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- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
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- 1,089
Yes...with the calf muscles, genetics are involved. If you have low insertion points (i.e. your calves insert low on your ankle, right down towards your heel) then they’ll naturally be bigger. High insertion points (they attach nearer the knee) – and you’ve got your work cut out.
That doesn’t mean they can’t grow though, just that it may be slower, so you need to be patient.
So what does an ultimate plateau-busting calf routine need?
1. Hit them at least 3 times per week.
2. Train them on a separate day to the rest of your lower body, so that they’re getting hit indirectly with squats, deadlifts and lunges, and directly with extra calf work.
3. Strategically mix up tempos, rep ranges and loading schemes.
Make sure you’re incorporating progressive overload, by adding weight and reps, or reducing rest over time.
4. Work on feeling your calves every rep. Using poor technique and forcing the weight up using momentum is not good here.
5. Take a full week off calf training once a month to let them recover.
6. It doesn’t matter how hard you hammer your calves – if you’re not in a calorie surplus, they simply won’t get any bigger.
7. Always strive to add more weight, increase your reps, or decrease rest times. This shouldn’t be at the expense of form, or your mind-muscle connection though.
Calves can grow significantly with hard work and sound training!
GD
That doesn’t mean they can’t grow though, just that it may be slower, so you need to be patient.
So what does an ultimate plateau-busting calf routine need?
1. Hit them at least 3 times per week.
2. Train them on a separate day to the rest of your lower body, so that they’re getting hit indirectly with squats, deadlifts and lunges, and directly with extra calf work.
3. Strategically mix up tempos, rep ranges and loading schemes.
Make sure you’re incorporating progressive overload, by adding weight and reps, or reducing rest over time.
4. Work on feeling your calves every rep. Using poor technique and forcing the weight up using momentum is not good here.
5. Take a full week off calf training once a month to let them recover.
6. It doesn’t matter how hard you hammer your calves – if you’re not in a calorie surplus, they simply won’t get any bigger.
7. Always strive to add more weight, increase your reps, or decrease rest times. This shouldn’t be at the expense of form, or your mind-muscle connection though.
Calves can grow significantly with hard work and sound training!
GD
