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great thread!
I've had serious calf gains simply by changing the direction my toes are pointing. 1 set middle, 1 pointed in, 1 pointed out and then going straight to middle again but on a leg press/standing.
Only thing is you its important to be really careful when your toes are not pointed forward as your ankle loses a lot of its support power.
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I would like to add something to this thread. When doing calf raises, I've found that it is difficult [I]not to bounce[/I] when your muscles are fatigued. Please note that if you bounce, you are going to put a lot of pressure on your Achilles tendon. You can prevent that by doing calf raises without elevating the balls of your feet. Yes, the range of motion gets reduced, but trust me, your calves will still grow fine.
I do [url=http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/pics/one-legged-db-calf2.jpg]single leg DB calf raises[/url] in this manner. 4-5 sets of 10-15 reps.
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Greast videos
i try to try lowering weight until you have perfect form. Don't sacrifice form for weights
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cant grow my calves worth sh*t, its depressing..
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I get my kids to stand on my toes and I do reverse calf raises. I do about 500 a day because the kids find it funny lol. I have gained about an inch in 6 months which isn't too bad considering I don't train them with actual weights. Also, they sit on my knees while im watching tv and I do standard calf raises...
... they are actually quite handy, I put my step-daughter on my shoulders and run up hill lol. This is tough, but try running up hill BACKWARDS with weight. It is ridiculously painful and you won't be able to walk home.
I can't seem to overtrain my calves or forearms. :D
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Donkeys....
I do calves twice a week...the first day i do standing followed by donkeys....
the second day i do seated followed by donkeys.....
i do donkeys cause they are an awesome stretch exercise...my calver never fail to get sore everytime i do them...
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[QUOTE=eyadkattan;693815281]I do calves twice a week...the first day i do standing followed by donkeys....
the second day i do seated followed by donkeys.....
i do donkeys cause they are an awesome stretch exercise...my calver never fail to get sore everytime i do them...[/QUOTE]
Donkeys are pretty effective. My variation is that my kids sit on my shoulders and I do calf raises on the edge of a step... I must try to fatten my kids up a bit so I can continue to push myself lmao.
I been walking around on my toes as high as possible (not because I am short) but to see if I can get some growth... visibly they look stronger and bigger lately, but I wont measure them for a few months. Done some farmer's walks on my toes too with a couple of sandbags on my shoulders up hill... that's a good workout.
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Learnt a lot by reading this thread
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[QUOTE=Ironlife;427777181]
Main reasons people lack lower leg growth and their potential is as follows:
* [b]Lack full range of motion[/b]
* [b]Insufficient rep range[/b]
* [b]Lack of volume[/b]
* [b]insuffient diet[img]http://imageshackz.com/images/me.gif[/img][/b]
* [b]inconsistant training[/b]
[/QUOTE]
I agree. When I was first starting out, my biggest issue was that I'd go super long and hard on my calves til they felt like they were stiff and going to blow up, but then I'd go on to other things and didn't get back to them. This happened time and time again, like they'd look great 2 or 3 days then they'd go right back to small again.
What people have to understand is that your legs are the hardest to grow. They are used to carrying all your weight nonstop on a regular basis so it takes a lot to push them and make them be like, woah heavy **** going on here, we need to get BIG to make things easy. But then once you lighten the load, they go back on vacation. One thing about calves is you have to keep at it for a very long time. I'd say at least years before the results just stick without you having to do much to maintain them.
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BUMP, I never thought about doing reverse calf raises(I do 200 a day), and the dumbbell idea is cool because mine always slipped off my feet cuz I layed it across instead of like that.
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GREAT thread, I too have a seriose problem gaining size in my calfs, there has been a lot of great info in this thread...Keep it goin and I'll keep checkin back!!
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[QUOTE=eyadkattan;693815281]I do calves twice a week...the first day i do standing followed by donkeys....
the second day i do seated followed by donkeys.....
i do donkeys cause they are an awesome stretch exercise...my calver never fail to get sore everytime i do them...[/QUOTE]
never tried donkies..is that the one you get someone on your back and run around the gym till failure!/ lol i'll have to try it thanks!
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I agree..This is really necessary..
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[QUOTE=SirRhosis;427887781]That guy could be me! My calves are like that... naturally. Even when I was thinner and weak people would always comment "where did you get those calves." Unfortunately this makes me lazy and I never train them specifically, or I should say I didn't before when I was lifting. Now I'm doing SS and until I graduate I shouldn't deviate.[/QUOTE]
"natural" calves are often derived from flat feet, because calves are overcompensating for unworked ankles and tibialis anterior. this could be the case for you as well as it is me. i've got large calves too, but don't let it keep you from working them.. SPECIFICALLY the tibialis anterior exercises posted.
Toe-taps are also a great exercise: Sit on a foam roller or go outside and sit on a curb, and pull your feet in close to your body. Tap your toes for approximately 50 reps each per set WITH A FULL RANGE OF MOTION (don't worry so much about speed) and it'll help the tibialis anterior immensely.
excellent post, ironlife. shoutout to every bodybuilder/powerlifter that has the calves to match the countless hours they put into upper-body complex exercises.
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i like having skinny legs
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I've noticed that I've been getting greater stimulation in my calves since I've changed my training style. I train with heavy weight in the 8 - 16 rep range on calves but I always stop at the bottom of each rep, then squeeze up. I used to bounce the weight at the bottom as most people do but now they get sore for a week, every week!!
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I've went for the high reps approach, working out my calves twice a week. I've been doing standing calf raises and sitting calf raises.
My question is should my toes form an obtuse angle, or should I keep them closer to parallel (i.e. looking out straight ahead)?
Cheers.
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[QUOTE=xuerebx;708833111]My question is should my toes form an obtuse angle, or should I keep them closer to parallel (i.e. looking out straight ahead)?[/QUOTE]
Keep them pointing out at a 15-20 degree angle. Experiment and see what angle feels the best.
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I see, so a little bit of an angle is important. I asked because it feels like the closer to parallel I keep the angle, the more I feel it in my calves.
Thank you mate.
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i still enjoy checking this thread every now and then IL, just to make sure my training is on track for my calves :D
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Even though I'm naturally skinny, my calves are pretty big. It might be genetics, as all the men in my family have huge calves.
However, I also have short hamstrings and walk on my toes when I don't think about it.
Not that great of a trade off. Hard to look tough with big calves while prancing like a fairy.
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Just hit the calves at the gym yesterday tried something new.
sitting calf raises
15 reps full
15 reps low to mid
15 reps full
15 reps low to high
all in one set no stopping.
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Calves - Strip
I've had the best results from doing sitted strip set raises. I'd load the weights up with as many as I could do with a full extenstion, then when I couldn't go up any higher I'd have my workout partner take a 45lb plate off, I'd do this till doing it with 3 45lb plates was torture.
Body parts like your Calves need to be hit really hard because you use them nonstop everyday. Doing this as your final workout will really help to get a nice burn and some good pain the next day
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Okay, I've been doing standing calf raises everyday for the last two months but there has been no change at all in the size or shape. I workout at home, so what I do is standing calf raises with 150lb barebell + weights (total). I do 5 sets with 50 reps each, but I've seen zero improvement in size. My calves are still puny at 12" (my thighs are 22").
So I've decided to try out the tips on the first few pages of working the three different muscles alternatively, each 1 week at a time. But I have a few questions: how many sets and reps should I do? How much weight should I use? And should I work on my calves 7 days a week?
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Bastard
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[QUOTE=BastardGuy;710143551]how many sets and reps should I do? How much weight should I use? And should I work on my calves 7 days a week?[/QUOTE]
Working your calves everyday is overkill. Try working them 2-3 times a week. I personally love single leg DB calf raises (4 sets of 8-15 reps).
[img]http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/pics/one-legged-db-calf2.jpg[/img]
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[QUOTE=-Lucifer;710394491]Working your calves everyday is overkill. Try working them 2-3 times a week. I personally love single leg DB calf raises (4 sets of 8-15 reps).
[/QUOTE]
Thank you sir...
Appreciate it.
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thank you I always forget to do calfs