calf exercises

lanzo · 02-22-2006, 11:36 PM

does anyone work their calfs everyday.my calfs wont grow i have tried many diffrent routines.friends of mine skate and their calfs got huge after they started skateboarding. maybe the everyday strain stimulates calfs better than any other routine.

TheReason · 02-23-2006, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lanzo

does anyone work their calfs everyday.my calfs wont grow i have tried many diffrent routines.friends of mine skate and their calfs got huge after they started skateboarding. maybe the everyday strain stimulates calfs better than any other routine.

Rubbish.

So a Marathon man runs everyday.... does he have BB sized Legs?

I'm sorry, but does anyone train Legs everyday or Shoulders everyday cause they are lagging?

Do you train your calves like this......

Drop the weight to virtually nothing.

5 x 15 Standing Calve Raise
5 x 15 Leg Press Calve Raise

Can you do 5 sets of that weight at 15 reps of each and every set, with full ROM? Nope.... well don't increase the weight, next time you train calves, until you can. And only increment the weight by 5 pounds at a time.... Its gonna take you 6 months to get decent weight on there, but your calves will be more advanced than 99% of BB in your gym.

Now, when you're not doing calves.... do you take every opportunity to stretch them, when you're walking up stairs, when you're on a ladder (do you strech them downwards)... hell, do you stand on your tippy toes now and then to really pump them? Be patient, its gonna take you 3 months of practice to stretch them fully. You have to prefect strecthing them downwards at every opportunity.

On ROM.... All the way down, basically a 45 degree angle and lower.... can't do it? Revisit above paragraph.

Where was I? All the way down, and hold for a sec at the bottom. Now on the way up, legs are completely straight, no bending, no helping the weight up with your back.... its just one fluid movement upwards to the top where you really tense the calves at the top and hold for 3 seconds. By rep 10, your calves are burning.... By 12, you're thinking of any excuse to stop. By 15 your trap has stayed shut, but you are screaming and you are sure everyone else in the gym is staring at you.

Do the above at a sensible weight and you'll be screaming when you walk around the next day.

..... And if you're not training like the above, you're wasting your time.

dparm99 · 02-23-2006, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheReason

Rubbish.

So a Marathon man runs everyday.... does he have BB sized Legs?

I'm sorry, but does anyone train Legs everyday or Shoulders everyday cause they are lagging?

Do you train your calves like this......

Drop the weight to virtually nothing.

5 x 15 Standing Calve Raise
5 x 15 Leg Press Calve Raise

Can you do 5 sets of that weight at 15 reps of each and every set, with full ROM? Nope.... well don't increase the weight, next time you train calves, until you can. And only increment the weight by 5 pounds at a time.... Its gonna take you 6 months to get decent weight on there, but your calves will be more advanced than 99% of BB in your gym.

Now, when you're not doing calves.... do you take every opportunity to stretch them, when you're walking up stairs, when you're on a ladder (do you strech them downwards)... hell, do you stand on your tippy toes now and then to really pump them? Be patient, its gonna take you 3 months of practice to stretch them fully. You have to prefect strecthing them downwards at every opportunity.

On ROM.... All the way down, basically a 45 degree angle and lower.... can't do it? Revisit above paragraph.

Where was I? All the way down, and hold for a sec at the bottom. Now on the way up, legs are completely straight, no bending, no helping the weight up with your back.... its just one fluid movement upwards to the top where you really tense the calves at the top and hold for 3 seconds. By rep 10, your calves are burning.... By 12, you're thinking of any excuse to stop. By 15 your trap has stayed shut, but you are screaming and you are sure everyone else in the gym is staring at you.

Do the above at a sensible weight and you'll be screaming when you walk around the next day.

..... And if you're not training like the above, you're wasting your time.

Actually many bodybuilders train calves 6 or so days a week and have great success doing so...

TheReason · 02-23-2006, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dparm99

Actually many bodybuilders train calves 6 or so days a week and have great success doing so...

...........

Ummm......

You've stumped me, for 2 reasons.

1). If it works for them, thats great.

2). I don't see hardly any out standing calves on modern pros (compared to the 70's) anymore and thats maybe becasuse they are over training them? (Edit: The size of calves have not kept up with the growth of the rest of the body achieved over the last 10-20 years).

I must be one of the lucky ones? I'm on a 3 day spilt. On those 3 days, I train morning and night. 4th day is day off. So, I only train calves once every 4 days.

Regardless, can lanzo honestly say that he trains his calves, as I have described in my 1st post... that is, at 100% intensity & 100% effort, every single time he trains them?

And if he can't train them at that level.... 6 days a week is not going to give him any more growth. Or very little.

FarEastBeast · 02-23-2006, 01:15 AM

The most important aspect of calf training (and any training) is persistence. (Many marathoners do have impressive calves by the way). But frequency is less important as consistency. I am a Captain Peg Leg hardgainer, but through consistent hard work and prioritization I am finally starting to see some results. What this means is when I flex my calves from the back you can see a little ridge and a split starting to form. I've put more than an inch on them in the last two years. It may not sound like much to the e-statters, but it's real, and it's mine

I train my calves once a week, always first before my quads. This way they're fresh, I'm fresh, no excuses, no time limits, no fatigue, etc. I stretch a little, I get on the standing calf raise machine. Now, I do a HIT-style training program but to each his own. I do a light warm-up of 12-20 reps, but I use a full ROM. I stop short of failure. For my working set I go as heavy as I can and still get 10-12 good, full ROM reps. I then do one very heavy rep, a static hold and a negative. Then three more exercises, all working sets, for a total of 4 working sets. That's it. But training styles and exercises will vary. That's fine.

The key, for me, is pushing to and beyond failure with good form. Everyone talks about how the calves walk around supporting your bodyweight all day - true. Arnold used to say you have to go heavy - 1,000 pound calf raises etc. Well if you can, great. Most can't go very heavy and still use good form. So, like DParm suggested, drop the weight and use good form. This is the key: when you feel like stopping DON'T STOP. Your calves will always have at least 5-10 more good reps in them, and this is where the growth hides. Grit your teeth, cry and swear (that's what I do - j/k), whatever to gut through those final reps. And if you do that once a week, twice a week, six times a week, whatever, but EVERY WEEK, then your calves will grow.

Oz Enhanced · 02-23-2006, 01:15 AM

i work my calfs every time im at the gym.. so thats 4x a week

BEEFIE · 02-23-2006, 01:19 AM

str8flexed has a video showing a new way of doing calf raises I've never seen before, maybe that'll help. Ya know I've read every article out there and it's always up and down, full range of motion yadda yaddda yadda, I think laynes on to something. It'll help you use more weight.

here it is.....
http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/St...calf_raise.mov

Oz Enhanced · 02-23-2006, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEEFIE

str8flexed has a video showing a new way of doing calf raises I've never seen before, maybe that'll help. Ya know I've read every article out there and it's always up and down, full range of motion yadda yaddda yadda, I think laynes on to something. It'll help you use more weight.

here it is.....
http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/St...calf_raise.mov

links doesnt work man

FarEastBeast · 02-23-2006, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEEFIE

str8flexed has a video showing a new way of doing calf raises I've never seen before, maybe that'll help. Ya know I've read every article out there and it's always up and down, full range of motion yadda yaddda yadda, I think laynes on to something. It'll help you use more weight.

here it is.....
http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/St...calf_raise.mov

The link's not working for me, can you give a brief description?

DiamondDelts · 02-23-2006, 02:06 AM

It is my personal opinion that the calves respond far better to high volume. I do mine 4 times a week.

BEEFIE · 02-23-2006, 02:21 AM

Doesn't work? It was cut and pasted from str8flexed 10 weeks out bring it thread, look for that and you'll find it. Basically it's where you start out with toes upright go down and then bend knees a little to power up the weight, then go to full contraction again. I'll try to send another link, if that don't work then just type in the above and you'll find what you're looking for.
Peace

Here it is again, if that don't work then type in above (10 weeks out bring it) in search and that'll give ya the link........................... http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/St...calf_raise.mov

Oz Enhanced · 02-23-2006, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEEFIE

Doesn't work? It was cut and pasted from str8flexed 10 weeks out bring it thread, look for that and you'll find it. Basically it's where you start out with toes upright go down and then bend knees a little to power up the weight, then go to full contraction again. I'll try to send another link, if that don't work then just type in the above and you'll find what you're looking for.
Peace

Here it is again, if that don't work then type in above (10 weeks out bring it) in search and that'll give ya the link........................... http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/St...calf_raise.mov

u cant just highly and copy the link.. u need to right click and copy