PDA

View Full Version : Calfs, how did you build yours



sanga
10-25-08, 2:29 pm
I`d like to hear from all of you that had crap calfs into adulthood then what you did to bring them up to a respectable size.

I`m not talking about you having crap calfs in your early teens where they were 14" and then you had 20" when you were 18 years old, thats genetics and youth growth, no I`m talking about having 14" or so when into your 20s or 30s then getting them up to a decent size.

My calfs are weak, ok they are bigger than 14" but nowhere near 20"

Ok I know all about slamming the food and hitting big exercises to pack on mass with the big basic exercises and the little muscles will follow, I`m just interested in what you did.

Routines, rep ranges, exercises, techniques, frequency, duration, what did/do you do?

raunchy
10-25-08, 3:33 pm
I need this thread...calves are one of the only parts slackin'.

GJN5002
10-25-08, 3:39 pm
theres a shit load of calf threads on here. it seems to be the bodypart most guys have trouble with. I think that if people thought of calfs the same way they think about wanting big arms then more people would have them. It is all about consistency. The calfs are used to lots of work so they need more work to be stimulated. I train them three times a week with a different excercise each time.
That said I have a ton of trouble getting mine to grow. Mine about 17' which isnt horrible small but they arent the kind of calves anyone would be too impressed with. I know Im never going to havemonster calves so as long as they never look so bad they I look like one of those guys who only train upper body I'll be ok.
In my opinion high reps with moderate weight 15-20 range is best. Variation of foot position and excercise is equally important.
not too much help but just keep working.

spanish.iron
10-25-08, 7:51 pm
I jsut superset seated calves with calve presses on the leg press machine. In between I walk from station to station on my tiptoes, never giving them a break(it looks gay but fuck it). I keep the reps sorta high too. never less than 10. Try it.

rocky36
10-25-08, 8:05 pm
mine respond well to this...

3 times a week usally monday thursday and saturday i do this after my main workout, its a circut for calves ..

get a platform about 2 inches high if you cant find anything then grab 2 25 lb plates...

the first part is to put a bar across your back just like your about to squat and throw whatever weight you feel good doing and place your toes on the elevated platform and just do toe raises for 12-15 reps with toes straight || , next go to the leg press machine and do 10-12 toe raises on that with your feet pointed inward / \. the last part is to go to a elevated platform again this time 5 or 6 inches high if you can, if not then imprivise. then do 12-15 reps with just bodyweight. that would be set one.. do 3 sets.. around a minute rest in between sets.

PrimaI
10-25-08, 8:34 pm
Calves you need A LOT of reps, what I did was get 40kg on seated calf raise and I when I started I could get 25 reps and I worked up to 100 reps. My calves went from 15 to 18".

In Flames
10-25-08, 9:33 pm
There was a thread on here about Calves that someone started doing.

Train calves once a week. Pick one machine either Standing or Seated. Do 75 reps with one weight, you can split the 75 reps up into how many ever sets it takes you to complete it. Go to failure on every set and only rest 10 seconds in between sets. The rest has to be exact, your Calves need to be stimulated almost the entire time.

Once you can reach 75 reps in only a few sets, shoot for 100 reps next. Once you can get 100 reps in a few sets, add weight and start back over at 75 reps.

sanga
10-26-08, 3:37 am
Yeah I have read the 75 rep routine one and tried it, I got a little from it and a lot of soreness but it does work.

I`m really interested in everyones input who have built their calfs up.

Mine are ok viewed from the side but from behind I don`t have that diamond width especially in the gastroc.

Keep them coming fellas, all good input.

spanish.iron
10-26-08, 3:53 am
For calve width (or that huge, muscular look from the front), you really gotta hit up the seated calf raises. For even more stimulation, bend your legs a bit when doing standing calf raises. Also...when you stretch your calves, don't just do it with your leg straight. Bend it. You'll feel the difference.

Yolo
10-26-08, 8:06 am
i've found the dc protocol for calves to be supremely effective

prowrestler
10-26-08, 11:53 am
i try to become 300 pounds so my calves have to grow to hold my big ass up all day

MojoMike36
10-26-08, 12:07 pm
I've found rep/weight variation is key to calf growth. Doing the same thing over and over is the biggest reason most dudes can't grow their calfs.

sanga
10-26-08, 3:52 pm
For calve width (or that huge, muscular look from the front), you really gotta hit up the seated calf raises. For even more stimulation, bend your legs a bit when doing standing calf raises. Also...when you stretch your calves, don't just do it with your leg straight. Bend it. You'll feel the difference.

I did this today and felt the diference straight away, see how we go, good post, thanks.

Aggression
10-27-08, 11:17 am
I think the biggest problem is every1 not putting enough intensity into their calves. Most people aren't hitting them with the same intensity they're hitting arms/chest with. Force them to grow with heavy controlled weight from ALL angles, with high intensity.

js71474
10-27-08, 11:33 am
I used to hit calves twice a week with 4 sets of 20 - 30 reps and each time I hit them I would vary between smith, seated, one leg with db's, and toe presses all reps were done slow and controlled. Gained some decent size with that but now I'm squatting 3 times a week and the calves have exploded. I have seen more size gain on that in 8 weeks than I ever did with anything else.

sanga
10-27-08, 11:42 am
Yeah I`m sure you have added size all over as your strength has gone up, have you upped your food intake also?

You can`t really add 50lb to your squat weight and 10-15lbs of bodyweight without adding size all over in general.

js71474
10-27-08, 11:48 am
Yeah I`m sure you have added size all over as your strength has gone up, have you upped your food intake also?

You can`t really add 50lb to your squat weight and 10-15lbs of bodyweight without adding size all over in general.Big increase in food intake, I agree 100% with you on adding size. I've seen gains all over but the calves in comparison to what they used to be are just freaky.

Factory
10-27-08, 11:55 am
...I`m just interested in what you did.

Routines, rep ranges, exercises, techniques, frequency, duration, what did/do you do?

i mix it up a lot on weight, but i always do the same general sets / reps
i do calves light 1 week and heavy the next.
weight / reps / sets week 1:
calf raises
bodyweight x 30
bodyweight x 30
bodyweight x 30

toes in: 25lbs x 20
toes out: 25lbs x 20

cycle through 1 more time.

week 2
calf raises
45lbs x 15
toes in 45 x 15
toes out 45x 15

90lbs x 15
toes in 45 x 15
toes out 45 x 15

135lbs x 10
toes in 90lbs x 8
toes out 90lbs x 8

this really blasted the width of my calves. also i jumprope a ton - which helps a bit.
the idea is to go super slow. and rest at the top, never the bottom, unless your stretching

sanga
10-27-08, 11:55 am
Good to hear mate, well done, I will be clean bulking very shortly and killing every bodypart, so adding mass, calfs should increase in size too.

We all have some bodypart that the genetic god didn`t bless us with and most seem to be calfs.

Factory
10-27-08, 12:05 pm
Good to hear mate, well done, I will be clean bulking very shortly and killing every bodypart, so adding mass, calfs should increase in size too.

We all have some bodypart that the genetic god didn`t bless us with and most seem to be calfs.

there was a pretty good post about building your calves by changing the way you walk. doesnt really work for me cause i already walk up on my toes, but it might help u out.
http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=21274

id deffinatley try just upping the weight a lot, youll probably see gains

sanga
10-27-08, 12:06 pm
Lol, yeah it was one of my threads.

Factory
10-27-08, 12:11 pm
haha whoops. shoulda looked through it a bit more before sending it. have you ever done really explosive squats? i feel a burn after doin them in my calves

sanga
10-27-08, 12:13 pm
Oh yeah I have a fair few times, I posted this thread as I wanted everyones experience and input, I know how to add mass to my calfs its just they are crap and slow, bad genetics in that area, any tips etc are always welcome.

Explosive deadlifts work well to.

Thanks for posting here, keep it coming.

Mr.Hardcore98
10-28-08, 10:00 am
getting a full stretch is the best thing you can do for calfs once i figured that out my calfs started to grow like crazy i go heavy enough to use go form

sanga
10-28-08, 10:07 am
I`ve been looking at DC training over the last few days, I`ll be hitting this after my holiday next week, the calf training of slow reps, hold at top and a 20 second negative will be intense pain but it really concentrates on the stretch too.

Aggression
10-28-08, 10:12 am
I`ve been looking at DC training over the last few days, I`ll be hitting this after my holiday next week, the calf training of slow reps, hold at top and a 20 second negative will be intense pain but it really concentrates on the stretch too.

DC is great. And you're calves will definitely be sore after that workout. When I did DC, my calves hurt up until it's next training session. The slow negative is the key. I've incorporated it into my other routines with great results.

CMChristich
10-29-08, 11:43 am
You want the secret on building huge calves????? Walk on your toes everywhere! HAHA I'm serious, when I was little I played tennis and you have to be on your toes all the time. It became a habit, and my legs exploded.

NJC_Manhattan
10-29-08, 4:47 pm
I`d like to hear from all of you that had crap calfs into adulthood then what you did to bring them up to a respectable size.

I`m not talking about you having crap calfs in your early teens where they were 14" and then you had 20" when you were 18 years old, thats genetics and youth growth, no I`m talking about having 14" or so when into your 20s or 30s then getting them up to a decent size.

My calfs are weak, ok they are bigger than 14" but nowhere near 20"

Ok I know all about slamming the food and hitting big exercises to pack on mass with the big basic exercises and the little muscles will follow, I`m just interested in what you did.

Routines, rep ranges, exercises, techniques, frequency, duration, what did/do you do?


Yo bro,
My calves used to look like chopsticks... I was doing routines and adding weight but no definition.

Shit was depressing....

Then I tried this out...

Seat calve raises... 4 sets til failure, then immediately after Id stand up by a wall and do single stand calf raise 25 reps on each leg... cycle that

Then I'd go to a smith and do standing calf raises straight, toes pointed in, toes pointed out, 4 sets til failure on the max weight you can handle... if you do more than 20 add more weight... less than 10 take off weight.

Try that out...gave me veins in my calves and nice size

sanga
10-29-08, 5:22 pm
Thanks for your input mate.

Keep em coming fellas.

shizz702
10-29-08, 5:36 pm
My calfs aren't exactly impressive but by no means are they small. The only thing that I do that really hits them is squats and power cleans. I'll put it to you this way, squat hard and heavy and your whole body will grow, including your calfs.