protein synthesis. So in addition to raising the number of reps, the number of sets need increasing as well.

Conclusion:

I think the number of sets and reps will be up to the individual. I also think many are like me and due to not seeing much more than very slow gains if any at all, have partially given in and half ass working calves.

I wanted to show a way that even with genetics against us there is a way to see improved calf muscles. You simply have to want it bad enough to dig maybe 100(+/-) reps and 10(+/-) sets for 3-4 exercises...or you may be one of the lucky bros with great genetics!

Agree / Disagree? Let me know...

 

[Demondosage]

disagree bro, # of sets should be lower, intensity higher!! If you can belt out 100 reps then the weight isn't heavy enough. I would train calves in HIT fashion with a light warm up set, a moderate warm up set, then 1 main set heavy as fuck with a 4-5 sec negative and 4-5 sec contraction. Calves are used to reps, thats what they do all day long walking around anyways

 

[bigrobbie]

disagree bro, # of sets should be lower, intensity higher!! If you can belt out 100 reps then the weight isn't heavy enough. I would train calves in HIT fashion with a light warm up set, a moderate warm up set, then 1 main set heavy as fuck with a 4-5 sec negative and 4-5 sec contraction. Calves are used to reps, thats what they do all day long walking around anyways

Thanks for your input...I've tried that without success.

 

[DieYoungStrong]

Robbie,
I'm a pretty big guy with god awful calves. I feel like Grimace when I wear shorts. I feel your pain.

I've tried every different plan. I did put an inch on my calves a couple years ago doing 100 reps a day for a month of standing calf raises in my living room every night.

I've been stagnant again the past few years, but a couple months ago I started doing one of DD's routines, and I've put another 3/4" on them.

I really, really was going to synthol them 10 yrs ago. Thankfully I didn't. If I could get another inch or 2 on them, they wouldn't be great, but I wouldn't look so out of proportion. I have pretty damn good wheels for quads and hams to.

 

[TaoPhD]

What about the Tibialis Anterior? Any advice for that?

 

[bigrobbie]

What about the Tibialis Anterior? Any advice for that?

Stand upright with only 1/4 back part of foot (heels) on platform if using one. If standing simply lift toes off ground slightly into dorsiflexion (toes in air).

UpwardPhase:

Raise toes into air as high as you can while keeping heels planed in the ground. Be sure not to lose your balance and keep support nearby.

DownwardPhase:

Slowly lower your toes back down to the ground. Do not allow foot to slap down as this may cause injury. Extensor Tips:

Most people neglect to exercise your dorsiflexor (Extensors) muscles of the lower leg. If you start to cramp or get tight muscles, stop exercise. I recommend adding 3 sets of 10 onto your normal workouts to build yourself up. Try adding weight over your toes if you feel your bodyweight becomes to easy.

 

[Demondosage]

Try doing an HIT calve workout, first set is a light warm up of 12 reps, second set a moderate warmup of 10 reps, third set a heavy warm up of 6 reps. Next is ur 1 work set, load it up heavy and do each rep with a 20 sec negative for as many as u can. Try to get into the 10-12 rep range at least. Those negatives are rough but u should get some results

 

[Curls4dagurls]

I also suffer from...

bad genetics especially on my calves....I train them at least 2-3 times a week. Is this enough or should I be training them more?

 

[bigrobbie]

Try doing an HIT calve workout, first set is a light warm up of 12 reps, second set a moderate warmup of 10 reps, third set a heavy warm up of 6 reps. Next is ur 1 work set, load it up heavy and do each rep with a 20 sec negative for as many as u can. Try to get into the 10-12 rep range at least. Those negatives are rough but u should get some results

Nice thought bro!

 

[bigrobbie]

Re: I also suffer from...

bad genetics especially on my calves....I train them at least 2-3 times a week. Is this enough or should I be training them more?

I understand. Short head on our calves I believe. I think maximum of 3X week but 2X week intense or (as suggested above) HIT training....sux ta have s**t calves doesn't it bro?!? Lol!

 

[DieYoungStrong]

Nice thought bro!

His calf routines work! Try them. He'll look at his avatar. Even with great genetics, you gotta build calves like that.

 

[bigrobbie]

His calf routines work! Try them. He'll look at his avatar. Even with great genetics, you gotta build calves like that.

Can't argue with that! :thumbup:

 

[idmd]

I have a strange body type - large biceps/triceps but scrawny forearms. Large glutes, thighs but scrawny calves.

My calves are long and always looked underdeveloped but they've always been very strong. I've worked them in the past with very little results but have grown them a bit with Prowler pushes.

I do two kinds of Prowler pushes....lighter weight sprints that give an ok calve workout and heavy weight slow walking where I take large steps and really contract my calves on every step. This leaves them burning like crazy and has resulted in them developing nicely. Since doing this (and working my legs in general) at 6'5" I can one hand dunk a basketball again.....used to me able to two hand dunk without a running start but that's going take some more weight loss

 

[heel hook]

Again Calves are Genetics but Hill sprints or Hills with a weight vest (or other) finishing with weighted raises on a curb will help get you their for many reps.

 

[heel hook]

Sleds are Awesome too.

 

[Grizzly2]

disagree bro, # of sets should be lower, intensity higher!! If you can belt out 100 reps then the weight isn't heavy enough. I would train calves in HIT fashion with a light warm up set, a moderate warm up set, then 1 main set heavy as fuck with a 4-5 sec negative and 4-5 sec contraction. Calves are used to reps, thats what they do all day long walking around anyways

I definitely agree with these statements. This is how I've started training my calves a few months ago except I do about 4-5 heavy sets (6-8 reps) after the warmups. Nice and slow and heavy as hell! And that's true calves carry your body weight all day for many reps, so if you aren't doing a couple plates over your body weight then it may not be enough.

 

[Kubrick]

Try doing an HIT calve workout, first set is a light warm up of 12 reps, second set a moderate warmup of 10 reps, third set a heavy warm up of 6 reps. Next is ur 1 work set, load it up heavy and do each rep with a 20 sec negative for as many as u can. Try to get into the 10-12 rep range at least. Those negatives are rough but u should get some results

Solid advice. Going with long negatives and heavier weight helped my calves explode!

 

[heel hook]

Calves love Volume and can handle it and Negatives help push that volume, but without Genetics for them, Good luck.

 

[smiles]

personally ime/imo you have too have reps of at the least 20, the more the better... same goes for weight the more the better and you will get big fuckin calves.... I like to calve raise the same if not able to than 2-4 plates less for the weight I am leg pressing... its a good way of keeping your calves even with your legs...

 

[smiles]

What I meant by 2-4 plates was for qual of from both sides so 2=plate off each side, so forth... That's what I meant by that... So for instance I am leg pressing 18 plates and calve raising 12 witch is max for the calve raise machine, so if I want to go heavier I have to use the leg press machine for more weight on my calve raises...