calf raises

[NYTRIXX]

to add mass to the calf.. is it better to do low reps heavy weight or high reps lighter weight? if higher reps how many would i be looking for?

Could anyone post their program here for me to view?

[JC480]

Originally Posted by NYTRIXX

to add mass to the calf.. is it better to do low reps heavy weight or high reps lighter weight? if higher reps how many would i be looking for?

Could anyone post their program here for me to view?

Calves respond to higher reps. That being said, you can make gains either way if you are consistent...although too light a weight won't yield much in the way of hypertrophy just like any other muscle.

I use 21s via seated calf machine (plates). 1/3 reps are half lower, 1/3 reps are half higher and 1/3 reps are full ROM.

I pyramid up the weights. The third set I struggle with finishing. Everyone is different, of course. This routine has been working for me.

[Xyphis]

Originally Posted by NYTRIXX

...is it better to do low reps heavy weight or high reps lighter weight?...

OK, let me try and post this correctly and not screw the order up:

Gastrocnemius contains a lot of fast twitch fibers so the rumor is they respond best to higher weight/lower rep schemes.

Soleus contains a lot of slow twitch fibers so the rumor is they respond best to lower weight/higher rep schemes.

Sooooooo, with a (typical) calf, one could suggest Standing Raises with higher weight/lower rep schemes, and Seated Raises with lower weight/higher rep schemes. Unfortunately, when you add in all the goulash about periodization it kinda messes up a constant program as written above. I also know that my calves/legs were best when I used to cycle competetively(no weight/bazillion reps), so that kinda screws up the theory as well.

Most seem to agree here that more days of calves is better than less, but I await someone who had chicken legs and now does not to tell us what they did...



...or just weigh 400+ pounds. You should see the calves on those big boys!

[NYTRIXX]

thanks for the help guys, its greatly appreciated.

I've got a few questions:

In your own experience have your ankles gained any thickness?

Are reverse calf raises worth doing?

Any ideas on a successful way to do seated calf raises at home?



Thanks.

[ironwill2008]

Originally Posted by NYTRIXX

In your own experience have your ankles gained any thickness?

There's very little muscle mass in that area, so there's very little opportunity for growth there.

Are reverse calf raises worth doing?

Very few people train tibialis directly. IMO, they get enough work indirectly from calf and leg work. JMO, though.

Any ideas on a successful way to do seated calf raises at home?

A couple, neither very elegant, though. One way is to prop a very heavy dumbbell up on the knee of the working leg, with that foot on a calf block, and work one calf at a time.

Another is to lay a loaded barbell across your thighs, with your feet on a calf block. Yes; very uncomfortable. But necessity is the mother of invention. If you try this, also try using a few folded-up towels for padding.




ETA: On the rep question: try doing exactly the opposite of what you've been doing. In other words, if you've been training calves with high reps, as most people do, for the next 12 weeks, train them with very heavy weight, down to 6-8 reps.

[IronCharles]

Originally Posted by JC480

Calves respond to higher reps. That being said, you can make gains either way if you are consistent...although too light a weight won't yield much in the way of hypertrophy just like any other muscle.

I'll go the other way, and say lower reps, more weight. Calves laugh at high reps of lighter weight..... that's their entire job all day long, is to propel your 150 - 200+ pound frame forward. In my opinion, calves need to be shocked into growth with weights they're not used to.

I've been doing strict reps, in the 10 to 12 rep range, with near failure on the last rep for the last 10 months, and have put an inch and a half on my calves with this strategy. Make sure you are squeezing and holding at the top of the rep, not just bouncing the weight and letting inertia help you move the load.

I do agree that if what you're doing now is not giving you the results you want, change your routine. add weight, subtract weight, add reps, less reps..... just keep your calves "guessing", and don't allow them to stagnate in a set routine.

[mharrislove]

Originally Posted by IronCharles

I'll go the other way, and say lower reps, more weight. Calves laugh at high reps of lighter weight..... that's their entire job all day long, is to propel your 150 - 200+ pound frame forward. In my opinion, calves need to be shocked into growth with weights they're not used to.

I've been doing strict reps, in the 10 to 12 rep range, with near failure on the last rep for the last 10 months, and have put an inch and a half on my calves with this strategy. Make sure you are squeezing and holding at the top of the rep, not just bouncing the weight and letting inertia help you move the load.

First, do this...^^^^

Originally Posted by ironwill2008

ETA: On the rep question: try doing exactly the opposite of what you've been doing. In other words, if you've been training calves with high reps, as most people do, for the next 12 weeks, train them with very heavy weight, down to 6-8 reps.

...then, do this....^^^^

...then wait for the magic to happen.

If no magic occurs, then curse your parents and just bench, squat, and deadlift.

[antonbrn]

For seated, I usuall have 2-45s and about 1-5 or 1-10. I try to do at least 20 reps, but usually can do alot more. I also try to position the angle of my feet for each set.
High reps and low weight is what I've been told/read that works.

[IronCharles]

Originally Posted by antonbrn

For seated, I usuall have 2-45s and about 1-5 or 1-10. I try to do at least 20 reps, but usually can do alot more. I also try to position the angle of my feet for each set.
High reps and low weight is what I've been told/read that works.

The one constant about calf machines, is that they are all different, in regard to weight load. The two 45's on your seated machine may be as heavy as three 45's on the one in my gym, or vice versa. Almost all calf machines work on a leverage principle, and depending on how long the lever is, the weight can be exponentially multiplied the farther it gets from the pivot. Same thing with standing machines. You can go blast off 20 reps of 350 lbs on the machine in one gym, and then go to the gym down the street, set the pin in their machine for 350, and whoops.... can't even lift that one!

That's why some folks are skeptical of PR's reported from machine lifts, because what you see is not always what you get. Putting weight on a bar and lifting it directly is easy to get an accurate weight reading. Adding cables, pullies, and levers, and you're always in doubt about what weight you're really pushing.

[IronCharles]

One other indicator of the value of heavy weights promoting calf development can be illustrated by something that happened to me in the gym some time ago.

I was chatting with the gym owner on the way out, and I noticed a man walking on the treadmill. Average man, about 6' tall and a bit overweight, maybe 240 pounds. What caught my eye was this man had HUGE calves, and the rest of his body seemed average. I told the gym owner, "Man, I wish I had that guy's genetics!" And he replied, "It's not so much genetics, but the fact that he used to weigh almost 500 lbs. All those years of walking around with that much weight forced his calves to grow that big." And suddenly I understood the correlation between heavy weight and calf growth.

He then told me, "And that's one of the clues you can use to indentify people who used to be severely overweight, because their leg development, especially the calves, will be out of proportion with their upper bodies. Not always the case, but a good indicator."

Think about that. When was the last time you saw an extremely overweight person with small calves?

[NYTRIXX]

Originally Posted by IronCharles

One other indicator of the value of heavy weights promoting calf development can be illustrated by something that happened to me in the gym some time ago.

I was chatting with the gym owner on the way out, and I noticed a man walking on the treadmill. Average man, about 6' tall and a bit overweight, maybe 240 pounds. What caught my eye was this man had HUGE calves, and the rest of his body seemed average. I told the gym owner, "Man, I wish I had that guy's genetics!" And he replied, "It's not so much genetics, but the fact that he used to weigh almost 500 lbs. All those years of walking around with that much weight forced his calves to grow that big." And suddenly I understood the correlation between heavy weight and calf growth.

He then told me, "And that's one of the clues you can use to indentify people who used to be severely overweight, because their leg development, especially the calves, will be out of proportion with their upper bodies. Not always the case, but a good indicator."

Think about that. When was the last time you saw an extremely overweight person with small calves?

Wow thats so true now that i think of it...

thanks for the support guys! im going to blast them