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Calves

ABNRanger

ABNRanger

Well-known member
I have a hard time gettng my calves to grow. I heard it said that you either have the genes or you don't. My dad was a biiig guy, but he had small calves. I work my calves at least three times a week. I use heavy weight some weeks for a 8-12 rep range. Then I switch it up next week with light weight for 15-20 rep range. I do seated calf raises, standing calf raises. I even came up with my own....using the hack squat machine to do raises as well. Am I doomed to have small calves, or probably consider getting calf inplants? Some guy advised roller blading, one said wear high heel shoes, one even said using the jump shoes......
 
:bruce2:your not the only one in that boat. its incredibly hard for me to get my calves stronger as well. its embarising for me my arms are bigger than my calves. but hear resently i have notices using ankle weights while jump roping i can feel an intense burn and strength increase so try throwing a few minutes of that into your routine.
 
Here's what I'm doing right now, and I really like it. I'm posting the entire day. It's somewhat low-volume for a BB workout but I am still "walk funny" sore...and I did it on Friday, today's monday! :aargh:

A. 4x5 seated calf-raise, one leg at a time, touch the muscle to feel the contraction (I use DBs, you can also use a smith machine or a bent-leg seated calf raise machine) - slow eccentric, pause at bottom, fast concentric, pause at top

B. 5x5 Back squat (first two sets are lighter warmup sets, last three are heavy)

C. 3x8 low, close-stance leg press

D. 1x20 medium, wide-stance leg press

Weighted quad stretch off bench 1 minute

E. 3x12 calf raise in leg press, slow eccentric, pause at bottom, explosive concentric, pause at top

Add a bunch of weight and do a minute stretch in the leg press for your calves...it should hurt for the last 10-20 seconds

I like this program...Monday, btw, is back/hams/shoulders/forearms, and Wed is chest/biceps/triceps.

This week is the third week on the program, and I am going to add in some cable ab crunches and hanging leg raises on Friday.

I think the real keys for calves is being consistent, using the hardcore weighted stretching, and pausing at the bottom of the rep and never bouncing, to minimize the stretch reflex.
 
if you really want a calf burn and a hell of a workout try doing 75 reps. What i mean is do any calf exercise and put enough weight on so you can fail at about 15-20 reps. Then rest no longer than 10 seconds then do as many as you can until failure. You may only be able to get about 2-5 reps near the end and have to rest like 20 times but keep going until you do 75 reps. Only do this once a week. After about 4-5 weeks take a week off from calves and then do it again.
I do seated calf raises, leg press calf raises, single leg calf raises, and smith machine calf raises and my calves get sore for almost on entire week. I have notice that my calves are starting to grow since i have been doing this. Hurts like hell but it work.
 
hold the weight at the top for a 5 count then hold it at the bottom for 5 and repeat, count it as 1 rep
 
Check out google search........ Strength Shoes. If you walk around in those and your calves still dont grow, effin cut them off and em' for lunch bro
 
ABNRanger said:
I have a hard time gettng my calves to grow. I heard it said that you either have the genes or you don't. My dad was a biiig guy, but he had small calves. I work my calves at least three times a week. I use heavy weight some weeks for a 8-12 rep range. Then I switch it up next week with light weight for 15-20 rep range. I do seated calf raises, standing calf raises. I even came up with my own....using the hack squat machine to do raises as well. Am I doomed to have small calves, or probably consider getting calf inplants? Some guy advised roller blading, one said wear high heel shoes, one even said using the jump shoes......
Click to expand...

I've put many people onto doing a few sets of a huge dropset and its worked out far more times than not...the hardest part is actually doing it.

Start with a weight you can move barely 5 times and bang it out, then start stripping and going to failure on each weight. by the time you are at the bar you will be beat and it will feel heavy. This works wonders for me....good luck!
 
strenght shoes look interesting... what about calve implants? hahaha! jk

I got same problem, my dad his dad mom etc all have big upper bodies and small lower.. my calves are cut and strong but dont grow either
 
this worked well for me, which i was told was what eric fankhouser does, and his calves are rediculous

standing barbell calf raises x30

seated calf raises x30

single leg calf raisesx30 each leg

you do this 3 times through without stopping. i was sore for a week after my first time doing this.
 
I train calves 2x a week, I Just do 4-6 sets of really slow repititions of 15-20 with fairly heavy weight. Really focus on that mind/muscle connection for these. Ive seen alot of guys throw a whole bunch of weight on either a bar or machine and just bounce the weight up and down.... If the guy has big calves, then maybe that works for him. Dont be afraid to try different things. Stay with it!!!
 
You could try doing some sprint training? I was sprinting for Scotland for a few years towards the end of school and, along with rugby, that strengthened my calves. Try doing some sprints (running only on the balls of your feet) and do sets of runs. This will give you a good burn in your calves I've found. I have pretty big calves (but then again so does my dad) so I don't know if it will help you. You don't know if you're "doomed" to have small calves unless you try everything!!

Also, scrap standing calf raises. Some of your back goes into the movement meaning not all of the weight is on your calves. I also agree with djbkxr that you should hold the weight at the top of your movement for an extra burn.

Also maybe try using different lifting techniques? Forced reps with a partner for seated/hack squat calf raises or supersetting for extra burn. 100 rep set? Two weeks high reps low weight to expand the muscle fibre followed by four weeks 6-10 rep max weights to fill out the muscle?

Finally, don't over train your calves. You're saying you're exercising your calves three times a week? Assuming you have a rest day that means you are leaving only 48 hours for your calves to heal which is only the MINIMUM requirement for muscles to heal. Just concerned you might be overtraining because muscles need time to grow.

Hope this helps.
 
DC training has def made a huge difference in my calve strength and definition.
 
sportsfan4110 said:
if you really want a calf burn and a hell of a workout try doing 75 reps. What i mean is do any calf exercise and put enough weight on so you can fail at about 15-20 reps. Then rest no longer than 10 seconds then do as many as you can until failure. You may only be able to get about 2-5 reps near the end and have to rest like 20 times but keep going until you do 75 reps. Only do this once a week. After about 4-5 weeks take a week off from calves and then do it again.
I do seated calf raises, leg press calf raises, single leg calf raises, and smith machine calf raises and my calves get sore for almost on entire week. I have notice that my calves are starting to grow since i have been doing this. Hurts like hell but it work.
Click to expand...

I've been doing this for a while now. It's the only method that has grown my calves. Works wonders, but you gotta be willing to work through some pain and not be able to walk for the day. I try to get 75 reps in under 2 min with a weight that I'll fail at 15-20 reps
 
sportsfan4110 said:
if you really want a calf burn and a hell of a workout try doing 75 reps. What i mean is do any calf exercise and put enough weight on so you can fail at about 15-20 reps. Then rest no longer than 10 seconds then do as many as you can until failure. You may only be able to get about 2-5 reps near the end and have to rest like 20 times but keep going until you do 75 reps. Only do this once a week. After about 4-5 weeks take a week off from calves and then do it again.
I do seated calf raises, leg press calf raises, single leg calf raises, and smith machine calf raises and my calves get sore for almost on entire week. I have notice that my calves are starting to grow since i have been doing this. Hurts like hell but it work.
Click to expand...

That's what I do as well from time to time. Three sets of 20 on any of these exercises works good for me too.
 
bla55 said:
DC training has def made a huge difference in my calve strength and definition.
Click to expand...
I guess I'm one of those that don't have a problem with the calf area, but I just starting doing DC training and when it came to calf raises I felt it. Usually I do the entire stack on the standing calf raise machine, and I'll do 3 sets for 5-8, but when doing DC, I had to drop the weight to 335 and did RP for 15 reps. I did static hold at the top for a 10sec count and at the bottom stretch for a 10sec count. Total 15 reps and I'm feeling it more than I normally do with heavier weight and higher reps. However, this isn't exactly the way the DC training goes, but it is very similar. With DC you come down slowyly...very slowly like 10sec, but for whatever reason I did it differently.
Try the DC workout...it'll get you to where you want to go!
 
Strip sets are great for calves.. I think you should work them anytime they feel fresh. So if you can do it 2-3 times a week, go for it.
 
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