Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Training Q&A => Topic started by: Max_Rep on June 06, 2007, 09:29:43 AM
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Any views on this? Is it just a case of genetics? Or do you think its possible to dramatically increase their size like with other bodyparts? Didnt arnold add 2 inches to his in one year? What do you think?
Check out this thread. mtwain gained something like 3 inches on his calves in over year after he had failed to gain on them for years and years. The thread gets into great detail on how he did it.
http://ironage.us/yabbse/index.php?topic=13948.0
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I read somewhere that the Calves are the one bodypart that has the least nerves (apparently the nose has more nerves than the calves) so it is hard to stimulate them correctly.
Like I said it's just another theory.
On the other hand If I think of myself, yes the calves grow slow, but so are my biceps who always need extra attention, if I on the other hand look at my back traps and lats I can nearly see some size change every 3-4 Month.
its true
use Vince Taylors technique...after each set he messages them for a minute to get the blood flowing
give it a try
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the most effective program for me was training calves 2 on 1 off. i did a super heavy low rep (6-10) workout of 10-12 sets and max weight. next day a light workout for 6-8 very high reps (25-30). the pump and contractions on the second day were unreal. one day off and do it again.
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genetics, its either you got em or you dont..
end of thread
yep,my dad went to the gym with me once,the next day everybody was asking me what he does for calves and that was his first time to ever step foot into a gym.i also have big calves and i only work them out maybe 2 times a year.
so if you do not already have good calves you never will :-\
bench
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Check out this thread. mtwain gained something like 3 inches on his calves in over year after he had failed to gain on them for years and years. The thread gets into great detail on how he did it.
http://ironage.us/yabbse/index.php?topic=13948.0
Can somebody post those pictures here?
I can't register there and i'd like to see them.
Thx
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Can somebody post those pictures here?
I can't register there and i'd like to see them.
Thx
They won't allow new users to register on ironage.
Somebody please download that picture (first one) and upload it here.
I want to see those sweet calf pictures ;D
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its true
use Vince Taylors technique...after each set he messages them for a minute to get the blood flowing
give it a try
What kind of messgae? Like a text message?
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Its not a myth that fat people have big calves, the heavier they get, the more calves respond to the weight, because they have to hold the weight of a pig, walking around.
I have also weak calves, alot of people forget to train calves, i used to train them once every 2 weeks,because they didnt grow from 8 sets. I realized that calves are a strange bodypart that need different approach then the other bodyparts. I started training them 3 times a week, with a total of 1500 reps a week, starting with heavy weight, to lighter weight, with no more then 10 seconds resting between sets, thats the key, to keep them burning. Ive been doing this for some weeks now and i have trouble walking the streets. Ive been dieting, for months now and am in calorie-deficit, so i dont know really have they grown. but they re much harder, like rocks now. IF YOU HAVE WEAK CALVES, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO WORK THEM 10 TIMES HARDER THAN THE FORTUNED, BUT YOU CAN OUTGROW THEM IF YOU STICK WITH THIS IM SURE.
i think a lot of pro's like johnnie jackson, dont put enough effort in calf-training, they do 10 sets of 10 reps a week and thats it. dont blame it on the genetics. you will have monster calves if you stick with this routine for a couple of years.
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Train them every day with very high reps. You can improve cavs, but if they're high then they'll stay that way.
no you can change the insertion points by getting calf implants training them DC style.
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What kind of messgae?
A happy ending! ;D
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Basically it's like this, your calves and legs are the most used bodyparts of any you have. You walk and work them with every step you take. THis is why for "most" you have to do crazy calf workouts to get growth, like 3 different excersise's with drop sets, double or triple sets. Rest pause's, things like this. Do one movement and then drop to bodyweight raises for like 50 reps. You have to do crazy things to get them to grow.
Ya, they get a lot of daily work, therefore subjecting them to more severe trauma's sometimes necessary.
However if you DO work em seriously, i don't see why they shouldn't respond like anything else. In fact sometimes moreso because the exercise options are limited, direct movements that are intense on the muscle.
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i agree...Its like all the pros you see with small calves and forearms...After all, they are PROS, so i dont think they lack this muscles just because they are lazy or things like that...genetics really are the most important thing in these 2 muscle groups for what it seems...
Don't make too many assumptions. Arnold supposedly didn't have anything special then went above and beyond to address it. You can't be sure that every pro went to that extent to find out for sure that the "genetics" couldn't be fixed. It's entirely possible that some pros still neglect certain areas relative to others, even when they do work em.
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Aside from insertions and genetic issues (having calves or not, is not a genetic problem- it's a cop out!), calves are not hard to grow.
Agreed; the issue might be work ethic and/or trying different approaches more than anything, given that the exercises are direct and work the muscle hard. Let's face it we have no idea whether every pro works calves as hard as other areas, or has done everything possible to bring them up.
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genetics i harldy work mine and im 16 years old so idk?
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Check out this thread. mtwain gained something like 3 inches on his calves in over year after he had failed to gain on them for years and years. The thread gets into great detail on how he did it.
http://ironage.us/yabbse/index.php?topic=13948.0
What's interesting to me is the "stretching" aspect of training calves.
I've heard it several times already.
This guy's training method emphasises it as well. In DC training this is stressed as well and a lot of people have good results with it on calves (i believe Alexxx here as well).
http://ironage.us/yabbse/index.php?topic=13948.0
Max_rep, could you download that picture on the first page and upload it here? (They aren't allowing new accounts on ironage, so i cant see it.)
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Here's the pic:
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/G-RUN99-06/test.jpg)
I started using this method a few months back and ive put an inch on my calves since last time i measured them. When done properly its one of the most painful things ever, but fuck it feels good when the set is over.
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Here's the pic:
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/G-RUN99-06/test.jpg)
I started using this method a few months back and ive put an inch on my calves since last time i measured them. When done properly its one of the most painful things ever, but fuck it feels good when the set is over.
Thx for the pic.
Holy fuck, that's 16,5 ? That pic looks absurd. I have approx the same height as him (6'3) and mine are 15" (i know, they SUCK, but i've only just started training them). Mine look only half as big as that. What a difference 2 inches make.
I've started training that way as well, because i think i have similar calves as him. The insertions are good, but no "natural" size. During regular sports i don't seem to use my calves at all. Like when climbing stairs, my quads get tired but my calves don't feel anything. My dad on the other hand has monster calves from doing nothing.
Yesterday i trained calves that way and now i they're sore as fuck. I think he's right about the fact that the first set is the most important one. I did a couple of "heavy" sets, after the first set the feeling was insane, but it's hard to get that after a second or third set.
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Thx for the pic.
Holy fuck, that's 16,5 ? That pic looks absurd. I have approx the same height as him (6'3) and mine are 15" (i know, they SUCK, but i've only just started training them). Mine look only half as big as that. What a difference 2 inches make.
I've started training that way as well, because i think i have similar calves as him. The insertions are good, but no "natural" size. During regular sports i don't seem to use my calves at all. Like when climbing stairs, my quads get tired but my calves don't feel anything. My dad on the other hand has monster calves from doing nothing.
Yesterday i trained calves that way and now i they're sore as fuck. I think he's right about the fact that the first set is the most important one. I did a couple of "heavy" sets, after the first set the feeling was insane, but it's hard to get that after a second or third set.
Yea his calves do look fucken crazy. Im 6'1 and calves are 16" atm, with 9" ankles but i need to get my calves alot bigger for them to look anywhere near that impressive from the front. Right now im trying to focus mainly on my inner calves to get that diamond shape look he's got.
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Here are all the posts on that page from Ironage:
I wrote this long post on the Mentzer thread about how I was able to transform my calves after twenty years of fruitless training using every conceivable combination with various calf machines using just the one-legged calf raise that Jones said was perfect enough and why he never developed a calf machine.
Anyway, I didn't want the post to go to waste because it took me so long to write and might give some practical credibility to Jones' and HIT by an ordinary guy who had 13 7/8 inch calves until his mid thirties. I can email you a pic because I can't attach it here. I just got my first digital camera last week and have been photographing everything. I have a pic of my calves on my dsktop but it won't attach here. I think it exceeds the limit. The pic is of normal size but uses 1MB of space whereas the limit here is only 110KB.
Anyway here's the post that didn't make the locked thread deadline:
Quote from: Max_Rep on August 07, 2006, 03:05:12 pm
Okay dude I'll try them. Do you hold the dumbell in the same hand as the leg you're training or the opposite hand?
Actually, to this day I can't do one strict rep with just my meager bodyweight of 195-200lbs so dumbells have never been necessary. I would do them at home with this huge dictionary that's about 8 inches thick. I put it between a doorway and use the frame edges to both balance and pull myself up for force reps and then push myself down (like doing an over head press) for negatives. I could write a book on all the variations but you really got to make them hurt. I'd just do one or two sets for each leg but each set would take almost five minutes. A typical set would start out with just the typical full range movement. All the way down but do a prestretch (as you slowly lower, just controlled not any of this super slow stuff, just before the full stretch you kind of do a bounce before coming back up. This is similar to throwing you hips out first before following with your arms when throwing a baseball. It's suppose to activate more fibers.) Then you do the whole force reps thing before you have to start pulling up your whole body but then push down against the top of the door frame for the negatives. When you can't control the downward portion of the movement you get to rest. Which means you do burns at the end. Just keep bouncing up and down at the bottom trying not to cry while psyching yourself up for the next rep. It's kind of rest pause except the rest part is the burns. So I would do positive failure, forced reps, negatives (pushing against the door frame) then maybe ten burns before I explode back up which requires an assisted forced rep and then pushing back down for a negative and then repeat. I'd try to get about 10 of these burn/rest pause reps. Sometimes I couldn't do any more burns but would just stay in that stretched position wimpering like a girly-girl (not even a girl-man) before exploding back up. I was in the privacy of my own home so I didn't have to worry about how insane I looked. And I was free to say, "F**k, f**k, f**k, as I was in the stretching portion. And it's not just about doing forced reps, negatives, burns... you really have to make a concerted volitional effort. To take my mind off the pain of the burns I would use it to psyche myself up so I could explode for the rest pause reps. I looked at it as sort of when you hyper ventilate before extreme exertion. My hyper ventilation would be the burns. Burn, burn, burn, up and down, up and down, and then BOOM! explode to the top like your life depended on it. Forget about form at this point. Your muscles are too weak and exhausted to exceed tensile strength.
The thing is that the whole reason I started doing this was because I just gave up on calves. I wasn't going to waste my time at the gym doing them. I would just do a couple of one-legged sets at home just to keep tone and conditioning. It's only when I started to notice some change that it inspired me to take it more seriously. I first noticed veins before I started to measure them and found that they grew.
Don't be afraid to use your other feet for balance and to help you push up for forced reps and steady yourself for negatives. Eighty per cent of the time I 'd do just one set each because it just took so much out of me and since I didn't think I could duplicate that level of intensity for the next set I figure why bother.
Right now I just piddle with the seated calf machine at the gym and do one leg raises on the stairs leading to the stretching room at the 24HR on Crenshaw/PCH. I just do 15 reps for each leg and leave it at that. I don't train my calves with that intensity anymore because I don't want them to grow anymore because they're a bit out of porportion and people comment of them regularly. I can't tell you how odd it is to say that especially since I use to be so self-conscious of how skinny they were before. I measure them at 13 7/8 inches.
Now if I can only figure out a practical way to work with that type of intensity for the rest of my body.
Are you saying that with those monsters you can't do a one legged calf raise with you bodyweight? I must be confused here or the sentence is off. I would think after 3 inches of growth your strength would be through the roof compared to when they were under 14 inches.
Actually, that calf on the right in the picture looks like you stole it from Arnold.
I mean that I can't lock out fully, i.e., the full contracted position where you feel squeeze. I'm talking maybe the last quarter or even eighth of an inch. I certainly got stronger because I always kept track of reps and always strived for progression. When I first started I could only do about 5 strict reps without help. This surprised me because I would use the stack of the standing calf machine. But for some reason I could never get that full contraction when you are up on your toes like a ballerina. I had to help myself.
As I mentioned in a previous post I'm a bit under 6'2" and weigh 195-200lbs. I compete (Jiu-Jitsu) at 187.
I would train them twice a week. One set for each leg sometimes two (maybe twenty percent of the time). I would do toes slightly out one day and toes slightly in the other. Remember, the only reason I started training this way was because I decided to just give up on calves because if I couldn't make any improvement and after 20 years it was never going to happen. I did the one legged raise because Jones' said it was the perfect movement for calves and there was nothing he could do to improve upon it. Hence, he developed no calf machines. Also, I could do it at home at my convenience and not take away from valuable gym time.
Having work on machines my whole life I was surprised at the difference bodyweight raises were. It did seem perfect. When I would go to the gym and do one leg raises on the standing calf it just wasn't the same. I don't know why. Anyway, I started to take it more seriously when I noticed a difference. I don't know how long it took because I really didn't pay much attention. I was just doing it for tone and conditioning and the feeling that even if a muscle doesn't respond you still should exercise it. I just remember once putting on my shoes and noticing a vein I never saw before. Im like, "What's the dealio-oh?" I then rummaged through my place to find a measuring tape and found that they grew almost a 1/4 inch.
If I get a chance I try to post some more things I did as I progressed. It's been a while since I've "bombed" them, at least two-three years, so I've forgotten a lot. But because of this thread some of the stuff are starting to come back. I think this might be helpful because nobody can say I had good genes for calves (13 7/8 inches after 20 years of training), or steroids (look at all the pros with bad calves) or implants (they're too bulgy and uneven) or synthol (ouch! plus you can see veins and it doesn't look like a balloon.)
Again, measurement wise they're really not that big. It's an illusion because of my skinny long ankles. A friend of mine use to say my calves were bigger than his but his measure 18 1/2 inches. Looked at alone they seem big but when you compare with someone else then it becomes obvious that though they appear more developed, size wise they're not that big.
Because so many factors are considered it's hard to tell if a certain variation, style or technique makes much of difference or not. One thing I started doing simply because I gave up on any hope of making progress (I figured, like Sisyphus, since I spent so much effort accomplishing nothing I decided that I'll devote a minimal amount of effort to accomplish the same thing -- namely nothing) was to start doing calves bare foot. After all, why bother "suiting up" with shoes for something that now became a low priority. This gave me a noticeable difference in both the feel and application. One thing was that by kind of curling my toes it gave me more of a feeling of spreading out my calves outward instead of just the typical up and down contraction. This really made a difference doing burns. I remember Arnold once said that when standing on stage with his back to the audience he would try to grip the floor with his toes and spread his calves apart. Try to just stand on a level surface with both feet on the ground and then try to put most of the weight on one foot and grip the floor. Try to raise yourself but don't go into a full calf raise. Just raise yourself so that your heel is barely off the floor. Grip the floor with your toes and kind of play with the tension on your calves. Spread your toes as far apart as possible and really grip the floor and spread your calf apart. Hopefully you'll feel that sweet spot.
This really helped when doing the burns. Don't just mindlessly bounce up and down but try to grip the book, block, stair-step or whatever your standing on with your toes and spread your calves apart and keep the tension on as it burns.
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aside from doing standing and seated calf raises in the gym ....well i do superfast reps as hard as i can till it burns, rest till it doesnt and repeat until ive reached 100 reps with each angle, toes pointed in, straight, and toes out...
then i do one legged calf raised at work with the ball of my foot balanced on the bar of a dumbell, and a dumbell in the hand of the leg im raising. using the other hand to keep balance, i do slow reps holding for a 2 count at the top of the range of motion and squeezing, then back down and up again. Make sure not to pause and rest at the bottom, just keep the motion slow and smooth.
seems to work for me. people have told me i have freakish mutant calves.
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It's now 4 days later and my calves are still sore, next time i'm gonna do one set and then hopefully i'll be able to train twice a week. Work my way up from there.
aside from doing standing and seated calf raises in the gym ....well i do superfast reps as hard as i can till it burns, rest till it doesnt and repeat until ive reached 100 reps with each angle, toes pointed in, straight, and toes out...
then i do one legged calf raised at work with the ball of my foot balanced on the bar of a dumbell, and a dumbell in the hand of the leg im raising. using the other hand to keep balance, i do slow reps holding for a 2 count at the top of the range of motion and squeezing, then back down and up again. Make sure not to pause and rest at the bottom, just keep the motion slow and smooth.
seems to work for me. people have told me i have freakish mutant calves.
Do you have good calf genetics?
If so, they'll probably respond to anything.
For people like me (bad calf genetics for size, but no "high calves"), it's usefull to hear experiences from people with the same problem and how they managed to overcome it.
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genetics, its either you got em or you dont..
end of thread
partially true. Genetics play a major role in calf development...BUT...impr oper training and not being dedicated to a program also contribute to not being able to build a decent set of calves. Like I said I had NO calves when I started training DC now I have em, they're not "great" by any stretch of the imagination but they are a ton better than they were. Mostly cause I had a plan and I stuck with it and now I move some pretty impressive weight and couldn't be happier with the results.
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Here's the pic:
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/G-RUN99-06/test.jpg)
I started using this method a few months back and ive put an inch on my calves since last time i measured them. When done properly its one of the most painful things ever, but fuck it feels good when the set is over.
Could somebody also upload the other pics from this thread please 8)
http://ironage.us/yabbse/index.php?topic=13948.0
I need some motivation for those hardcore sessions.
Thx
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Here they are: :)
Absolutely insane! :o
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Here they are: :)
Absolutely insane! :o
Thx Bro. ;D
Looks like implants. :o
Gonna hit those suckas hard today!
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GODDDDDD DAMNNNNNNNNNN pumpster thank youvery much for that tekst you tok from ironage, thats the best trickkkk i ever read about bodybuilding.. I just did 2 sets like that with both legs at the same time 4 minutes each set. I also have a thick dictiontionary, and i did it also bare-foot. God damnnnnn i measured my calves before and after that, they re 4 cm bigger now, thats almost 2 inches. GREAT PUMP. When i train them in the gym heavy with big reps, my enkles tart burning, but bare-foor itssss alll calvessss. I think this is the ticket for calves, im gonna do this every other day, they must grow from this. The first set was fucking brutal, great contraction.
I will never train them at the gym anymore, they only grew a couple of inches in 6 years, so i gave up on them and trained them every two weeks.
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I have to agree with y'all.
I've managed to put on 5/8 of an inch in only 5 workouts, spread out on a few weeks.
I can't believe it. Incredible.
-Hedge
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Only downside is that mine are sore for 4-5 days after i train them like this.
Haven't really trained calves before, so i'm gonna lower the intensity a bit so i can up the frequency 2 times a week is the goal.
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Only downside is that mine are sore for 4-5 days after i train them like this.
Haven't really trained calves before, so i'm gonna lower the intensity a bit so i can up the frequency 2 times a week is the goal.
Trained mine Wednesday.
Still sore now, Saturday Night :o...
It's like nothing I've ever tried before.
From mtwain:
I would train them twice a week. One set for each leg sometimes two (maybe twenty percent of the time). I would do toes slightly out one day and toes slightly in the other.
I'm gonna start messing around with toe placement from next workout (Monday) and on.
-Hedge
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1) For all saying that you have 16" calves and don't look nearly as big, simply look at how lean this guy is. If he was at a higher bodyfat, his calves could easily be 18".
2) How does this method train the soleus?
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holy shit!!!! incredible calves!!!!! i will start this method for sure and report the results!
man, this pictures made me wanting to train my sitty calves (and thats a miracle LOL)
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I have to agree with y'all.
I've managed to put on 5/8 of an inch in only 5 workouts, spread out on a few weeks.
I can't believe it. Incredible.
-Hedge
you sure its not a pump increase? Ive put on 2 cm in also just 5 workouts so far. But im dieting and ate very low calories for the past week, and they shrinked back for 1 cm. Did you start with doing one leg at a time. I still do them 2 calves at once and im up to 8 minutes for one set. When im able to do 10 minutes for one set, i will start doing one leg to make it harder.
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Man, gave it a wee try (not 100%), and its sore.
Definately gonna take a while for each set. Ic an get quite a few 1 legged calf raises anyway.
Than wen u add forced reps once u cant complete a proper rep+negatives, thats gonna last a while. Then wen u cant control nagativesu add like 10 rest/pause burns followed by a forcd rep+negative.....Its really gonna b 5 minutes at least of pain.....cant wait lol.
davie
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so how is everyone going so far
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so how is everyone going so far
Quite well. The only problem I've encountered using this type of training is feeling the muscle properly during the set, which I think is critical for this style. I can feel it perfectly with my right calf but not as much with my left. Something that has helped with this is practising posing my left calf and I believe this has enhanced the "mind-muscle connection" with it which has improved how well I can train the left calf.
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so how is everyone going so far
I dropped it. I was sore for 4-5 days afterwards. Not worth it. So i could only train calves once a week which isn't enough for growth i think, though i had a slight increase after a couple of weeks, but that could just be the pump/inflammation cause it disappeared now.
I hadn't really trained calves before, so i think that's the problem. I'm gonna start things more slowly now, and build my way up. First i'm gonna do 3 sets of 15 (one legged calf raise) with that deep stretch at the bottom, every 3-4 days.
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Ouch guys, just got back from gym and did these, got 30 proper reps straight away with right leg (32 with left), the bad bit i found was wen u doing the forced reps+negatives and as ur pushing down from above and using all ur calf strength to resist, that feeling wen ur calf starts kinda minny cramping....lol ouch.
iv been doing DC calf work and found my strength has improved alot (size a bit 2), so weneva id be doing calf work with DC, im gonna put these in.
davie
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I dropped it. I was sore for 4-5 days afterwards. Not worth it. So i could only train calves once a week which isn't enough for growth i think
This logic is retarded, it should be clear why. If you're sore for 4 or 5 days, you're clearly nailing your calves and really getting a good work out in. If you can train your calves 2 or 3 times per week and aren't really that sore, you probably aren't getting enough of a work out at all so they probably won't grow at all.
This thread is funny to me because my old trainer used to have me do 50 rep sets with my bodyweight when I first started lifting weights. The pumps I got were insane and I could barely walk for days after. Then I got into using machines and while I was lifting a lot of weight, I don't think I ever got as good a pump as I did with my bodyweight, so I'm doing the method prescribed in this thread now 2 times a week and I'm going to see how it goes.
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It works very well for me, pics soon ;)
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Here's the pic:
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/G-RUN99-06/test.jpg)
I started using this method a few months back and ive put an inch on my calves since last time i measured them. When done properly its one of the most painful things ever, but fuck it feels good when the set is over.
You should try that training method on your quads. You're gonna look silly with calves and no quads unless your always going to be wearing long shorts ;)
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Hey guys, im liking this so far (im on like week 2 lol).
Got to say my calves are kinda sore 2 days after, but werent too bad the 1st day after session. My inner calf feels sore to press, but wen walking or stretching them i actually feel it in my outer calf a bit more i think, and i ahd my toes out while i did it which i thought hit inner calves more??
Heres how i do it (my interpretation of mtwains program):
As many full reps as possible (i can do 26 with left and 30 with right).
Forced reps+negative, until i cant control negative.COule b 5,could be 20 reps.
Then do burns, 10 wee burns then explosive rep, helping urself to complete rep+doing negative with resistance. Do 10 of them.
After u cant move ur calf anymore, step away shake off calf, and start doing more of the burns, until u cant do anymore.Repeat this aboout 5-10 times.
Then switch legs.
davie
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It makes all the difference in the world what you believe. I mean, why would someone try a gaining program while dieting? That is just plain crazy. Pass the dunce's hat to this bloke.
Faust's reply is why I seldom post in training threads. Some have no hope whatever of ever growing because they have no clue about anything. These guys read all the forums and have so many conflicting theories they literally have no clue about what to do.
I don't think ballistic movements are safe for calf training, especially as the resistance gets substantial. You can damage the Achilles tendons doing bouncing movements.
Why do some believe you have to recover before training again? If you do that you will soon be unable to grow unless you do something extraordinary again. The repeated bout affect can be side-stepped by training while the muscle is still a bit sore. Sounds crazy but it works.
I would like to see some guys put on a weighted vest and do a walk up hills every day for about an hour or so. Add some weight every week and see how big your calves will be at the end of a year. Really dedicated guys should wear that vest everywhere! If anyone asks what you are doing tell them it feels good when you take it off.
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Faust's reply is why I seldom post in training threads. Some have no hope whatever of ever growing because they have no clue about anything. These guys read all the forums and have so many conflicting theories they literally have no clue about what to do.
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Are you sure you're talking about me here?
I don't do this protocol because i was sore too long and i have to have somewhat fresh legs for basketball. Thus i can't train legs as i would like to. Like i said, i tried this and it really blasted my calves. If i didn't play ball i would surely try this protocol longer and see what results i get over a longer span.
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Fair enough. I guess we default to assuming everyone is a musclehead around here.
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HOws everyone getting on with this??
It really hurts lol....though i dont have alot of pain in the days following one of these calf workouts.
davie
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I tried this workout, and let me tell you it was interesting.
Felt a real growth stimulus right after. The next day some soreness, the next day more soreness, by the fourth day, i could not walk properly. I mean i have NEVER felt soreness like this in my calves before. It was really tough at work to walk around for a few days. I was limping.
I will stick with it. My second workout was less intense because I wanted to be able to walk. I will gradually build up to the recommended routine. I find it interesting how fast I can fail simply using my own bodyweight. I have challenged a few guys at they gym to simply pump out strict reps using their own bodyweight and they are amazed at how quickly they fail.
on another note, about a week before my second workout with mtwain style. I did regular calf raises with heavy weight to failure. The feeling was not even close. No soreness the next day whatsoever.
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I tried this workout, and let me tell you it was interesting.
Felt a real growth stimulus right after. The next day some soreness, the next day more soreness, by the fourth day, i could not walk properly. I mean i have NEVER felt soreness like this in my calves before. It was really tough at work to walk around for a few days. I was limping.
I will stick with it. My second workout was less intense because I wanted to be able to walk. I will gradually build up to the recommended routine. I find it interesting how fast I can fail simply using my own bodyweight. I have challenged a few guys at they gym to simply pump out strict reps using their own bodyweight and they are amazed at how quickly they fail.
on another note, about a week before my second workout with mtwain style. I did regular calf raises with heavy weight to failure. The feeling was not even close. No soreness the next day whatsoever.
Hey ro, i did them yesterday and im sore today but not unbelievably so. il hit them again on friday.
Think i got 27 reps with right leg and later i got 28 with left.
Throw in all that painful stuff in the middle and i was sore.
Was waiting at reception to get my gym card back and calves wer shaking lol.
davie
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NO one else doing this anymore??
davie
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i try not to work out my calves because they are already huge enough for me (lmfao) i used to bike alot when i was a tub-a-lard and my legs are like rock...but everything else of me was gross ya know?...but i was in my weightlifting class in school and my friend (we call him pumba) was doing calf rises and he was maxing out and i was like.."dude..can i try? i dont think ive ever done them..." and i jumped onto the calf riser thing and i did a quick warm up of like..3 45lbs on each side and then we started adding on 1-2 45's to each side and we ended up filling it up (10 45lbs on eachside) and i did that 15times((honest to god)) pumba was pissed b/c he could only do 8 45's on each side 4 times
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Ive heard that its very important to train calves at the start of the work out. As not alot of blood is able to rush to that muscle after a workout. I too have bad calves. Mine are very long. Im having a tough time building them up.
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Ok, i restarted this program.
It seems that when i'm not doing any bouncing there's A LOT less soreness.
Now, i did it again with a bit of bouncing after normal failure and the soreness is back.
Edit:
So, summer is coming and i was wearing shorts. I saw my calves in the reflection of a window. Not too shabby. Size hasn't changed that much, but they look more dense and cut. Good motivation to train them even harder.
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Ok, i restarted this program.
It seems that when i'm not doing any bouncing there's A LOT less soreness.
Now, i did it again with a bit of bouncing after normal failure and the soreness is back.
Edit:
So, summer is coming and i was wearing shorts. I saw my calves in the reflection of a window. Not too shabby. Size hasn't changed that much, but they look more dense and cut. Good motivation to train them even harder.
Good for you mate.im doing it to, calves feeling better,im startig to see some more size, not lots by any means yet, but i think persistance and consistency is the key with this.
davie
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dont know if this is much help but...
i did a lot of different intensity techniques for my crappy calves to help them grow and nothing seemed to be really effective. drop sets, 21, rest pause, HIT, straight up low reps, straight up high reps, straight up moderate sets, etc. there was nothing that worked really effectively.
then, i started doing leg curls with my toes pointed perfectly straight and not arching my back at all, and my calves grew a noticeable amount in a short period of time, something thats never happened before.
if you dont already do leg curls this way, try it.
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I honestly don't know why so many people complain about their calves
they are just like any other muscle
for me they respond like any other muscles
and I have great calves with just a bit of work, nothing crazy, my calves are also alot stronger than other people int he gym
people do seated calf raises with a 25 plate while I have 6 45lb plates and repping it out, same with the standing calf raises
the damn machine doesn't have enough weight for me in the stack >:(
I can rep out 60 with the 500 pounds that is on there
I'm gonna have to borrow Dorian Yate's calf raise machine ;D
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/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Your an idiot ::)
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Constantly running into problems with my calves as well..
My calves are there and solid from athletics all my life, but I want a little balloon on them to stand out a bit more. Maybe an inch or 1.5 inches?
My problem lies in how often and really how intense to work my calves. I used to lift them everyday 4-5 sets varying from slow reps to faster ones (always full range of motion, stretch to peak), and didn't have noticeable results. Then I tried just doing them on my lower body workout days (Twice a week) and goin 8-10 sets of various calf exercises and I still haven't seen results.
Just wanted opinions on what to try next? I have had those workouts where the next 3 days it's hard to walk because your calves are so torn but for some reason I feel like that is too sore, where I've overworked my calves. Yes, I know that is the point for some muscles, but only to a degree. If I sat down for 30 minutes and tried to get up and walk, it just wouldn't work without walking on my toes everywhere lol.
I'm thinking about focusing more on single calf raises rather than doing them together and really focusing on the contraction of each individually, however I don't want them to become unbalanced either.
Anyways, enough rambling, anything that's really workin for people right now??
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Constantly running into problems with my calves as well..
My calves are there and solid from athletics all my life, but I want a little balloon on them to stand out a bit more. Maybe an inch or 1.5 inches?
My problem lies in how often and really how intense to work my calves. I used to lift them everyday 4-5 sets varying from slow reps to faster ones (always full range of motion, stretch to peak), and didn't have noticeable results. Then I tried just doing them on my lower body workout days (Twice a week) and goin 8-10 sets of various calf exercises and I still haven't seen results.
Just wanted opinions on what to try next? I have had those workouts where the next 3 days it's hard to walk because your calves are so torn but for some reason I feel like that is too sore, where I've overworked my calves. Yes, I know that is the point for some muscles, but only to a degree. If I sat down for 30 minutes and tried to get up and walk, it just wouldn't work without walking on my toes everywhere lol.
I'm thinking about focusing more on single calf raises rather than doing them together and really focusing on the contraction of each individually, however I don't want them to become unbalanced either.
Anyways, enough rambling, anything that's really workin for people right now??
I always recommend that you train Calves just like you train any other muscle for growth.
- 6-10 reps to Failure.
- 8-10 Sets max (since this is a small bodypart).
- Allow a minumum of 3-4 days of rest before training them again.
Make sure the the reps are slow, complete and deliberate (no bouncing).
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im gonna try this cats routine. my calves are not as big as id like. they are about 16 inches. i am 6 foot tall, so they look small, and they should be the same size as my arms which are 18 inches so i have to catch them up. i undersand about the high reps. as a kid, i was into skateboarding for a few years, and to this day, my right calf (leg i pushed with)is about 1 inch bigger than my left, all from the high repititions of skatng. and u know, i never remembered my right calf getting sore or tired all those years. so there definely is something to be said about going into the high rep range. im gonna try this routine and do a good 5-8 minute set for each leg. ill keep all updated. and lets keep this thread going.
-chris
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I Train my Calves every other workout and have had tremendous gains.
I use a giant set of Standing Calf Raises, seated Calf Raises and bodyweight calf raises.
15 Reps each, 3 sets. Takes about 15 mins but is very effective.
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I tried these last night, geez I pushed myself farther than usual on calves and they are screaming today. I bought a dip belt and I use it for donkeys (sorry no dudes on my back) sometimes which always tears them up too.
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My calves are starting to improve - but I do have access to Dorian Yates's calf raise machine which holds 1000lbs of weight with bars on the side to add plates if you want to. I'm up to sets with 850lbs and I've found training them hard and heavy for about four or five sets per exercise is starting to pay dividends.
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My calves are starting to improve - but I do have access to Dorian Yates's calf raise machine which holds 1000lbs of weight with bars on the side to add plates if you want to. I'm up to sets with 850lbs and I've found training them hard and heavy for about four or five sets per exercise is starting to pay dividends.
you can't be getting any kind of ROM with that type of weight, do you go all the way up on your toes?
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you can't be getting any kind of ROM with that type of weight, do you go all the way up on your toes?
I trained calves today.
And you're right - my range of motion suffers from about four or five reps in with 850 on the stack. I simply could't get the squeeze at the top held long enough to feel as though I was making it count. I did two sets with the 850 and got 8 sloppy reps on each set in total. I dropped the weight to 700 and it improved slightly and I finally had to drop it to 600 and cranked out 12 strict reps with that. Calves are still sore now but I'm concerned that I'm not doing enough reps in a set - not many people seem to get their calves to respond to low reps unless they're genetically gifted. Which I'm not.
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I honestly don't know why so many people complain about their calves
they are just like any other muscle
for me they respond like any other muscles
and I have great calves with just a bit of work, nothing crazy, my calves are also alot stronger than other people int he gym
people do seated calf raises with a 25 plate while I have 6 45lb plates and repping it out, same with the standing calf raises
the damn machine doesn't have enough weight for me in the stack >:(
I can rep out 60 with the 500 pounds that is on there
I'm gonna have to borrow Dorian Yate's calf raise machine ;D
Oh brother, that would snap broomstick legs in half.
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Been doing this alot, it hurts lol.
davie
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i gain weight my calves grow.
i lose weight my calves decrease.
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Ever noticed how the tubby-tubbies can walk around day in and day out. Their calves aren't defined, but they sure are big. If the fatty is fairly active, you can understand the theory that the calves don't need as much rest as everyone seems to think.
I know the intricate bones of the feet sure can use a rest from time to time.
I like to run on a steep inclined treadmill. Heal to toe. Then I limp to the calf press machine and rep out til I cry.
Then I do it again. After that, I wall around the gym like a ballerina on my tippy-toes with my calves fully contracted.
When I'm done with that, I do towel stretches with a partner for the tibialis on the front side of the shin.
THe calves will stay sore for two days... maybe three, but I hit em again on stairs with singles and bodyweight until they start on fire.
I stretch the hell out of em between sets. Heel all the way to the floor and a straight leg, bend the body forward. You can feel the fibers pulling apart.
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IMHO......the key to developing oustanding calves is to find an exercise that works for YOU!!!!! this is the most important factor......does the exercise work well for you......do you seem to respond to this exercise.......for me.....i love the cybex rotary calf apparatus......the best exercise for me personally.......i perform 6 sets.....3 times a week and my development has surprised me......then after following this routine for a few months.....i leave my calves alone......let them fully recover and then return to the aforementioned calf routine.
sometimes i will go back to the seated calf raise.....or even the donkey calf machine......but only for a change of pace
without a doubt the cybex rotary is my favorite exercise for calf training.
6 sets.....20-25 reps......2 minutes rest inbetween sets.....i train alone...so the calf workout takes me 20 minutes.......i also try to strectch the calves on the back of an incline press platform (where a spotter stands).
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My name is calfzilla so obviously have big calves.
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Great fem-calves:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2yjzy2g.jpg)
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Decided to lay off it for a while, incorporating the uni lateral calf raises, but doing 3x12 holding Db in one hand. Then doing smith bb cal press.
davie
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This is a cool program ;D
I use several of these methods myself, and they do work well sometimes.
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I finally figured out the calves ain't growing no matter what. All genetic, I'm afraid.
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I finally figured out the calves ain't growing no matter what. All genetic, I'm afraid.
Yes, but you can still get the most out of your genetics. And most people don't :-\
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can someone please try to explain it clearly
my english suck, and I really don't understand the protocol at all :-\
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My calves are slightly high i think, but i dont need alot of training to get them to grow as theyre naturally above average size and respond well. First 3 - 4 months I got them up 1.5" by doing calf raises on my stairs holding 45lbs in each hand last year when i resumed training after 5 years out of the gym.
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i think you need more than the gym for them running in the mountains with a weoght vest palying volley ball maybe good . train one leg at a time also .
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Hey guys
Iv just started this again. Iv been getting most of my calf improvements from bike work on hills, so in interested to jump back into this again.
Has anyone considered trying this overall idea with other body parts (he says as he is fully aware it is nit how i train)? What i mean is eg shoulder press. One set as many as possible. Followed by forced reps and attempting to control the negative for say 4 seconds. Once that can't be achieved strip all weights off and rep empty bar
The end is a little different but that's only b/c i dint think bouncing in the button position on movements involving weights would be very safe.
Davie
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Calves are probably the most genetic dependent muscle there is. People like me don't have to worry about doing these fancy methods to get them to grow. Interesting stuff for people with subpar calf genes though
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i train calves 2x per wk different weight/reps..i like training them,,i would say some genetic but i trained them due to quads could overpower them,,,
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i trained my calves the other day after months of not training them and after it got pumped and i tried to flex them,BOOM epic cramps,both of them and i literally rolling on the floor try not to scream
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i trained my calves the other day after months of not training them and after it got pumped and i tried to flex them,BOOM epic cramps,both of them and i literally rolling on the floor try not to scream
Yeah mine cramp real bad. Especially the following night I'll wake up at like 3am and they will both be cramping as well as my feet for some fucking reason and all the front of the shin and sometimes hamstrings. Hydration, sodium, potassium all normal lol. Sometimes they even cramp when I am training them and it's annoying because I get in the groove and need to stop and massage them otherwise they will just cramp up again. Eventually it stops after a few cramps... just gotta push through it.
They used to cramp every night I'd train them but it's far less often now. Maybe there is more blood flow, they are a lot harder and vascular now but not much extra size yet
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gaining weight helps the calves a bit too . a strange muscle . mountain running . volleyball and out of the gyn activities help outside the regular donkeys and seated calf raises .
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I have yet to see anyone with 16 inchers go to 18, ever. Only solution is synthol or gaining lots of weight.
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i trained my calves the other day after months of not training them and after it got pumped and i tried to flex them,BOOM epic cramps,both of them and i literally rolling on the floor try not to scream
I find when this happens it helps to stretch your calf by using your ankle to point your toes toward your shin.
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Calves protocol: Buy pants. Wear pants.
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how about the oak great sucess with calves . its possible to see them grow .
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how about the oak great sucess with calves . its possible to see them grow .
I wonder if he had implants
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vince basile share doubts about arnold calves . most people beleive he got them through training only .
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(http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7534091&d=1421834255)
Before
(http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7534081&d=1421834252)
After (14 years)
They definitely can be built if you want them. Took me over a decade though. So you gotta be committed. Too many people give up on them after 6-12 months.
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(http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7534091&d=1421834255)
Before
(http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7534081&d=1421834252)
After (14 years)
They definitely can be built if you want them. Took me over a decade though. So you gotta be committed. Too many people give up on them after 6-12 months.
[/quote
I put in 2 decades. Went beyond the point of pain and fucked up the bottom of my foot doing seated calve raises even. For most, it's just not possible.
I'm gonna guess you increased your bodyweight a lot to get bigger calves as that's the only f'in thing that ever made mine budge.
I've sat down numerous times creating programs to prioritize my pea shooters, the intense stretching, the pauses at the bottom, top, mid point, slow rep training, all that shit...
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Bodyweight increase no doubt helps, was 71kg in before, 100 now, but needs to include work with the extra bodyweight. I make a point to walk 30mins minimum after training them with weights, so they get some real volume in them, 2-2500 reps :)
The biggest noticeable improvements came from 45-60 mins of daily cycling (my commute to work) and consciously flexing them every revolution .Feels weird ar first, but you get used to it.
I don't go heavy, lots of single leg calf raises,def get b3tter ROM and contraction with those, and lots of volume. 2-3x week
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Bodyweight increase no doubt helps, was 71kg in before, 100 now, but needs to include work with the extra bodyweight. I make a point to walk 30mins minimum after training them with weights, so they get some real volume in them, 2-2500 reps :)
The biggest noticeable improvements came from 45-60 mins of daily cycling (my commute to work) and consciously flexing them every revolution .Feels weird ar first, but you get used to it.
I got a bike at one point as well, lol! I thought post workout walking on the incline would help. I'd even walk on each foot to give it a contraction or rep of sorts.
I'm just fucked in this department man. I'd say this is the first year I "somewhat" don't care anymore. I even did synthol and when I think of that, esssh, wow, can't believe I put that stuff in me...
Not like I didN't try. I even looked into implants and had no idea they were so expensive. Also requires 6 weeks of no lower body training after. 6 weeks is way too long. So I guess the best thing I can come close to is having a gf with good calves, lol...
I still remember the first time I got called out for small calves (was 16) and man it bugged me. But when i talk to people about this now, I see their side to the issue more and more. To have stressed myself over this (you guys have no idea...) as I did was beyond unhealthy.
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i train calve 2x wk ,built a decent pair not genetically blessed as my quads/hams are...
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i train calve 2x wk ,built a decent pair not genetically blessed as my quads/hams are...
would say that looks very much like mine. Look ok from the front/side but can't hide the lack of mass from behind. OH well...
Speaking of behinds, do you have trouble with glute mass also? I dead lifted way over 400lbs and squatted way over 300 for way over a decade and never developed an ass. Looks bad as my legs are big"ish"
But one thing I've often noticed is guys who have real good calves are narrow, have bad chest/shoulders but good glutes and calves.
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would say that looks very much like mine. Look ok from the front/side but can't hide the lack of mass from behind. OH well...
Speaking of behinds, do you have trouble with glute mass also? I dead lifted way over 400lbs and squatted way over 300 for way over a decade and never developed an ass. Looks bad as my legs are big"ish"
But one thing I've often noticed is guys who have real good calves are narrow, have bad chest/shoulders but good glutes and calves.
no ..i have glutes'no homo'strong squatter,lots lunges..
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no ..i have glutes'no homo'strong squatter,lots lunges..
besides my sciatic issue, I despise lunges and have the top notch reason not to do them, lol... But still unusual I never got more of an ass. Good thing, gays love me too much as is.
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besides my sciatic issue, I despise lunges and have the top notch reason not to do them, lol... But still unusual I never got more of an ass. Good thing, gays love me too much as is.
;D
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So...
Anyone got them huge calves yet???
Didn't think so, lol...
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So...
Anyone got them huge calves yet???
Didn't think so, lol...
Anyone, anyone?
Nope, didn't think so!
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did you try what I said on page one?
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did you try what I said on page one?
just read your post and yeah man. I did. I trained them with urgency/priority for over a decade man. They sucked the whole time, have done synthol and all that shit to have fuckin' girls with better calves than me.
Fuck it.
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just read your post and yeah man. I did. I trained them with urgency/priority for over a decade man. They sucked the whole time, have done synthol and all that shit to have fuckin' girls with better calves than me.
Fuck it.
day 1 superheavy, day 2 high rep pump day 3 rest then repeat? no growth? weird.
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day 1 superheavy, day 2 high rep pump day 3 rest then repeat? no growth? weird.
i will start this tomorrow
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i will start this tomorrow
the cramping pump you will get on day two is amazing. it'll be like nothing you've felt before.
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day 1 superheavy, day 2 high rep pump day 3 rest then repeat? no growth? weird.
If not mistaken... You're the guy who after something like 6-12 workouts looks better than all of us after 12 years training...
Do you think, that just maybe, it's possible you have better genetics than us and is why your calves actually respond???
To think you think that would work for everyone is a hell of a blanket statement man.
I like reading your posts, it gives me stuff to think about but if that was a sure thing, it would be flat out known and you would not see people with shitty calves like myself.
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If not mistaken... You're the guy who after something like 6-12 workouts looks better than all of us after 12 years training...
Do you think, that just maybe, it's possible you have better genetics than us and is why your calves actually respond???
To think you think that would work for everyone is a hell of a blanket statement man.
I like reading your posts, it gives me stuff to think about but if that was a sure thing, it would be flat out known and you would not see people with shitty calves like myself.
blowing up a balloon is much easier the second time. the first time I gained my size was over a 15 year span, at less than 1 pound per month.
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blowing up a balloon is much easier the second time. the first time I gained my size was over a 15 year span, at less than 1 pound per month.
In all fairness, I trained calves a good 20 years. Don't you think if they had any potential to grow, they would have, even if what (for the sake of argument) was not 100% ideal?
I've even done synthol! To be left with what?
16inches on a good day. Bah, fuck it man! LOL....
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In all fairness, I trained calves a good 20 years. Don't you think if they had any potential to grow, they would have, even if what (for the sake of argument) was not 100% ideal?
I've even done synthol! To be left with what?
16inches on a good day. Bah, fuck it man! LOL....
so your saying it makes no difference how one trains?? all types of training will result in identical progress, mitigated solely by genetics?
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so your saying it makes no difference how one trains?? all types of training will result in identical progress, mitigated solely by genetics?
All I can say is I've done every single f'in protocol for nothing to work. What would you do/say if you were in my shoes?
Of course it matters how you train. I've done the standard stuff, the opposite of the standard an everything in between.
Genetics...
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All I can say is I've done every single f'in protocol for nothing to work. What would you do/say if you were in my shoes?
Of course it matters how you train. I've done the standard stuff, the opposite of the standard an everything in between.
Genetics...
well, if you don't expect anything to change in the next 8 weeks, why not give this a try, a good, earnest try, and let me know what you gain from it. if the answer is nothing, I will cease to recommend this protocol.
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well, if you don't expect anything to change in the next 8 weeks, why not give this a try, a good, earnest try, and let me know what you gain from it. if the answer is nothing, I will cease to recommend this protocol.
I'm beyond giving a shit now, lol!
Been motivated so many times before to end up as I am now. I appreciate your post though!
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I'm beyond giving a shit now, lol!
Been motivated so many times before to end up as I am now. I appreciate your post though!
I force fed myself day and night, never missing a single workout for over a decade and never managed to gain a full pound a month. but I did not lose my determination. over 120 months I gained 100 lbs. and that seems like a crazy amount of weight, but the volume of training and stuffing food down my throat for less than 1 pound per months seems completely futile in retrospect. my point being, I don't think there is anyone who is/was as slow a gainer as I was when I originally built the muscle. but after maintaining it for another 15 years, it returns very quickly after a layoff.
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I force fed myself day and night, never missing a single workout for over a decade and never managed to gain a full pound a month. but I did not lose my determination. over 120 months I gained 100 lbs. and that seems like a crazy amount of weight, but the volume of training and stuffing food down my throat for less than 1 pound per months seems completely futile in retrospect. my point being, I don't think there is anyone who is/was as slow a gainer as I was when I originally built the muscle. but after maintaining it for another 15 years, it returns very quickly after a layoff.
I started at 150lbs got up to 238 at one point! I know about force feeding am not willing to do it anymore as the weight is lost the second I miss a meal.
Taking long term "Levrone like" layoff for now, hoping to come back able to at least go back to compound lifts as I was doing nothing but machines the last 6ish weeks of training.
Calves are my least of worries for now even though, I could train them as I have no injuries related to that area on me now.
But when hope is lost, it's lost and trust me, it's lost.
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I started at 150lbs got up to 238 at one point! I know about force feeding am not willing to do it anymore as the weight is lost the second I miss a meal.
Taking long term "Levrone like" layoff for now, hoping to come back able to at least go back to compound lifts as I was doing nothing but machines the last 6ish weeks of training.
Calves are my least of worries for now even though, I could train them as I have no injuries related to that area on me now.
But when hope is lost, it's lost and trust me, it's lost.
quite odd that you are posting in the calf thread then ???
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quite odd that you are posting in the calf thread then ???
I'm a walking contradiction...
Also a "heads up" "reality" check for those who were like myself and thought they could change something that can't be changed.
You have them, or you don't.
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buy a weight vest and gomountain running. need more than tge gym and drop sets
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(https://i.sli.mg/MU7Jxq.jpg)
I think I've already posted here, and realise am probably the exception not the rule as have no doubt above posters have put in solid efforts to grow them with little return.
Left is 21yrs old 72kg, right 41yrs old and 98kg.
Biggest difference I found was not going heavy, alot of walking, obviously overweight people have larger calf muscles just from weight carrying and cycling 45mins daily consciously flexing the calves on each revolution. Takes some getting used to. But worked for me.
Pity my arms wont grow though
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Real simple, keep the reps between 8-10. Going light and doing tons of reps is a waste of time of you want your calves to grow. They get enough reps when you walk and do cardio.
Seated Calf Raises: 3 sets of 8
Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 8
I do them on back day and leg day, 2x per week.
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original link is broken can anyone shed some light on how to do this? my calves need help
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Love this thread.
Most guys never or only train calves infrequently. They are not an exciting bodypart.
Just train them every workout for 6 sets of 8-20 reps.
Every workout.
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This is a great thread and calves can be built by frequency from nothing. For the last 2 years I have trained mine at the start of every work out. Mine aren't as impressive as the guys on the first page but they are my most commented on body part at the gym :)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/rjo9rm.jpg)
(http://i66.tinypic.com/2yxrfxz.jpg)
(http://i63.tinypic.com/2vtbr7l.jpg)
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This is a great thread and calves can be built by frequency from nothing. For the last 2 years I have trained mine at the start of every work out. Mine aren't as impressive as the guys on the first page but they are my most commented on body part at the gym :)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/rjo9rm.jpg)
(http://i66.tinypic.com/2yxrfxz.jpg)
(http://i63.tinypic.com/2vtbr7l.jpg)
Awesome.
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This is a great thread and calves can be built by frequency from nothing. For the last 2 years I have trained mine at the start of every work out. Mine aren't as impressive as the guys on the first page but they are my most commented on body part at the gym :)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/rjo9rm.jpg)
(http://i66.tinypic.com/2yxrfxz.jpg)
(http://i63.tinypic.com/2vtbr7l.jpg)
freakin incredible, nice job. Every damn workout??!!
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Love this thread.
Most guys never or only train calves infrequently. They are not an exciting bodypart.
Just train them every workout for 6 sets of 8-20 reps.
Every workout.
I want that enthusiasm and tell myself I'll train them every workout, yet fail to do so once I get there, lol. :)
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Once you start seeing changes in the calf development it does help motivate you to carry on doing them every gym session. Its like with the abs once you start seeing them the diet doesn't seem as hard.
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8 Calf Raise Mistakes and How to Fix Them
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Reg Park recommended doing standing calf raises with knees slightly bent.
I noticed this guy bends his knees slightly on the ascent too, even though he tells you not to. See 5:50 or so. ???
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Fight Shin Splints and Build Strong Shins!
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Brandon Harding: FIXING A LIFETIME OF FLAT FEET
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Fix Plantar Fasciitis - Instant pain relief
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Ankle Mobility Exercises To Improve Ankle Dorsiflexion!