The Calves are they a High-rep muscle ??

[Leeburn]

I herd that the Calves are a high-rep muscle and need to be trained on a daily basis in order to achive any results. If you do cardio everyday nearly will it help if you also did weight trainin on the thighs and calves. If so how often should u train ur thighs and calves? also would using weights ie squats and Extensions help ur speed and power when u kick a football cause i cnt see why not ?? thanx .

main goal here is to get more power in the legs and explosivesivness < ---if thats a word lol

[LatsMakeTheMan]

My calves are my primary problem area. I have made some improvement over the past couple years by training them twice a week, using a variety of different rep ranges. However, I don't count reps. I like to use the rest/pause technique...which means I get as many as I can, stop for a few seconds then keep going. Seems to be working well.

[zackmurphy]

I herd that the Calves are a high-rep muscle and need to be trained on a daily basis in order to achive any results. If you do cardio everyday nearly will it help if you also did weight trainin on the thighs and calves. If so how often should u train ur thighs and calves? also would using weights ie squats and Extensions help ur speed and power when u kick a football cause i cnt see why not ?? thanx .

main goal here is to get more power in the legs and explosivesivness < ---if thats a word lol

Well, weight training for sports is really sort of a mucky area.

"Calves are a high-rep muscle" is usually said because most people simply DO high reps. Calves can handle high reps, so to tire them and cause some overload, you have to make a real effort. I rarely do less than 20 reps of calf stuff, but only because I have a hard time feeling it at less than that.

But if you want to improve your explosiveness, just keep doing explosive things when you train. Training with weights will help your strength and muscle endurance, but not explosiveness.

When you say "football" are you talking American football or soccer?

No matter - doing heavy leg extensions (for example) will not let you kick a ball farther, when though it's the same motion. Leg extensions would help you kick a ball 1000 times, but not distance on one kick. And squats don't make you jump higher, for the same reason.

Weights are good for strength and endurance only. ONLY exception might be olympic lifting, where explosiveness IS what's trained.

[Defiant1]

I herd that the Calves are a high-rep muscle and need to be trained on a daily basis in order to achive any results. If you do cardio everyday nearly will it help if you also did weight trainin on the thighs and calves. If so how often should u train ur thighs and calves? also would using weights ie squats and Extensions help ur speed and power when u kick a football cause i cnt see why not ?? thanx .

main goal here is to get more power in the legs and explosivesivness < ---if thats a word lol

Most peoples calves consist of mostly red (slow twitch) fiber, which means they need more reps, constant tension to grow. And that they will recover quickly. Many aerobic instructors have crappy bodies but good calves. When I do the stepper it works my calves.

[bigpump23]

calves are both, one week train them heavy weight low rep then th enext train them high rep/low weight

[Derek0783]

Very low reps are best for calves.

[HoboWithaRolex]

i like to use 15 reps for calves

[zackmurphy]

calves are both, one week train them heavy weight low rep then the next train them high rep/low weight

Yes, almost exactly 50/50 slow/fast twitch, except for the soleus, which is about 90% slow twitch.

[Derek0783]

Yes, almost exactly 50/50 slow/fast twitch, except for the soleus, which is about 90% slow twitch.

Yea, but why do high reps when your walking around all day. The last thing you need is to develop endurance strength in your calves. Heavy resistance incorporates all muscle fibers (well...both fast and slow twitch), so 5-8 reps is about good to stimulate calves, but doing 15 reps is not going to do much as far as I know. Your ankle tendons are very strong, they don't need high rep strengthening once a week. I would do a week or two of 15 reps to develop healthy muscle function capacity, strong tendons and ankle joint and basic preparation of heavy load; then, for about 6 workouts (2 weeks if you hit legs 3xper week and 6 weeks if you hit calves 1xper week), hit calves inbetween the 8-10 rep range, then for another 6 workouts, hit calves in the 5 rep range. Sort of HSTish, but that is the best way in my opinion. Also, this way, no matter what rep range you believe is best for calves, you get to hit it.

[wildturkey]

I do either 6-8 or 8-10 reps on calves, just like the rest of my body and they grow fine.

Nick.

[dookie1481]

Are you worried about your calves from an asthetic standpoint, or do you believe that they will help your explosiveness? If the former, I would recommend a mix of high and low reps, never to failure, 2-3 times a week. If the latter, don't worry about it. Many great programs don't utilize any direct calf work. Sprinters and RB's calves? A comination of good genetics and sprinting and explosive lifts. As far as improving explosiveness, visit the sports training section.

[imageek]

i use a mixture of high reps and low reps, and i do as many as 15 sets for calves.

[garrett]

I work em twice a week, once with quads and abs on Mon, and once with back on Thurs. On Mon I do 4x8-15 standing heel raises and 2x8-10 seated heel raises. On Thurs I do 4x 10-15 angled heel raises.

[Zensuji]

I rarely do less than 20 reps of calf stuff, but only because I have a hard time feeling it at less than that.

.

i agree with zack, ive always had better results from high rep work. even 30+ has worked for me

[milkl0ver2]

I herd that the Calves are a high-rep muscle and need to be trained on a daily basis in order to achive any results. If you do cardio everyday nearly will it help if you also did weight trainin on the thighs and calves. If so how often should u train ur thighs and calves? also would using weights ie squats and Extensions help ur speed and power when u kick a football cause i cnt see why not ?? thanx .

main goal here is to get more power in the legs and explosivesivness < ---if thats a word lol

As i've learnt,
CALVES dont contribute to jumping

try jumping with only ur calves.

about 2 inches right?

work on your core/posterior chain -----> most of the muscles in jumping

[imageek]

if you want to jump high or kick hard then you should do squats, calves only work as "stabilizers", sprinters and long jumpers should train their calves more.

[inabakoshi]

but i read somewhere in the bodybuilding site that u need bloody high reps to stimulate calf growth? it says arnold think so too...but iduno...i did abt 15 reps but it felt like nothing....but 30+ and i m pooped...i m quite a newbie so i mite not know much////

[inabakoshi]

oh yea....any1 know whether to take off the shoes while doin calf work? i hav this prob while doin calf the middle of my feet hurts(like something's pulling) my calf realli looks bad as its bulky without definition and its worse when i have a short calf bone(forgot the name)...

[Defiant1]

Yea, but why do high reps when your walking around all day. The last thing you need is to develop endurance strength in your calves. Heavy resistance incorporates all muscle fibers (well...both fast and slow twitch), so 5-8 reps is about good to stimulate calves, but doing 15 reps is not going to do much as far as I know. Your ankle tendons are very strong, they don't need high rep strengthening once a week. I would do a week or two of 15 reps to develop healthy muscle function capacity, strong tendons and ankle joint and basic preparation of heavy load; then, for about 6 workouts (2 weeks if you hit legs 3xper week and 6 weeks if you hit calves 1xper week), hit calves inbetween the 8-10 rep range, then for another 6 workouts, hit calves in the 5 rep range. Sort of HSTish, but that is the best way in my opinion. Also, this way, no matter what rep range you believe is best for calves, you get to hit it.

High reps with resistance is FAR CRY from high reps without resistance. By your logic the muscles that don't get normally used a lot (latissimus dorsi) should be hit with high reps and high frequency since that is the polar opposite of their usual "activity"?

[dookie1481]

if you want to jump high or kick hard then you should do squats, calves only work as "stabilizers", sprinters and long jumpers should train their calves more.

Sprinters don't train calves at all (at least they shouldn't). Their calf development is from sprinting and plyos. It is counterproductive for them to have heavier lower legs (e.g., more hypertrophied calves) becuase it would slow down their stride frequency.

[j_neatherlin]

I have genetically strong/big calves but they rarely grow when I train them. They just seem to get a better shape to them.

The only program that really made my calves grow (and they fckin blew up) was the Doggcrapp method. My ex-gf and I both had great results training calves DC style...and I recommend it highly!

[inabakoshi]

where do i get this doggcrap method? seems funny reading it...

[dookie1481]

I have genetically strong/big calves but they rarely grow when I train them. They just seem to get a better shape to them.

The only program that really made my calves grow (and they fckin blew up) was the Doggcrapp method. My ex-gf and I both had great results training calves DC style...and I recommend it highly!

I second that. R/P sets for calves rock. I have the same genetic predisposition towards big calves, so I never train them. When I did Westside for 2 months, I did a R/P set on the Leg Press for my calves, and put an inch on in 2 months not even trying.

[Bammy]

oh yea....any1 know whether to take off the shoes while doin calf work? i hav this prob while doin calf the middle of my feet hurts(like something's pulling) my calf realli looks bad as its bulky without definition and its worse when i have a short calf bone(forgot the name)...

Tibia and fibula are the two bones. But yeah I get the same feeling under my feet too. It hurts like hell, burns. I think its from pushing too much from the toes and not enought with the soleus and gastroc. By the way, gastroc is a fast twitch muscle and soleus is a slow twitch. Because of this I do seated calf raises mostly slow with high reps, and any standing raise lower reps and heavy.

[imageek]

I herd that the Calves are a high-rep muscle and need to be trained on a daily basis in order to achive any results. If you do cardio everyday nearly will it help if you also did weight trainin on the thighs and calves. If so how often should u train ur thighs and calves? also would using weights ie squats and Extensions help ur speed and power when u kick a football cause i cnt see why not ?? thanx .

main goal here is to get more power in the legs and explosivesivness < ---if thats a word lol

if your main goal is power and explosiveness in the legs, then i suggest you look into plyometrics (power, speed, stregnth).

[HitManSE]

Once every 4th workout I go heavy, but if your like me going heavy for calves is kinda retared because you have to use a stupid amount of weight. IMO high reps work best, I do a rest pause set to get to 75-100 reps. I rest only long enough for the burn to go away and continue. If I can reach 100reps, I increase the weight next time. Works better then using all the 45's I can fit on it damn thing and going for 6-10 reps.

[Derek0783]

High reps with resistance is FAR CRY from high reps without resistance. By your logic the muscles that don't get normally used a lot (latissimus dorsi) should be hit with high reps and high frequency since that is the polar opposite of their usual "activity"?

No, I never said that nor did I imply that. I did not say anything about muscles that do not get used alot. I was speaking about calves. Calves are not the same muscles as outer back and experience different daily loads. I don't know enough to compare the two. Calves are well adapted to crazy amounts of endurance loads since we use them to walk all day every day. Once a muscle has adapted to a load, it does not grow anymore. Because we walk all day, our calves have adapted to (or are conditioned to) pressing our body weight for long distances and unless they are deconditioned, they will not grow from just walking. And who can go two weeks without walking on their feet just to decondition their calves so that they will begin to grow when just by walking?..I hope nobody here is that much of a loser (unless you are wheelchair bound, then you are excused from being a loser). I don't know much about the complexities of hypertrophy (i'm getting a business degree, not a medical degree), but to me, it would seem that the best way to keep the calve muscle growing is to keep it from adapting to the weight being used by progressively loading with heavy weights, low reps and keep increasing weight while decreasing reps throughout the weeks. I would keep the calves as far away from anything that could be considered for endurance or aerobic strength because that is what the calf if used to already. It needs to be stimulated in a way that it has not adapted to at all. Then decondition them in about 8 weeks so that they will "un-adapt" to the loading and then begin the process of loading again.

If you have any info that refutes this, please let me see it. i'm not disagreeing with you; i'm just saying what seems logical to me.

EDIT: P.S.
We all know heavy weights stimulate fast and slow twitch fibers, but i'm not so sure that lighter weights do the same. Wouldn't it be best to stimulate both muscle fibers in one workout by going heavy than hitting only one type of muscle fiber by going light one workout and then having to wait until the next workout when you go heavy on calves to hit both fibers?

[$AJ]

interesting thread; i would contribute, but i've only trained calves 3 or 4x in the last 10+yrs

[Defiant1]

No, I never said that nor did I imply that. I did not say anything about muscles that do not get used alot. I was speaking about calves. Calves are not the same muscles as outer back and experience different daily loads. I don't know enough to compare the two. Calves are well adapted to crazy amounts of endurance loads since we use them to walk all day every day. Once a muscle has adapted to a load, it does not grow anymore. Because we walk all day, our calves have adapted to (or are conditioned to) pressing our body weight for long distances and unless they are deconditioned, they will not grow from just walking. And who can go two weeks without walking on their feet just to decondition their calves so that they will begin to grow when just by walking?..I hope nobody here is that much of a loser (unless you are wheelchair bound, then you are excused from being a loser). I don't know much about the complexities of hypertrophy (i'm getting a business degree, not a medical degree), but to me, it would seem that the best way to keep the calve muscle growing is to keep it from adapting to the weight being used by progressively loading with heavy weights, low reps and keep increasing weight while decreasing reps throughout the weeks. I would keep the calves as far away from anything that could be considered for endurance or aerobic strength because that is what the calf if used to already. It needs to be stimulated in a way that it has not adapted to at all. Then decondition them in about 8 weeks so that they will "un-adapt" to the loading and then begin the process of loading again.

If you have any info that refutes this, please let me see it. i'm not disagreeing with you; i'm just saying what seems logical to me.

EDIT: P.S.
We all know heavy weights stimulate fast and slow twitch fibers, but i'm not so sure that lighter weights do the same. Wouldn't it be best to stimulate both muscle fibers in one workout by going heavy than hitting only one type of muscle fiber by going light one workout and then having to wait until the next workout when you go heavy on calves to hit both fibers?

I understand your logic but I don't agree with it. First, empirically and anecdotally, low reps for calves only seem to work for people who have "natural" calves. This would go along with them having a high percentage of fast twitch fiber in their calves giving them greater size to begin with.

Again, empirically and anecdotally, most find high reps and higher frequency necessary to make their calves actually GROW, meaning from small to big. This has been the case for me.

Low reps building fast twitch/slow twitch is really a theory. Fiber activity does not necessarily mean hypertrophy. Low reps do NOT build muscular endurance, so to me it doesn't make sense. Fast reps with light weights also stimulate fast twitch and slow twitch if you do enough reps so there are many schools of thought here.

Your explanation of what activity the calves have adapted to mearly shows that you need to use heavy weights, not do low reps. If they are comprised of mostly slow twitch fibers, using low reps will not change that.

[dookie1481]

I understand your logic but I don't agree with it. First, empirically and anecdotally, low reps for calves only seem to work for people who have "natural" calves. This would go along with them having a high percentage of fast twitch fiber in their calves giving them greater size to begin with.

Again, empirically and anecdotally, most find high reps and higher frequency necessary to make their calves actually GROW, meaning from small to big. This has been the case for me.

Low reps building fast twitch/slow twitch is really a theory. Fiber activity does not necessarily mean hypertrophy. Low reps do NOT build muscular endurance, so to me it doesn't make sense. Fast reps with light weights also stimulate fast twitch and slow twitch if you do enough reps so there are many schools of thought here.

Your explanation of what activity the calves have adapted to mearly shows that you need to use heavy weights, not do low reps. If they are comprised of mostly slow twitch fibers, using low reps will not change that.

Good post. "Naturallly big" calves seem to be, IMO, just having a greater % of Type II's in the Gastrocs; as most people know, Type II's have a greater propensity for hypertrophy than Type I's do.

EDIT: BTW, you might want to
try supra-maximal eccentrics for calves, as they have been found (or at least theorized) to primarily stress the fast-twitch fibers.