calf help

[Tompozz]

okay im 6 ft 4 and my legs are long i mean really long in comparison to the rest of my body, i train my calfs twice a week hard any tips on forcing them tooth picks to grow some more? I have great quads and tiny calfs look like a creature in shorts hah

[LlamaWithARifle]

Make sure you work them both standing and seated to work the entire calf muscle. Try fairly low reps, I've had good results in the 6-9 rep range.

[nm797]

Focus on the form. Dont do really fast reps, Do a slow movement up and hold it for a second or two,and then do almost like a negative down. 8-10 rep range.

[Cohaku]

Calf raises in the leg press.

Seriously, all the other exercises are good, but if your calves will respond to anything, it's having to lift over three or four times your body weight.

[lftuntild3ath]

Calf raises in the leg press.

Seriously, all the other exercises are good, but if your calves will respond to anything, it's having to lift over three or four times your body weight.

You are only able to lift that much because it is easier than doing something like standing calf raises or donkey calf raises. IMO, the more weight, doesn't always mean better exercise.

[musclefreak69]

calves respond better to more volume

[autoanorak]

with calves, i like to do higher reps (10-15) and really short rest periods. like 30 seconds or less between sets, that way i can get up to 10 sets of calf exercises in 3x a week

[hypebeast124]

I have long legs as well, I've found sets of heavy calf raises (4-8) alternated with sets of higher reps (12-30) has helped them tremendously with thickness and overall development. Everyone responds differently.

I also like varying the foot positioning for standing calf raises (toes straight, pointed in, pointed out).

Hope this helped and good luck.

[expressman70]

Calf raises in the leg press.

Seriously, all the other exercises are good, but if your calves will respond to anything, it's having to lift over three or four times your body weight.

not really man, infact the machine takes over all the weight, and in the end you are lifting like a forth of that. Squat position, and do calf raises works better

[eddie911]

form is crucial for your baby cows. you see guys on the standing calf raise machine doing the whole weight and bouncing up and down. they arent really working the calf. you have to go nice and slow to work the calf or the achilles tendon takes all the strain and the calf doesnt really get worked. i do 3 sets of 18-20 on the seated calf raise and similar on the standing calf raise

[SergioRaulLuna]

Often people perform calves with horrible form. To begin with, you should make sure that going through the full range of motion. This includes contracting as hard as you can at the top, bringing the weight down in the decent, and allowing the muscle to stretch at the bottom. While calves people will tell you a variety of rep ranges that should be optimal, in general they respond to intensity. I personally enjoy using strict reps along with intensity principles to take my calves to failure when training. Either way, whether it is light weight or heavy, make sure you destroy them. If you really want your calves to grow, training them will be excruciating pain but it will be worth it. You will want to give up but you shouldn't. I currently follow a program called 8 Weeks to Bigger Calves and it is truly a hardcore calf workout. You can search the program in Googled under ABC Bodybuilding. I've put on 1/4 -1/2" on my calves with this. Here is a sample:

Workout I

Warm up:

Come to the gym mentally prepared to " go to war " against your calf muscles.
Because if you don't you are going to get beat, I guarantee it. Now before you begin
you should warm up extremely well. I usually do a light set of 20 on the standing
calf raise machine and two sets of 10 pyramiding up as I go. This will help you to
focus not only physically, but mentally as well.

First set:
I want you to pick a weight in which you can strictly get 8-10 repetitions on the
standing calf raise machine. Let me explain what I mean when I say strict. It
should take one second to reach the top of the motion, then you should squeeze as
hard as you can at the top and then take 1 to two seconds to lower the weight. As
stated previously focus on transferring all your weight onto the ball of your big toe
for a complete peak contraction. Now when you reach complete failure I want you to
rack out as many partial repetitions as you can for approximately 30 seconds. This
is the only time where you will be allowed to utilize sloppy reps. These reps are to
be performed quickly to intensify the blood pump. It shouldn't take more than a
second to rack out a partial repetition. But I don't want you to count the partials. I
want you to count the seconds. So while you are performing partial reps you will be
counting to 30 seconds in your head. By the end of the 30 seconds you might only
be able to move your calves a millimeter.

Rest exactly one minute, no more and no less.

Second Set:
You will stick with the same weight this time and go to complete failure. When you
cannot squeeze out another rep to save your life you need to again rack out 30
seconds of partial repetitions. However in order to throw the intensity of this set up
a notch I will utilize what I call the, " Stretch shocking method. " Its not complicated
at all. As soon as you have completed your partials you will keep your calves in a
complete stretched out position for a total of 30 seconds. This will intensify the
blood pump like nothing on earth! And as I have stated in earlier issues, a sustained
pump is absolutely vital for optimal growth!

At this point your calves will be on fire! Unfortunately you have just begun!

Third Set:
This set should be the same as your first set but you will pyramid down to a lighter
weight in which you can again perform 8-10 strict repetitions.

Fourth Set:
Again, stay at the same weight and mimic the second set exactly down to the T!
You have successfully made it through half of the workout! Give yourself a two
minute breather and then get started with your 5th and 6th set.

5th-6th set:
As before you need to follow the same reoccurring patter that you used with the first
two sets.

7th-8th set:
In these sets you will again follow the same reoccurring pattern. However I want
you to pyramid down in weight quite a bit more than your previous 2 drops.
Preferably doubling the drop in weight. For example, lets assume that you have
stripped 30 pounds of weight per drop. You will now drop a total of 60 pounds. The
reason for this has to do with the muscle's peak. In order for you to get a complete
diamond shape you must concentrate on peaking the muscle to a complete and total
contraction. With a lighter than normal weight your will be able to accomplish this
important aspect of your calves development. These repetitions should be
performed even stricter than all of the previous sets.

[PrinceJontino]

calves are like abs, they respond better to higher reps. stick within the 15-25 rep range, and train them with less volume more frequency (2-3 times a week)