Hey guys,
I've been experiencing a little problem with calf raises. I've been doing them on a smith machine for quite a while now. (Yes I am aware of the dangers of the single range of motion).
Anyway, the problem is, that the bar is too heavy for my shoulders to handle. It hurts like a bitch and always makes me bruise, and often bursts little blood vessels on the surface layers of the skin. I fold my towel all up to make a kind of cushion, which helped before I was doing 100kg+
What can I do to combat this problem?
Inb4 man up/OP is a *******.
|
Thread: The calf raise dilemma.
-
01-30-2013, 10:02 PM #1
The calf raise dilemma.
North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand
BIG Goals
-
01-30-2013, 10:22 PM #2
Be sure to contract your traps. This will make a sort of shelf that is perfect for resting the bar. If that doesn't do it for you, there are pads you can get that wrap around the bar. For a normal barbell they make it less stable but I suppose this not an issue on the smith machine.
You could also try a standard barbell rather than the smith machine. Often times the fact that the motion has a set track can cause the bar to create pressure points.
-
01-30-2013, 10:41 PM #3
play around with high vs. low bar - how high or low you put it on your traps/upper back
barbell1.com - home of The Barbell1 Show - the only 5 day/wk Online Radio on building muscle
Listened to in 171 Countries, Downloaded 1.3 million X in 2014-15
Get it free on iTunes and Stitcher Radio for your mobile device!
About me:
MS in Sports Dietetics
Registered Dietitian
BS in ESS
NSCA Certified Personal Trainer
-
01-30-2013, 10:56 PM #4
-
-
01-31-2013, 12:44 AM #5
-
01-31-2013, 01:52 AM #6
-
01-31-2013, 01:55 AM #7
-
01-31-2013, 01:58 AM #8
-
-
01-31-2013, 01:58 AM #9
-
01-31-2013, 02:05 AM #10
Are you talking about the red lines, as far as burst blood vessels? If so, is that really a problem? You could try pulling the bar from rack-pull position. If you're going to use any kind of padding, just make sure that it isn't too cushiony, or it won't make a difference with the pressure. As far as the bar being too heavy, this sounds like the problems I had for the first two weeks of squats.
-
01-31-2013, 02:10 AM #11
Yes, the little dotty red lines. No they aren't a problem, it's just the pain during reps, and the grazed neck. Gym doesn't supply one of the bar pads, and I do not have the means to purchase one myself. Towel is the best I can get. With relativity to your last sentence, i've been doing calf raises this way for one year +
North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand
BIG Goals
-
01-31-2013, 02:16 AM #12
-
-
01-31-2013, 06:52 AM #13No brain, no gain.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
Where the mind goes, the body follows.
Ironwill Gym:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=629719403&postcount=3388
Ironwill2008 Journal:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=157459343&p=1145168733
-
01-31-2013, 07:03 AM #14
-
01-31-2013, 03:43 PM #15
-
01-31-2013, 04:05 PM #16
Use less weight. A lot less. And actually lift the weights instead of just going through the motions. Look at how the guys with huge calves train them, they don't load up the bar with hundreds of pounds and bounce away.
Look under your chair. YOU GET A REP, AND YOU GET A REP, REPS FOR EVERYONE! If I get a rep, you get a rep, every time. Give me a link to make my life a little easier.
If you don't give me a link and you didn't post in the thread you rep'd me in, I'm not gonna go searching for you. I'll get everyone on recharge.
-
-
01-31-2013, 10:08 PM #17
-
02-04-2013, 01:13 AM #18
Just because I am 17 and new to bodybuilding doesn't mean i'm completely useless! I would never sacrifice technique for the sake of trying to impress others or myself. I've scrutinized my technique heavily until i got it to a satisfactory standard. I've had multiple trainers check and have videoed myself. All contractions are slow and controlled within 12-15 rep range
North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand
BIG Goals
-
02-04-2013, 01:20 AM #19
-
02-04-2013, 06:40 AM #20
-
-
02-04-2013, 06:44 AM #21
-
02-04-2013, 07:17 AM #22
-
02-04-2013, 11:17 PM #23
-
02-05-2013, 05:17 AM #24
-
-
02-05-2013, 05:21 AM #25
-
02-05-2013, 03:30 PM #26Look under your chair. YOU GET A REP, AND YOU GET A REP, REPS FOR EVERYONE! If I get a rep, you get a rep, every time. Give me a link to make my life a little easier.
If you don't give me a link and you didn't post in the thread you rep'd me in, I'm not gonna go searching for you. I'll get everyone on recharge.
-
02-05-2013, 03:52 PM #27
I presume you are referring to the fixed pathway forced by a machine like the Smith. That is not a problem at all for short ROM like calf raise, shrugs, Hise shrugs, all kinds of reduced ROM pressing like lockouts etc. Also not a problem with half and quarter squats(the only kind you see in most gyms, lol). Only a problem if you use a full ROM that is hostile to your joints if the machine path doesn't match your own natural groove.
A ton of heavy shrugging is in order to build up and toughen your traps and delts with a similarly heavy weight. One kind I find useful is the Hise Shrug, where you have the bar on your traps like you were going to squat, and you shrug it high reps. Think 20-40 reps FTW. Start light and work up. By the time you get to twenty reps with more than you can squat for a couple reps, you are getting somewhere.
In the meantime, leg press calf raises are fine. So are single leg calf raises(doubling the resistance of bodyweight compared to two legs). If you get a dipping belt you can add resistance to get that way up.
Donkey calf raises would be alpha if you could get a couple of girls to sit on your back.
A donkey calf raise machine would spare your shoulders and traps, but wouldn't be as much fun.
Forget a plate, unless you stack two or three to get a bigger ROM. Or use a strong enough step.Beginners:
FIERCE 5:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=159678631
Beyond novice, 5 3 1 or see above:)
Unless it is obvious to anyone who isn't blind that you lift weights, you might still benefit from a little more attention to big basic barbell exercises for enough reps:).
-
02-05-2013, 06:30 PM #28
-
-
02-05-2013, 08:40 PM #29
-
02-05-2013, 08:48 PM #30
Similar Threads
-
I have a slight dilemma please give advice
By ep3fka in forum Workout ProgramsReplies: 2Last Post: 02-16-2011, 04:32 PM -
Cuse88 Gets Big For the Arnold or Dies Trying With Universal/ANIMAL Stack!!
By cuse88 in forum Sponsored Supplement LogsReplies: 248Last Post: 04-14-2009, 05:36 AM -
5day split dilemma
By SionX in forum Workout ProgramsReplies: 3Last Post: 06-21-2008, 02:54 PM
Bookmarks