Calves lift body weight - plus load - with every step. across every kind of terrain. In the course of an average day, this will be on the order of a few hundred reps per leg per day. An especially active day might see each calf lifting and lowering bodyweight + load for *many* hundreds of reps.
To make an impression on these puppies, I find it helps to take an extreme approach or 2.
The key IMO is range of motion: the habitual range of motion for the calves is only a small portion of the potential, or absolute, RoM; the loading decreases as the calf moves toward full contraction (which is rarely reached); and rarely is full extension approached during normal movement.
In other words, calves are the size they need to be to do what we habitually ask of them. The enormous number of bodyweight reps they endure every day make them vastly strong, and mostly impervious to a more-reps approach, and the frequency with which we lift and carry heavy things renders them pretty much impervious to the more-weight approach. (think about it, how often have you encountered calf-strength as the limiting factor in any activity?)
What has worked for me is to use and to load the entire range of motion, extension thru contraction. This basic approach has led to my developing a classic (to me) 'comic-book hero' upside-down-teardrop shape to my calves (without androgens, and initially without thinking about calf development).
Basic move is tiptoeing for reps. Sounds stupid, maybe, but it takes you to full-contraction and as long a squeeze at the top as you can muster. Up+down, and up+hold. Keeping calves slowly, carefully and thoroughly stretched is key to this working; even so, expect some cramping & be prepared to slowly and carefully stretch it out. Repeat lots....
Intermediate move is to do the same, but let the heel float; stand with the balls of your feet on an upward-leading step; raise up to full contraction & down. Reps.
Advanced move is to squat flat-footed until soleus & gastrocs are extended, rise to tip-toe, and then down from contraction to extension again, and repeat. Lots.
Up and down, up and hold, up and walk around; fast, slow, both.
Serious:
add weight (dumbbells are the tits here) while doing the above;
stay on tiptoes & don't settle on your heels while doing the above
Extreme:
weighted tip-toe squats (ie, doing both of the above / all the above)
Because of the sheer quantity of effort expended by the calf muscles regularly, these tiptoe techniques are best (I think) in brief, frequent, irregular bursts. Best to break into these techniques slowly: your calves WILL complain, and they WILL cramp, and you WILL NEED to stretch them right, even if you're mindful and cautious, so take it slow. Standing in lines provides great opportunity for practicing these (strangers WILL look at you, but you're used to that, right?)
Oh, and what it will do for your sense of balance! Feel free to do these near a wall or a couch or something you can steady yourself on at first.
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