I'm convinced I will die with small calfs...anybody else feel my pain?

[JoeySon]

So I have trained for roughly 6 years now and tried many different excercises/routines for my calfs and nothing has worked. Its soo frustrating to see the rest of my body grow along with my quads and hams but my calfs stay the same. Ive heard that alot of calfs is heraditary...what do y'all think?? any suggestions??

[kaikara]

Synthol

[gregg1494]

Keep training them. try exercises again. Change reps. More weight.


What exercises have you previously done?

[themondtster]

Alot of it has to do with where the muscle is attached. Longer ones appear to be smaller cause they are stretched over a longer area.... why alot of taller people have small calves.

There's a routine by Nelson Montana that may help. Something like do as seated calves raises as you can in frive minutes.... goal 70 plus reps. Then next workout standing. Add weight when you can do more than 20 reps in a row.

[fadi]

Give this a read, good information. My uncles from my mom's side have calfs that would compete with on pro stage and they never trained in their life. I take my dad's side, oh well

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...he-calves.html

[JoeySon]

Keep training them. try exercises again. Change reps. More weight.


What exercises have you previously done?

calf extensions, seated calf raises, standing calf raises...does not seem like an area thats easy to hit

[JoeySon]

Give this a read, good information. My uncles from my mom's side have calfs that would compete with on pro stage and they never trained in their life. I take my dad's side, oh well

great read, repped

[kowalsik]

yea, calves suck.

[hvactech]

[kowalsik]

nice

[TomGreen]

For some, even one set for certain body parts may prove more than the individual can tolerate or even need. For instance, over the years, I have had training clients, who informed me at the start that they couldn't stimulate growth in their calves, whether they were training them with 12 sets three times a week or just one set once a week. They took my advice, acknowledging the possibility that even one set may be too much, then ceased training their calves entirely. These individuals reported to me on a regular basis, claiming calf increases of 3/4" to 1 1/2" in several months.

Similarly, I've had clients who gained quite well overall with their greatest circumference increase in the neck. These examples prove the reality of "indirect effect", i.e., when growth is stimulated in one muscle, growth is stimulated through the entire musculature - though to a lesser degree; and the larger the muscle being worked, the greater the degree of indirect effect.

The calf increases reported above were likely the result of the effect provided by Leg Presses, Squats and Deadlifts; with those experiencing tremendous increases in their neck being the indirect result of growth stimulation induced by Shrugs and Deadlifts.

Conclusion: If you have a lagging body part, stop training that part entirely for a few weeks, then resume training with a lesser number of sets, or, with calves and neck, stop training them entirely.

Mike Mentzer

[kaikara]

Conclusion: If you have a lagging body part, stop training that part entirely for a few weeks, then resume training with a lesser number of sets, or, with calves and neck, stop training them entirely.

Mike Mentzer

Wish that worked with forearms. I hate training forearms, so I rarely do, and they're tiny.

My calves on the other hand... I was blessed with giant legs. My whole lower body is much more developed than my upper body. I attribute it to lots of mountain biking and being on the soccer team in high school.

[JoeySon]

Rub it in my face lol

[bla55]

DC workout calves, prolly my favorites, have helped me grow them a sh!tload since I started.

10 reps, 5 second negative, 5 second stretch (when your toes are pointing upwards) and then do a push. Do it 10 times. You should be yelling for your momma by rep 6.

After that, quick break, add more weight, and do a 7/4/2, with only 5 seconds rest in between. And you're set now.

Helped me out a lot.

[JoeySon]

Thanks guys gettin alot of good info...bla55, how often do u do that routine? The more I research te more I learn the necessity for slow negatives. Bouncing only incorporates the calves a little and make the achillies do alot of the work, prob a common mistake by many including myself

[Deeerdre]

Thanks guys gettin alot of good info...bla55, how often do u do that routine? The more I research te more I learn the necessity for slow negatives. Bouncing only incorporates the calves a little and make the achillies do alot of the work, prob a common mistake by many including myself

you dont really wanna bounce in any lift, gotta be in control of the weight, try and focus on the actual lift your doing with your calves and make ur calf muscle do the work. try taking 2 seconds to do one motion then 2 seconds to do the rest of the lift.

[JoeySon]

Yea I hear ya, I use slow controlled motions in pretty much all my lifts I think it's just easy to bounce with calves cause it's so similar to a jumping motion...I gotta stop tryin to be like mike lol

[thegodfather]

Ive found that higher reps and lower weight work best for me. Go until the burn is unbearable. Training calves the same as the rest of the body just doesnt seem to work for me.

[EasyEJL]

get significantly obese, stay that way for a number of years while still being active. Carrying around an extra 60-70 pounds as you go through daily life builds some awesome calves.

no, its not worth it.

[T-Bone]

Wow I guess I've got big calves then.