Working Calves

[jtcraig3]

No matter how much I work them they never get bigger. Don't get me wrong they may increase slightly in size...and strength will increase some too, but for the most part they just get cut.

I work legs harder than anyone I know. My quads, hams and glutes are larger than most, but my calves are tiny. I still hit them everytime I do legs. I do standing up and sitting down exercises to work both the gastrocnemius and the soleus. Nothing really works.

My buddy I used to train with, who was really knowledgeable, used to tell me that calves are generally a muscle you either have or you don't. I've thought of Syntherol.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions?

 

[kscowboy]

There is a great video on youtube by Ben Paulisky (SP) and my calves have never hurts so bad doing them his way. They key is to keep your legs as starting as possible when you are doing any type of standing calf raise. WHen your knees bend, you are now working your soleus and not your gastroc. Now try to push the inner part of your knees together when you come up, and come up on your the ball of your foot. Where your foot and big toe meet. This kills calves.

 

[tenny]

post a pic of your legs please....

 

[jtcraig3]

post a pic of your legs please....

Lmao...I meant they're large for average people...not animals like you

 

[tenny]

so lets see your legs dude.......wtf

 

[maldorf]

Mine did not grow much until I hit the 4x per week. I would do 5 sets a workout and try to just work the gastrocs on one day and then the next time work the soleus. Standing on one day, seated next day, and then perhaps donkeys. If not donkey then just go back to standing.

 

[brucepancake]

Can you post the link I cant seem to find it.

There is a great video on youtube by Ben Paulisky (SP) and my calves have never hurts so bad doing them his way. They key is to keep your legs as starting as possible when you are doing any type of standing calf raise. WHen your knees bend, you are now working your soleus and not your gastroc. Now try to push the inner part of your knees together when you come up, and come up on your the ball of your foot. Where your foot and big toe meet. This kills calves.

 

[Kendrxck]

Unfortunately, calves are one of those muscle groups that are pretty heavily genetic-dependent. I guess that applies to all muscles in way... Anyway, despite me having superb leg/calf genetics compared to the rest of me, mine have grown the quickest/largest from heavy ass raises. I currently follow Doggcrapp training, and go very heavy with my training. Calves movements are performed with a slow negative, a very long deep stretch (10 secs avg) and explosive contraction held at top. Low volume, high frequency (every 3-4 days), and progressive weights (tracking).

Heavily consider looking into fascia stretching. This has been also a factor in my body parts growing when nothing else would make them.

 

[11sh11]

When doing standing calf, dont bounce.
Pick 3 different calf exercises. Do them as a superset, use controlled tension. 20, 20, 20 = 1 set. Do 3 sets
Hang at the bottom, hold at the top... they'll grow. You walk around on them all day, so by using slow, controlled, steady motion youll give them work theyre less accustomed to.
To take it up a notch in intensity, can incorporate BRT. tie a band just above the calf, just below the knee. Release between exercises.
After the supersets, do a strip set for time on the seated calf. Stack on a lot of 10s and 5s, and as you start to slow down, keep peeling them off one at a time until youve completed the stack or cramped

 

[Big Vin]

Mine did not grow much until I hit the 4x per week. I would do 5 sets a workout and try to just work the gastrocs on one day and then the next time work the soleus. Standing on one day, seated next day, and then perhaps donkeys. If not donkey then just go back to standing.

I'm with Maldorf on this one. Every other day. I do calves and traps like this. Throw one of them in before each workout. Train calves just like he does...constantly changing...and doing some static holds with light weight too.
My calves never grew like I wanted until I started doing it like this...it still took time...just keep at it.

 

[Big Vin]

When doing standing calf, dont bounce.
Pick 3 different calf exercises. Do them as a superset, use controlled tension. 20, 20, 20 = 1 set. Do 3 sets
Hang at the bottom, hold at the top... they'll grow. You walk around on them all day, so by using slow, controlled, steady motion youll give them work theyre less accustomed to.
To take it up a notch in intensity, can incorporate BRT. tie a band just above the calf, just below the knee. Release between exercises.
After the supersets, do a strip set for time on the seated calf. Stack on a lot of 10s and 5s, and as you start to slow down, keep peeling them off one at a time until youve completed the stack or cramped

I do some of that too.

 

[jtcraig3]

Thanks guys...lots of good suggestions to start trying out.


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[Geardepot]

Calves are a pain game plain and simple. The gym I train at, I don't know if I have ever seen but one or two people in the 9 years I have been there that train there calves correctly.
I would access how your training them and what your using to train them. If you have a donkey raise, then forget about everything else and make this your new friend.
Like someone mentions above, keep the leg straight and go slow. I like the DCV method for training them. Most guys hit calves at the end of their workout when they are spent. if you want them bigger get mentally prepared to be in pain on the first exercise and do them first. You don't need a lot of volume IMO, just need to have extreme range of motion, go as low as you can on the bottom and then sink them even lower, pause for a sec or 2, then raise them up, when your the highest you can go, then go even higher and try to get another millimeter.. I can't use heavy weight for calves training them this way. I have had much better success doing higher volume in the 20-30 rep range and really letting them hurt. I will decrease weight each set as they really tax me. I can't go all out effort o the first set for 25 reps and then match it on the 2nd set. I have to decrease weight.

Another trick, take your shoes off and do them barefoot or in the socks. It makes all the difference in the world.

g

 

[tenny]

reason being.....i would destroy my calves and they never grew.


until......i was squatting 400, 500, 600lbs weekly.
did they really grow....to the point i no longer needed to train them.


point being......i bet a dollar that your calve size
is within reasonable proportion to the rest of your leg.

 

[jtcraig3]

I disagree bro...I can squat 410 ass to ankles...10 reps, but can't do 10 good reps with 45s on each side for sitting calf raises.


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[jtcraig3]

I'm not saying that's a ton of weight, I'm just saying that's not proportionate strength.


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[tenny]

lets see....

 

[02z06]

I've ran the gamut trying to get mine to grow, one of the biggest changes I made that I could visibly see was to really focus on the stretch.

Not as in just going down, relaxing, and going back up, but physically pulling up on your toes and driving your heel down.

 

[Elvia1023]

I've ran the gamut trying to get mine to grow, one of the biggest changes I made that I could visibly see was to really focus on the stretch.

Not as in just going down, relaxing, and going back up, but physically pulling up on your toes and driving your heel down.

Syntherol made the biggest changes for me and fast but what you posted is another thing I regularly do that has helped.

I also stretch my calves between most sets. Usually putting my toes up onto a wall and my heels dug into the floor and really stretching my calves deep till they burn. Then straightback to another set so pretty much no rest between sets.

 

[Prada]

Should you let you heel stretch all the way at the bottom? I thought by doing that it removes the resistance from the calves and that on the negative you shouldn't go lower then parallel to the floor?