How to get bigger calves

[Hairy]

Reasons Your Calf Training Isn’t Working

• Poor flexibility
  
• Fascial restrictions and adhesions
  
• Lack of training variety
  
• Failure to utilize proper tempo
  
• Not enough volume or intensity
  

Poor Flexibility

 

http://www.functionalfitmag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/0199210896.dorsiflexion.1-300x214.jpgAnkle flexion and extension does not provide a very long movement like a squat or bicep curl. You only have a few inches to work with, and if you’re limited even just slightly, you are losing out on valuable training stimulus. Losing an inch of dorsiflexion at the ankle would be like losing the top 15% of your curling motion. When you can’t train the full range of motion, you can’t recruit all the fibers effectively in that muscle. The end result is plateaus and limited results from your training.

 

Fascial restrictions and adhesions

 

Soft tissue problems can limit results in three ways. These can decrease your flexibility, resulting in the problems listed above. Soft tissue adhesions can also decrease the strength of the muscle and load you can use in training because the fibers are not able to contract properly. If you can’t use a proper weight, you will not grow very easily. Lastly, restrictions in the soft tissue can actually make it harder for the muscle to grow simply because there is not room. Imagine blowing up a balloon that is inside a bottle. As soon as you have filled the bottle, it becomes impossible to expand the balloon further. Muscle fascia has a tensile strength greater than steel, and can restrict the growth of the muscle belly in this same fashion.

Lack of Training Variety

 

http://www.functionalfitmag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/big20donkey20calf20raise-234x300.jpgCalf training tends not to be very fun or sexy. Thus not a lot of thought usually goes into it. Most bodybuilders might have 50 exercises they know for biceps and less than 5 they use for their calves. Calf training needs changes in the angles, strength curve, and force curve just like any other muscle. Changing your stance, and angle of your feet are a good way to add variety to your training even if you are limited on equipment. Most gyms will have either a standing or seated calf raise machine but not both unless you are lucky. The leg press and squat machines also serve as equipment you can perform heavy calf training with. The point is, you may have to get creative, but it is still important to change up your calf routines just as much as you would for any other muscle group.

• Vary foot position
  
• Vary knee and hip angle
  
• Vary width of stance
  
• Vary the angle of the foot platform from which you are pressing.
  

Failure to Utilize Proper Tempo

 

Proper tempo for calf training is extremely important. With such a thick tendon, and elastic component, the calf muscle can handle a significant load with very little muscular work. The calf/soleus complex is a very reflex based muscle group. The muscles utilize the tension built up in the tissue to then contract like a stretched rubber band. These elastic contractions are important to train for sports and maximum strength, but are not very effective for muscle growth because the majority of the work is not done by the muscles fibers contracting. Controlling the eccentric (lowering) portion of each rep will help increase growth response, and pausing at the maximum stretched portion of the exercise will increase the amount of muscle fibers recruited giving you even more growth. Of course you will not be able to move nearly as much weight with a controlled tempo, but the results will be much better. Don’t let your ego stagnate your growth.

Not Enough Volume, Frequency, or Intensity

 

http://www.functionalfitmag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1b7b6_ORIG-asCalf2_1_-209x300.jpgCalves are one of those muscle groups that respond really well to high volume training. You can accomplish this by dedicating a entire training session to calves each week, or incorporating 3 sets of one exercise per day, 4-5 days per week. The latter is the approach Arnold used to get his stubborn calves to grow. He used to train calves between sets of his body part for the day. Both methods work very well, but if you have never trained high volume for calves, you will be finding yourself in a whole new world of hurt. In addition to volume, high intensity (heavy load) such as >90% of your 1RM need to be used at times. The calf (gastrocnemius) muscle is largely a fast twitch muscle that will respond better to heavy low rep sets than high rep sets. It’s also important to maximally contract the calves when using heavy loads. You don’t want to lift the weight slow. If you never train at high intensities for calf training, you will plateau very fast.

An example of a bad calf routine: standing calf raise 3 sets 20 reps, 1010 tempo.

An more effective routine: standing calf raise, narrow stance, toes neutral, 6 sets of 4-6 reps, 22X0 tempo + 3 sets of seated calf raise toes out, 6-8 reps 24X0 tempo.

 

That group pic is DODDDDGEEEYYY

[PrinceVlad]

 

 

That group pic is DODDDDGEEEYYY

 

Thought we were back in the gutter

[Audible Anarchy]

Start climbing in the big chainring or ride a steel single speed.

[Hairy]

The one poster who mentioned mountain climbing might well be on the right path .... and you will get good overall core strength from the climbing / hiking.

 

Doing this on steeper climbs would/should equate to long continuous work out sessions for your calves ... think walking up long flights of mountain steps.

 

Or am I off the mark?

[gummibear]

Running hills helps to

 

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/hgering/12a8ae65.jpg

[Wyatt Earp]

Running hills helps to

 

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/hgering/12a8ae65.jpg

 

Good grief Gummi, are those your guns ?

[PrinceVlad]

 

Good grief Gummi, are those your guns ?

 

Mine looks like that too, but with built in covers so you cant see them

[gummibear]

Good grief Gummi, are those your guns ?

 

They now hidden under 20% fat but should be out by next summer again.

[V12man]

Hi peeps.

 

I saw on one of the freds someone posted a pic of an oke with small calves and I thought of my own. Mine are a bit bigger than that, but I'd like them a proper windgat show off size.

 

How can I get that right? Any help woulf be appreciated.

Choose your parents better.

[jaxtun]

They now hidden under 20% fat but should be out by next summer again.

 

Will rename you Gunnybear.... ;-)

[Wyatt Earp]

They now hidden under 20% fat but should be out by next summer again.

 

One day when I'm big

[jaxtun]

One day when I'm big

You're ok!

[alleyne]

I know this sounds like a joke or tmi, but I heard from a mate that doing a chick from behind that is taller than you also works. Is this a myth or true?

 

Edit:grammar

 

That is hilarious and I can vouch that it is indeed true.

 

I have always had tiny or rather non existent calves and have always been a fairly regularly gym visitor. I was soon on my way to becoming of those guys in need of the "friends don't let friends skip leg days type of guys" even though I worked harder on my sticks.

 

Anyways I decided it was time to see what I could do if I really focused and had a plan for them. I started doing calves 3 times a week x 4 sets. I broke this up into high weight - med rep sets, med weight - high rep sets with a focus on maximum control and then the last day was med/low weight - very high reps.

 

It has been about 3 months now and for the first time I can pull and see my calve musles, they now have some shape and a bit of mass. Not a huge difference but enough to stay motivated, I accept I will never have huge ones but they can be improved.

 

Hope that helps.

 

(P.S - I know the routine is not perfect but it is fun and challenging)

[BarHugger]

Ok.....so here goes........you can increase the size of your calfs (the other spelling). But it is going to take time and a lot of effort (read burn and DOMS) to get them to hypertrophy.

 

Firstly, the ankle joint structure is classified as a "second order lever" which in plain language means that it magnifies force output. That means the calf muscle needs only to generate a small amount of force, but the effect is massive on the foot. So doing calf exercises with light weights and high reps is not going to significantly contribute to calf muscle hypertrophy (definitely endurance). You will just be duplicating what you do every day during walking.

 

Secondly, you need to target the primary muscle responsible for size, which is also the most superficial.......the gastrocnemius. The problem with this muscle is that it spans two joints, the ankle and knee joint. To effectively place this muscle under stress means that you must increase the distance between origin and insertion of the muscle. This means that you should be doing calf exercises with an (almost) extended leg, Two of the best exercises to achieve this include incline seated toe press and donkey calf raises. Doing these exercises single leg at a time also means that you will place more stress on the muscle.

 

Thirdly, go super heavy, full range of motion and slow controlled movement (both during concentric and eccentric phase of muscle contraction). Also, once you have completely done the plantar-flexion movement (going on/pushing toes down), force an extra movement from the muscle (peak contraction) and hold for a split second. Slowly return to starting position. A good measure to start with is that you should be lifting/moving 1-1.5 times own body weight per single leg. If you want to do both legs together, push for 3 times own body weight (that is why those okes are sitting on Arnie's back). Push out 5-6 sets of 8-12 reps......and go for the burn and/or failure. You will however need to stretch the calf muscle complex continuously.

 

You can even play around with your foot placement - toes neutral, toes in, toes out. If done properly you will experience how the two heads of the gastrocnemius gets stressed differently. With the necessary hypertrophy you will be able to even get that illusive "inverted V" at the back of the calf muscle.

 

Two to three months of 3x/week......Rome was not built in one day.

['Dale]

Good grief Gummi, are those your guns ?

 

That's what I wondered, yoh!

[Wyatt Earp]

That's what I wondered, yoh!

 

He must be a doper.