Calf muscels

Hi

I need some help on calf muscle training. I am battling my ass of to gain size. mu quads & hamstrings are running away & it just doesn't look cool. looks like my legs from the knees down is made of match sticks. Not good.

please help

I am in the same boat with my chicken legs. Unfortunately it's a genetic thing and some people just struggle to gain on their calves. Be sure to train your calves twice a week, two exercises of four to five reps. Slow movements are key, and make sure you stretch as far as possible when you go up. The more uncomfortable the better so don't try and BS. Good luck my man!

I will blame my mother for this one.

Got the same problem and I have to agree with Pyro, its a genetic thing. In my case its my dads fault!

Over the past 6 months I've noticed a definite increase in size though after the introduction of some cardio. And more specifically, after each workout I do (4x a week), I do 20mins on the treadmill @ 5 to 6km/h at MAX incline (between 15 - 18% depending on the machine). My calves burn like a mofo but they definitely more in proportion to my quads and rest of my body.

Everyone blames genetics.... biggest BS out there. It takes hard work - thats all.

Dude, for the most part I agree...90% of the time when genetics are blamed, the real reason is lack of training correctly! Its like fat chicks saying they have a thyroid problems when its more like a chocolate problem!

But just like some people are blessed with great genetics and can train hard to grow like a weed, others need to train certain parts even harder to get the same results

Bruno wrote: Dude, for the most part I agree...90% of the time when genetics are blamed, the real reason is lack of training correctly! Its like fat chicks saying they have a thyroid problems when its more like a chocolate problem!

But just like some people are blessed with great genetics and can train hard to grow like a weed, others need to train certain parts even harder to get the same results

Noone, at ANY of the gyms i go to train calves like me. And dont have calves like me....
Yes, some are gifted and have calves, but most people have calves like i had - none. Why?

Get some mind-muscle connection and go stand on your toes as far as you can go - then KILL them. Hit the extreme every time with as heavy weight as possible. Week in week out - your calves WILL grow.

Get some info at BodyCoaches.

JR PLEASE teach me your secrets! I am desperate! My primary focus is always on form, but I get on the standing calve machine and do 4 sets of 15-20 reps at 300kgs. True story! That is the machine max at 180kg then another 3x20kg plates on top. Me and my chicken legs...

It's technique mate, if you squeeze your calf for 2 seconds on top as hard as you can and lower slowly. you won't do 2 reps with that weight Pyro.

I was banging on weights with terrible technique and my calves weren't even buzzing after 4 sets of 10.

I've almost halved the weights and concentrated on squeezing the calf and I'm doing about 6 reps a set with the 7th failing.

Have a look at some of Arnold's calve routines.. Will help.

Cheers

its very strange because iv never really dones weights till now, but because of kickboxing back in the day i used to live on split jumps and skipping and my legs are very well shaped and calves are big and defined,

my mum also has giant calves, i was told that calve muscles enjoy tiny movements repeated 1000 times like skipping, i dont know how tru that is but thats all i used to do and they grew like crazy.

just my 2 cents.

p.s- also if you look at cyclists they have huge calves, same story small force repeated over and over again.

Pyroclasm wrote: JR PLEASE teach me your secrets! I am desperate! My primary focus is always on form, but I get on the standing calve machine and do 4 sets of 15-20 reps at 300kgs. True story! That is the machine max at 180kg then another 3x20kg plates on top. Me and my chicken legs...

Your problem is form

rj66 wrote: its very strange because iv never really dones weights till now, but because of kickboxing back in the day i used to live on split jumps and skipping and my legs are very well shaped and calves are big and defined,

my mum also has giant calves, i was told that calve muscles enjoy tiny movements repeated 1000 times like skipping, i dont know how tru that is but thats all i used to do and they grew like crazy.

just my 2 cents.

p.s- also if you look at cyclists they have huge calves, same story small force repeated over and over again.

Calves need extremes. A ballet dancer spending all that time on her EXTREME toes will do the trick.
A kick boxer also extends the ball of the foot to its max - think mae geri kick.
Jumping - to get air you have to extend to the MAX.

There lies the answer people. Now combine that with as much weight as possible while still maintaining proper form up to the point of looking like a serial killer while performing the sets and you have growth.

true that !!!

jackrabbit1 wrote:

Pyroclasm wrote: JR PLEASE teach me your secrets! I am desperate! My primary focus is always on form, but I get on the standing calve machine and do 4 sets of 15-20 reps at 300kgs. True story! That is the machine max at 180kg then another 3x20kg plates on top. Me and my chicken legs...

Your problem is form

Appreciate the help big guy! Care to elaborate?

Here is a good article with some nice tips.

Personally I have had good gains from training calves x2 a week, 4-5 sets alternating 1 week light weight high rep (30+) and next week heavy low rep (15)

I have tried to apply the ballet dancer logic and also do 100 or so reps across the day of body weight standing raises (from floor) on cardio days. I also rather take the stairs than use the lift or escalator and climb them on my toes. IMHO every bit helps.

Pyroclasm wrote:

jackrabbit1 wrote:

Pyroclasm wrote: JR PLEASE teach me your secrets! I am desperate! My primary focus is always on form, but I get on the standing calve machine and do 4 sets of 15-20 reps at 300kgs. True story! That is the machine max at 180kg then another 3x20kg plates on top. Me and my chicken legs...

Your problem is form

Appreciate the help big guy! Care to elaborate?

Just the weight. With good form you need some pretty impressive calves to move that much weight.

So I did calves last night. Four sets of 15 reps standing calves, with the last set a drop set (180,120,60). Only did 180kgs but focused on pushing my toes off the ground to the very limit, staying there for two seconds, and squeezing the shit out of them. Then did 4 sets seated calves at 80kgs for 15 reps. Same thing. Absolutely hate the exercise though. It worked quite well and my calves are super sore this morning. Just some feedback for you JR not saying I am doing anything correctly yet. What are the key things to focus on to get my form spot on?

Pyroclasm wrote: So I did calves last night. Four sets of 15 reps standing calves, with the last set a drop set (180,120,60). Only did 180kgs but focused on pushing my toes off the ground to the very limit, staying there for two seconds, and squeezing the shit out of them. Then did 4 sets seated calves at 80kgs for 15 reps. Same thing. Absolutely hate the exercise though. It worked quite well and my calves are super sore this morning. Just some feedback for you JR not saying I am doing anything correctly yet. What are the key things to focus on to get my form spot on?

Drop sets are good - i do them all the time on standing. seated - rest pause and drop set.
i dont know how many resps - it varies. And i cheat like hell when i start failing.
i dont stop at the top but i do force that last bit onto the toes. sometimes its a bouble movement.
VA seated calf has the safety catch sticking out quite high. The top of the weight stack goes a couple of plates higher.

Go animal.

One thing that works for me is to do calf raises infront of the machine flat on the ground, do about 20, then do the standing calf raise machine. Gets a hectic pump going.