What do you all do for calves at home

[ira_est_a_donum]

I have just started training at home and have been lifting for over 10 years now... I love working out a home bc it saves time and gas money... wish i would have started sooner...

Ive got a half cage with lat pull down and low row cable attachments (tuff stuff band, gonna do a review on it as well in the next day or so with pics, love it) and hoist inter changeable DBs up to 75 or 80 lbs... olympic bar and the usual million plates that are needed.... my bench is hoist as well and it has nice leg extension and lying ham curl that im suprised works really well and i like it almost as much as a comercial brand in the gym

today was legs and i would usually do about 5 sets of standing calf raises on the smith machine and 5 or so sets of seated calf raises and last another 3-5 sets of heavy calf presses on the leg press (like 20 plates for reps of 10-15ish)

my modified leg day bc im working out at home was
squats 6 sets
leg extensions 4 sets
lying ham curls 4 sets
40 yd sprints 5 total

i would loved to have done some calf stuff at the end with some stretching but no calf specific machine... so i did low back (good mornings) and stretched...

help... need to work on the calves

Thanks

[xxno1xx]

dont worry about calves they're usually covered in pants anyways but if u wanted to u could do some foot circles

[xtechbuilderx]

Do you have access to a Smith Machine? Normally I would never advise someone to use one, but if you have a small box or a block of wood to stand on, you could do standing calf raises.

[ira_est_a_donum]

Do you have access to a Smith Machine? Normally I would never advise someone to use one, but if you have a small box or a block of wood to stand on, you could do standing calf raises.

No I dont have a smith machine.. that is what i would usually use at the gym... my half cage (see tuff stuff post this forum) doenst have a smith...

seated calf raises with DBs on the legs doesnt sound very appealing either...or hard with the 85 lb dbs i got

[ira_est_a_donum]

dont worry about calves they're usually covered in pants anyways but if u wanted to u could do some foot circles

thanks for wasting our time "new kid on the block"

here are the pics of what training equipment ive got

[KSA]

You can do that exercise on a block :

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Gastrocnemius/DBSingleLegCalfRaise.html

[xxno1xx]

nice training equpment dude where did u get it and how much u pay?

[DiamondDelts]

dip belt calf raises

[Skidmarx]

dip belt calf raises

That's a good idea, DD. I've been doing them holding dumbells, and it's hard to keep my balance.

[Brother Steel]

No I dont have a smith machine.. that is what i would usually use at the gym... my half cage (see tuff stuff post this forum) doenst have a smith...

seated calf raises with DBs on the legs doesnt sound very appealing either...or hard with the 85 lb dbs i got

Just get a small block to stand on so you can do a standing one leg calf raise while holding a dumbbell. Hold the dumbbell with one hand and place the other hand on your rack to steady yourself. These are very effective. (I had to quit doing them my calves got so big.)

[Lehner]

Jump? Really just jump a lot. Do a bunch of 1/4th squat into a jumo then full squat into a jump.

Or

Hold your heaviest dumbells. Stand on your tip toes. and keep jumping on them with dumbells in each hand.

[Wildtim]

Rack raises. load up the barbell, put it on your back (like a back squat), lean into your rack while using a piece of 4x4 to do your calf raises, one legged if you have to.

Or any of these you can:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Calves

[back-in-da-game]

I work out at home and have similar equipment to you. Besides the fact that I am getting at seated calf this weekend, I have been doing what I call "stairs" at the end of my leg workout. My stuff is in the basement and there are about 20 stairs to get back up to the rest of the house. So on my way back up I do calf raises with just body weight.

I do one rep on the first step, two reps on the second step, three on the third, etc...
somtimes I change it up and do them one leg at a time and so on... works great for a good burn... I hope that helps

[BigDogIt]

Hold pair of dumbbells and jump straight up in air focusing on calf muscles.

Place 45 lb plate on ground under rack safties, load up barbell, stand on plate, lean foward slightly into rack with arms spread wide and hands holding on to rack supports (like a crucifix position).

Place 45lb plate on floor and do single leg calf raises with dumbbell in one hand and use other hand for support.

For seated calf raise, you can move your bench up to rack, put object on ground for feet, lower your rack safties to slightly below seat level. and use barbell on safties with towel placed between bar and knees.

Some of these i just thought off and have not tried. Seems they would work though.

[DiamondDelts]

cliff's notes:

dip belt calf raises
barbell calf raises leaning into power rack
jumping calf raises with db
one legged calf raises with db
seated barbell calf raises with safety bars set slightly above legs

[deadbycheese]

This seems very convenient for your home gym.

http://i26.tinypic.com/1zvkvb.jpg


http://i31.tinypic.com/2vtpc88.jpg

[BigDogIt]

Looks like they need a 3rd guy in the rear.
For a spotter of course.

PS, where's the donkey?

[DiamondDelts]

Looks like they need a 3rd guy in the rear.
For a spotter of course.

Anus dips for 7 reps/3 sets.

[BigDogIt]

Remember, safety first.
-Wear a dip belt!

Second, Form before weight.
-Go Deep for full contraction

[swa513]

you could stand on a 4x4 while holding on to your low pulley with a shet load of weight on it, you could also put your bench(or something you can sit on) in front of your low pulley, if you have a straight bar you can sit in front of it feet on a 4x4 bar pulled up and on top of knees & do seated calve raises.



p.s. you need a lot of weight to build calves, you do one leg calve rasies every time you take a step so it takes alot to kick thier arse's bodyweight exercises will make you tired but = no results