The SECRETS to MONSTER CALVES!

[Vince B]

Ok you want monster calves.  Here are the secrets to getting them.



2: NO MACHINES

Calves are the WORST exercise to do on machines.  Every pro bodybuilder thinks the calf machine is the holy grail for big calves.  WRONG.  Machines for calves are horrible.  There are many variations of calf machines, but all involve sitting down with your knees under pads and your feet on platforms pushing up through toes and lower/raising heel.  MANY people use to heavy weight, don't do full extensions, and CHEAT.  They cheat by activating their quads.  Some machines have handles above the pads to hold with your hands.  9 times out of 10 people will yank on these when the weight gets heavy.  USELESS!!!

Calf machines also do not work the whole calf muscle.  I REPEAT - THEY DO NOT work the whole calf muscle!

3: BEST EXERCISES

The best exercise for monster calves are as follows...

Standing Calf raises - use stairs or a platform.  FULL EXTENSIONS!
Donkey Calf raises - FULL EXTENSIONS!  FEEL THE BURN!

4: CALF PAIN

The pain should subside in 3-5 days after.  After a few training sessions you won't get DOMS anymore.

5: GENETICS

 I have calves bigger than most pros out there.  I am drug free.

Some expert. If you claim your calves are bigger than most pros I guess you are referring to Dexter Jackson and Dennis Wolf. No photo = possible exaggeration.

What do you mean you won't get sore after a few sessions? Yes, the vast majority of bodybuilders train like that. It doesn't mean that is the optimum way to train. Every third day, lots of heavy sets of 15 reps that gets the calves sore, each and every time. You train again while the calves are still sore.

Donkey calf raises are excellent. So are seated 45 degree slides. I made a donkey calf machine. So the claim that machines are not effective is total ignorance. The seated calf machines are not as effective as donkey, standing and sliding machines. Calf rotation machines can be used for variety.

[Ropo]

I am sorry but who are you?  I don't like to engage in arguments with people online, but you don't know me.  My calves are about 4x the size of your small chubby forearms.

You want monster calves you train them in the way I laid out.  Genetics are what will separate you from the boys.  Not training them at all is idiotic!

We both know that talk is cheap, so take a picture about your massive calves, and stop the argument. If you throw claims like that, you should have something to show. As I say, I bet the knee is the widest part in your legs. Prove me wrong..

[local hero]

no machines?


impossible to train them fully without machines...

and donkey raises,,, do you let 'fellas' in the gym jump on your back while you bounce up and down ( homo )



calves are mainly genetic, same as forearms..

[Super Natural]

True, It's mainly genetics but you can improve on what you have...

I had really shitty calves and legs (still not my strong point) but keep on training them as hard as I can. These two pics are 10 years apart (2000 and 2010) and they're still improving now. For calves I only use pressing on the leg press (one foot at a time - 5x5 heavy) and seated calves (reverse pyramid - 6, 8, 12 reps) Once a week...controlled full range of motion, I also pause for a few seconds at the bottom of each rep (takes out elastic recoil of the achilles tendon)... I think calves also get worked indirectly hard from heavy squats and deadlifts... seen some power lifters with massive calves, who never train them directly.

[coltrane]

Good advice, but I somewhat disagree with rep ranges.

Youre correct in contemplating that your calves work everyday walking.  But, you must consider that when you walk, your calves get MANY reps.  Therefore, you must make sure to hit calves with some heavier weight/lower reps.... something they're not used to.  Still get some higher reps, but don't neglect heavier weights and lower rep ranges. 

And seated calf raises with the correct machine is numero uno.  Period.  It takes the bounce at the knees out of the equation.

[BigDave81]

I did a combination of the workouts here for a week, and I see drastic results! Thanks guys!

[purenaturalstrength]

True, It's mainly genetics but you can improve on what you have...

I had really shitty calves and legs (still not my strong point) but keep on training them as hard as I can. These two pics are 10 years apart (2000 and 2010) and they're still improving now. For calves I only use pressing on the leg press (one foot at a time - 5x5 heavy) and seated calves (reverse pyramid - 6, 8, 12 reps) Once a week...controlled full range of motion, I also pause for a few seconds at the bottom of each rep (takes out elastic recoil of the achilles tendon)... I think calves also get worked indirectly hard from heavy squats and deadlifts... seen some power lifters with massive calves, who never train them directly.

pretty much what lyle mcdonald suggested in the article i linked

he says 5x5 HEAVY on standing calf raise pause to take out stretch reflex/elastic energy

3-4 sets of  8-12 slow controlled seated calf raises

article is interesting i posted this earlier in this thread


but mostly genetics


i look at it this way if they're not gonna grow it's still good to strengthen them because they stabilize your lower leg in the squat right

[sky02316]

This was actually really good, dropped machines this week and focused on advice in the op and my calves were completely shot for 5 days   thanks will stick with this