Training your calves

[joelster]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. They do get stronger but rarely do they get significantly bigger.

Some people will say "You either have them or you don't"

I found this on bb.com . It is a thread about an up and coming Pro named Erik Fankhouser. A person who trained with Erik, posted up the EXACT routine Erik does to build up his calves. Here it is in quotes:
I was lucky enough to be able to lift with him. Here is the calve routine we did.

30 reps standing calve raise
30 reps seated calve raise
30 reps single leg bodyweight calve raise

You go through this cycle 3 times without taking any rest. Right after you finish the bodyweight raises you go right back to the standing. Enjoy!


Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's 270 reps in a row, with zero rest. The whole workout shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total, if that. Obviously the standing, and seated ones are on machines with weight attached. This guy has the best ever calves, bar none. Maybe he is on to something. Here is a video of him, take a look for yourself:

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=161

Ok, go do this now, and let me know how it works! :)

[ibarramedia]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. They do get stronger but rarely do they get significantly bigger.

Some people will say "You either have them or you don't"

I found this on bb.com . It is a thread about an up and coming Pro named Erik Fankhouser. A person who trained with Erik, posted up the EXACT routine Erik does to build up his calves. Here it is in quotes:


Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's 270 reps in a row, with zero rest. The whole workout shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total, if that. Obviously the standing, and seated ones are on machines with weight attached. This guy has the best ever calves, bar none. Maybe he is on to something. Here is a video of him, take a look for yourself:

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=161

Ok, go do this now, and let me know how it works! :)

That's purely genetics on my part. Of all my body parts, My calves are the most developed and strongest. Since I was younger they've been that way.
All I did before was walk,run,jump rope and play basketball.

[itrain2]

[QUOTE=ibarramedia;92629]That's purely genetics on my part.

Agreed, GENETICS. I can wait and train my calves once a month and they are HUGE I get compliments on them all the time and I can do seated calf raises w/ 200lb for reps and standing 375-400lb now if I could just curl that weight:p

[jenscats5]

My calves have grown this year.....yay! Took 3 sets of 15 each 1-2x a week of 2 diff. exercises w/VERY HEAVY weight, but they grew.....

[FitDancer]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. They do get stronger but rarely do they get significantly bigger.

Some people will say "You either have them or you don't"

I found this on bb.com . It is a thread about an up and coming Pro named Erik Fankhouser. A person who trained with Erik, posted up the EXACT routine Erik does to build up his calves. Here it is in quotes:


Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's 270 reps in a row, with zero rest. The whole workout shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total, if that. Obviously the standing, and seated ones are on machines with weight attached. This guy has the best ever calves, bar none. Maybe he is on to something. Here is a video of him, take a look for yourself:

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=161

Ok, go do this now, and let me know how it works! :)

Thanks so much!! I was told that I needed to grow some calves. I am going to try this workout. Hopefully, genetics will be on my side too.

[DanielleA]

When I train calves I do 6x30 of whatever exercises I choose. I have seen improvments, so I guess it works!

[dvsness]

That sounds similar to Flex Lewis' hybrid calve training.

http://thefitshow.tv/remastered/season3/?videoId=331394329

I was genetically gifted with calves, though they are somewhat suffering due to injury atm. I have also noticed that those who are more of endomorphs have better calves generally. Or as Matt likes to say, fat kids have good calves. :D

[Shelly]

That sounds similar to Flex Lewis' hybrid calve training.

http://thefitshow.tv/remastered/season3/?videoId=331394329

I was genetically gifted with calves, though they are somewhat suffering due to injury atm. I have also noticed that those who are more of endomorphs have better calves generally. Or as Matt likes to say, fat kids have good calves. :D

i do Flex's hybrid training as well. Mine still suck.. but it does work. LOL I will focus MUCH more ont hem next offseason...everything has grown tons BUT my calves :banghead:

And that is true... fatties always have great calves :p

[littled]

I've knoticed that fatties have great calves as well. Just watch "The biggest Loser" at the end when they have dropped a huge amount of weight and you'll see that the majority of them have awesome ones! Maybe it's from carrying all of that extra body weight around?

[Shelly]

I've knoticed that fatties have great calves as well. Just watch "The biggest Loser" at the end when they have dropped a huge amount of weight and you'll see that the majority of them have awesome ones! Maybe it's from carrying all of that extra body weight around?

yeah that is DEF what its from.

[ibarramedia]

i do Flex's hybrid training as well. Mine still suck.. but it does work. LOL I will focus MUCH more ont hem next offseason...everything has grown tons BUT my calves :banghead:

And that is true... fatties always have great calves :p


Not necessarily. When i was a kid, i was skinny with big legs and even bigger calves in proportion to my quads. :) ;)

[Erik]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. T

How so?

Muscle physiology is muscle physiology.

Gastrocnemius is generally a fast twitch muscle group and the soleus is generally a slow twitch muscle group so the parameters for training can be built off that knowledge.

I feel that for the most part, great calves are inherited, not built. Of course, that's not to say, as with any bodypart, that they can't be greatly improved. But they do tend to be one of the more 'genetic' bodyparts.

One of the big issues preventing trainees from maximizing their calf workouts is the fact that the Achilles tendon stores a great deal of elastic energy. In a practical sense that means that that stored elastic energy 'gets a lot of the job done for you' at the expense of actual calf work.

How do you get around it? Always pause in the stretch position to allow the built up elastic energy to dissipate. 3-5 seconds on every rep is a good ball park. Yes, you can't lift as heavy when you're incorporating pauses, but we're training muscles, not just moving weight, right? Less weight with pauses will equal more calf activation.

DC style calf training takes that concept one step further with the 5/15/1 tempo for all calf work - 5 seconds eccentric, 15 seconds paused in the stretch (scream!!) and 1 second concentric. Try it.

[SBT]

And that is true... fatties always have great calves :p

Ahhh so THAT is why mine are so big... and I thought it was from all the soccer and basketball that I played :p

[Badgergrl]

Ahhh so THAT is why mine are so big... and I thought it was from all the soccer and basketball that I played :p

Get out of here with your crazy calves! :showoff:

I'm an endo, and I don't think my calves are anything special. I have a lot of trouble getting the outer developed.

[Shelly]

Not necessarily. When i was a kid, i was skinny with big legs and even bigger calves in proportion to my quads. :) ;)

well some of you are just genetic freaks!:D

[BlessedOne402]

ok, so how can i make mine smaller? they're too big and are almost as big as my quads. i stopped training them about 5 weeks ago hoping that some sort of atrophy would occur, but they seem to have gotten bigger and veinier.

[Deserusan]

How so?

Muscle physiology is muscle physiology.

Gastrocnemius is generally a fast twitch muscle group and the soleus is generally a slow twitch muscle group so the parameters for training can be built off that knowledge.

I feel that for the most part, great calves are inherited, not built. Of course, that's not to say, as with any bodypart, that they can't be greatly improved. But they do tend to be one of the more 'genetic' bodyparts.

One of the big issues preventing trainees from maximizing their calf workouts is the fact that the Achilles tendon stores a great deal of elastic energy. In a practical sense that means that that stored elastic energy 'gets a lot of the job done for you' at the expense of actual calf work.

How do you get around it? Always pause in the stretch position to allow the built up elastic energy to dissipate. 3-5 seconds on every rep is a good ball park. Yes, you can't lift as heavy when you're incorporating pauses, but we're training muscles, not just moving weight, right? Less weight with pauses will equal more calf activation.

DC style calf training takes that concept one step further with the 5/15/1 tempo for all calf work - 5 seconds eccentric, 15 seconds paused in the stretch (scream!!) and 1 second concentric. Try it.

Excellent perspective here. I'll try it out.

[d2fit]

Here is another good perspective on building calves.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459479:banghead:

[Anne Sheehan Dudash]

ok, so how can i make mine smaller? they're too big and are almost as big as my quads. i stopped training them about 5 weeks ago hoping that some sort of atrophy would occur, but they seem to have gotten bigger and veinier.

I NEVER ever train mine...if you're short..stop going up on your toes..and stop wearing heals.

Also, try to stay on your heals when you are training legs.

[Nickyfregs]

Mine always sucked but what really brought them up this year was a combo of DC training as Erik said with the 5 sec negative and 15 sec static hold and after a few months of that I duplicated the Flex Lewis calf routine which is extreme high volume giant sets. Switching back and forth b/w these 2 very diff types of training really stimulated growth.

[Rebecca Lynn Slatt]

i do Flex's hybrid training as well. Mine still suck.. but it does work. LOL I will focus MUCH more ont hem next offseason...everything has grown tons BUT my calves :banghead:

And that is true... fatties always have great calves :p


HMMM.....I HAVE NOTICED THE SAME THING.

I was never a "fatty." (am I happy or sad about this)? :confused:

[ISABELLE TURELL]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. They do get stronger but rarely do they get significantly bigger.

Some people will say "You either have them or you don't"

I found this on bb.com . It is a thread about an up and coming Pro named Erik Fankhouser. A person who trained with Erik, posted up the EXACT routine Erik does to build up his calves. Here it is in quotes:


Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's 270 reps in a row, with zero rest. The whole workout shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total, if that. Obviously the standing, and seated ones are on machines with weight attached. This guy has the best ever calves, bar none. Maybe he is on to something. Here is a video of him, take a look for yourself:

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=161

Ok, go do this now, and let me know how it works! :)

haha

I will try this tomorrow:D

[jewelofnile69]

Calves are pretty unique. They can be trained quite often, unlike most other bodyparts. They do get stronger but rarely do they get significantly bigger.

Some people will say "You either have them or you don't"

I found this on bb.com . It is a thread about an up and coming Pro named Erik Fankhouser. A person who trained with Erik, posted up the EXACT routine Erik does to build up his calves. Here it is in quotes:


Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's 270 reps in a row, with zero rest. The whole workout shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total, if that. Obviously the standing, and seated ones are on machines with weight attached. This guy has the best ever calves, bar none. Maybe he is on to something. Here is a video of him, take a look for yourself:

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=161

Ok, go do this now, and let me know how it works! :)

I have strong and good sized calves but they don't seem to 'pop' while on stage. I've been doing a lot of drop sets with only 30 seconds rest. I've started doing calves as a 2nd workout on leg days in the evening. I'm going to give this one a try tonight!

[LAT]

I was told by one of my local Fitness Pro's to start walking on my tip toes between sets on leg day......At this point I would try anything to get them to grow! :)

[ISABELLE TURELL]

I have heard that too. I also heard wearing strength training jump shoes helps the calves:D

[powergirl]

if you have a long muscle belly your calves will be bigger (like it or not) than if you have high and short muscle bellies. (look at some of the basketball players, they almost have no calves to look at but can jump like CRAZY!)

those with short muscles will be able to improve their calves appearance for sure but they won't ever have that big and meaty look to them like people with calf muscles basically down to their ankles!!!

i'm always bugging my hubby about his too, his are like 3" long and him being tall they look really really tiny. me on the other hand, they go down more than 2/3 of my leg and god forbid i ever find boots that fit, ankle boots are my only choice...but if you measure them his are actually bigger, but mine LOOK bigger LOL LOL ...hey its the one thing i have on him LOL

p.s. i also do the rest/pause when training my calves and always have to some degree, it KILLS them

[Bronwyn]

I think calves are strange part of the body and my coach says that for everyone works something else....

I tried a lot of exercises and my calves were always small (I have very long muscle bellies and doubled the inner side, what is a little bit strange but also I have not those nice diamond shape because of it)

Well today I have almost 17" :popcorn: and the miracle??? Stretching! I never stretched my calves a lot, but than I started to do free weighted squats and I needed to prolonge my Achille heels. So I started to do extreme stretching for calves...... I did not changed anything in my training, but my calves grew up like crazy :nuts::nuts::nuts:

So you may also try this too....

[Blondell]

ok, so how can i make mine smaller? they're too big and are almost as big as my quads. i stopped training them about 5 weeks ago hoping that some sort of atrophy would occur, but they seem to have gotten bigger and veinier.

I wish you could just give me some of that mass for mine! :banghead:

[jewelofnile69]

I was told by one of my local Fitness Pro's to start walking on my tip toes between sets on leg day......At this point I would try anything to get them to grow! :)


Like Belle, I have also heard this. When I dislocated my ankle part of my rehab was to walk on my toes as well.

On a sidebar note, a gal I play volleyball with tore her SECOND achilles. She tore the left one 2 years ago and the right one on Monday night. Ouch!!!

[jewelofnile69]

Owe!! I did this workout tonight. Holy crap. It was AWESOME. A guy at the gym was chuckling at me because of the look on my face...it was pain...but it was pain leaving the body. I'm willing those calves to POP!

[Rebecca Lynn Slatt]

LOL I tried it too!

OWEE but in a good way! :angel:

[ambydawn]

DC style calf training takes that concept one step further with the 5/15/1 tempo for all calf work - 5 seconds eccentric, 15 seconds paused in the stretch (scream!!) and 1 second concentric. Try it.

Oh my! I'm going to have to try this. Always looking for something new with calf work.

I have made great progress on my calves over the last couple of years when I started training them just like any other muscle group. I train them as heavy as I can, but slowed down the movements considerably and I work in a slightly lower rep range (generally like 4 sets of 2-3 exercises between 10-20 reps).
I think there is a huge genetic component regarding how the calves are shaped, but they can certainly grow and improve. Mine ABSOLUTELY have.
I also agree that heavy people tend to have great calves, but if you think about how much weight they are "lifting" just doing daily activities it makes sense.

[Crystol88]

Bumping this thread, with some new exercises, rather than starting a new one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeJ7z16a_8A

And the mother of all narsty calf blasts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMrmaJ_77Ws