Because theres only isolation exercises for calves, if there were compound movements for calves alot of us would have dominate calves. Well I guess theres jump squats or other exercises that include more then 1 exercises in 1 movement, but i wouldnt recommend those for safety issues.
Sprinting? I agree! Years of basketball is where i credit my calf developement! Most people are under the impression that sprinting will lose/hinder muscle growth....Not True!
Jumprope? I feel most of us are in fear of someone watching us jumping rope looking like little girls, but i agree, jumping can do the trick.
Prowler/hiking are for fit people or in other words atheletes. Most people on here are fat, lazy, slow, bodybuilders(like me!!!) lol. I think sitting down on the couch watching tv with fast food in 1 hand and a soda on the other suits me, hah.
Jumprope is one of the best thng which helped me lost alot of fat. most ppl ued to say souve started what girl do. Now I c them trying to lose fat using jumprope. Pussies. Ok jumprope USED to feel me on calves at the start and as tme passed it felt on calves lesser...
The best thing I have found for my calves in to train them as hard and heavy as I do every other bodypart. 10-12 sets with dropsets still thrown in, but all done with heavy weight keeping my reps in the 5-8 range. Every since I started doing it this way, my calves have improved dramatically. Right now I hit them twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Nothing in life is ever handed to me, I go out take that shit for myself.
The best thing I have found for my calves in to train them as hard and heavy as I do every other bodypart. 10-12 sets with dropsets still thrown in, but all done with heavy weight keeping my reps in the 5-8 range. Every since I started doing it this way, my calves have improved dramatically. Right now I hit them twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays.
and what else do u have time to fit in? i used to do that when i added a second trip 4 days a week JUST for calves... who the hell has time for that anymore?!
and what else do u have time to fit in? i used to do that when i added a second trip 4 days a week JUST for calves... who the hell has time for that anymore?!
Got to make the time
Nothing in life is ever handed to me, I go out take that shit for myself.
Im in Memphis, TN... im sure i can find someone to help me learn DoubleDutch...
hey, were having an ABC in Jackson, TN Oct 1st. You wanna come?
"Ask yourself this: if everyone else is training once per week, what are you doing that's so different that you would expect to get better results than anybody else? You might have good genetics, be tough enough and disciplined enough to train hard... but so are a lot of people." - BOSS
"I think I must be overtraining"... no, you're just a pussy - Machine
stick with the basics. it's like food; the basics make up most of the substance...the advanced techniques are the salt and pepper of it. so go for calf raises,..the calf raise machines are just there. and run,...yeah...run. may not work for me but there were people I told this to and they were pleased with the results.
genetics come in play too but anybody can ruin the gene pool by giving it everything on one set.
stick with the basics. it's like food; the basics make up most of the substance...the advanced techniques are the salt and pepper of it. so go for calf raises,..the calf raise machines are just there. and run,...yeah...run. may not work for me but there were people I told this to and they were pleased with the results.
genetics come in play too but anybody can ruin the gene pool by giving it everything on one set.
What isnt basic for calves? You got seated calf raises for the soleus and calf presses/donkey raises/leg press calf press for the gastroc. Its the way you perform the movement that counts, that is the whole point of this thread, sorry if you didnt like it, I know you didnt say that, but it seems like you didnt like it.
Jumprope is one of the best thng which helped me lost alot of fat. most ppl ued to say souve started what girl do. Now I c them trying to lose fat using jumprope. Pussies. Ok jumprope USED to feel me on calves at the start and as tme passed it felt on calves lesser...
I actually can't really complain because my calf genetics are pretty good. My father hasn't been to a gym in probably 20 years and he has incredible calves. I have found that riding a bike is really good for your calves. When I was in high school I rode my bike to town for football weights and my calves got really defined. Also, there are a lot of Schwinn Armstrongs riding around the Denver/Boulder area. All of the riders that are serious about it have incredible calves. It seems like their calves make up 40% of their body weight. I guess that's not saying much cuz their all skinny as fucking rails but you get the drift
I actually can't really complain because my calf genetics are pretty good. My father hasn't been to a gym in probably 20 years and he has incredible calves. I have found that riding a bike is really good for your calves. When I was in high school I rode my bike to town for football weights and my calves got really defined. Also, there are a lot of Schwinn Armstrongs riding around the Denver/Boulder area. All of the riders that are serious about it have incredible calves. It seems like their calves make up 40% of their body weight. I guess that's not saying much cuz their all skinny as fucking rails but you get the drift
Schwinn Armstrongs haha... its true. Where you at in Denver man?
Central Florida. Got a half rack and a power rack at home.
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"***One of the points I try to stress in all educational seminars and blog posts is that whenever you train a muscle, taking a muscle through as large a range of motion as possible("peak contraction"-bringing its two endpoints as close as possible AND/OR lengthening the muscle as much as possible) is ideal for muscle building. Heavy weight DOES NOT mean smaller repetitions!)***"
The key to this is 'ideal' I am thinking? I am working on controlled reps as I get back into weightlifting but also slower than I normally went in the past. Yet I have seen guys just starting doing reps and not doing them in a controlled fashion. Sometimes it seemed like the reps got in the way so they went through them fast. This includes some top bodybuilders. Do you think that leads to injury as a result?
"***One of the points I try to stress in all educational seminars and blog posts is that whenever you train a muscle, taking a muscle through as large a range of motion as possible("peak contraction"-bringing its two endpoints as close as possible AND/OR lengthening the muscle as much as possible) is ideal for muscle building. Heavy weight DOES NOT mean smaller repetitions!)***"
The key to this is 'ideal' I am thinking? I am working on controlled reps as I get back into weightlifting but also slower than I normally went in the past. Yet I have seen guys just starting doing reps and not doing them in a controlled fashion. Sometimes it seemed like the reps got in the way so they went through them fast. This includes some top bodybuilders. Do you think that leads to injury as a result?
Injury is the result of poor exercise execution. Period.
Really no secret, just a way of looking at things.
The ever elusive calf!
First, a quick anatomy lesson. The muscle termed "calves" is comprised of TWO muscles. The soleus, which lies deep, acts on the ankle joint. The Gastrocnemius(the round belly part), is more superficial, and in fact crosses the the ankle joint as well as the knee joint.
The anatomy of the muscle is extremely important when considering optimal form and execution.
SOLEUS:
When trying to isolate the soleus muscle, it is best to do so with a bent knee. This prevents the gastrocnemius from becoming too involved in the movement. The soleus is primarily made up of "slow twitch" muscle fibers which means that it best responds to a greater amount of Time under tension and slightly higher repetitions.
GASTROC:
The gastroc consists of a much greater percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers, which means...it needs heavy weights!
***One of the points I try to stress in all educational seminars and blog posts is that whenever you train a muscle, taking a muscle through as large a range of motion as possible("peak contraction"-bringing its two endpoints as close as possible AND/OR lengthening the muscle as much as possible) is ideal for muscle building. Heavy weight DOES NOT mean smaller repetitions!)***
As mentioned, the gastroc crosses the ankle joint and the knee joint. Which means, to optimally recruit this muscle, the exercise must atleast consider BOTH joints.
Many people ask what the optimal form is for calve recruitment, well here it is....
When performing any exercise for gastrocnemius:
1)When taking the ankle into a stretched position it is necessary to do so with a slightly bent knee to maximize the stretch or lengthening of the muscle. I sometimes encourage people to contract their tibialis anterior muscle(front of shin)at the bottom of the rep to ensure maximal stretch under control.
2)For a maximal contraction of the gastroc, the knee must be fully extended(YES I said it!) as you extend to a fully plantar flexed(toes pointed) position. To ensure safety while performing this exercise, I suggest actually contracting your quads at the same time as you extend your ankles(*Whoa coordination!!).
Give it a try, the contraction is ridiculous!
T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G:
1)if you have overly tight hamstrings, you will never develop big calves-stretch!
2)One of the most common mistakes is people raising up onto their outer toes rather than extending their ankles fully. I suggest raising up onto your BIG toe and even keeping your legs slightly "knock knee" (squeezing your thighs together while keeping feet shoulder width).
3)When trying this new program PLEASE slow down and be careful. Yes, taking your knees to full lock out can put you a slightly more risk. NOT if youre conscious and CONTROLLED!
4)Small range of motion=small calves. Yes heavy weights are cool, but not as cool as huge calves. Slow down, lighten up and learn the form through a full range. Weights will go back quickly.
REMEMBER-your body moves in patterns. It is necessary to teach your body how to move and learn these patterns before you can start increasing weight.
.Time for Growth Baby!
Great tips bro very thorough and well thought out. Drives me crazy seing people flicking very heavy weight with their toes @ the and walking around with pencil legs. I use half the weight of mosrt of these ppl and my calves are getting bigger all the time due to the fact that I train them with a bent knee and constant tension