CALVES- Lets grow them!

[BackeySW]

I find it hard to develop calves -_-
I do standing calf raises,leg press for calves 4x15,with heavy weights and i dont see much progress.

[01tj]

I find it hard to develop calves -_-
I do standing calf raises,leg press for calves 4x15,with heavy weights and i dont see much progress.

You got to change it up then, do lower reps for a while and do them from all 3 angles. My best progress though has come from doing insanity and when I raced mountain bikes

[shaadisankalp10]

Thanks for share the post with us..

[MrHankeypumped]

only way for me to work calves is high reps

weird cause i go heavy for the rest

[PinkLambo]

Will I get shunned if I say that calves are such a genetic thing, so many people I know half-ass their workouts and theyve bigger calves than half the people at the gym who actually work them out. Also cardio!

[polskiski]

Hopefully this gives some insightful ideas to you all

[Autch97]

The real question is how you find time to train your calves between squats, DL, lunges, glute-ham raise, etc. I do a upper/lower split and I try to keep my weight training to an hour in length. Has anybody tried super-setting barbell weighted calve raises with barbell lunges or GMs?

[GainsMain]

Calves are comin in nicely brahs u mad? Dem high insertions

[transamdroptp08]

Good exercises I can put to use over here in Afghanistan.

[Leonida87]

I think its all genetics...you can get them from awful to normal...but nothing special...Still, this is my expirience, my opinion....
But you can do whatever the **** YOU WANNA DO! xD

[AgRyan]

Anyone have any success growing calves by sprinting a lot in minimal shoes? I know I can feel it in my calves and I haven't really had success elsewhere... thinking about switching it up to sprints. Since I need to cardio more anyway.

[Dejotters]

Thanks for the post and suggestions OP

[Crastef]

Thanks !

[Longlivethepump]

Anyone have any success growing calves by sprinting a lot in minimal shoes? I know I can feel it in my calves and I haven't really had success elsewhere... thinking about switching it up to sprints. Since I need to cardio more anyway.

Mine grew well just from running stairs

[JohnSmeton]

best things I have found for my calves, who are about normal calve genetics (started at at 15.5 I think when I first started lifting-I have a log way back ten years ago where I measured by body-parts-calves included)

-working them intensity

-DC calve training

-walking on a real steep incline and pushing off with the ball of your foot-performing cardio this way 10-20 minutes 2 times a week or so , maybe after a calve workout (and making sure fully hydrated with water, taurine and or potassium because they can cramp!)

- going real heavy while still have decent form (most ive gone is about 700 lbs)

-Donkey calve raises esp for the back of them

[DesertRain]

Big up for the post!
Been doing monstrous weight with my calves and needed different exercises!

Cheers!

[jchin1022]

Nice post! I feel like calves gotta be worked out almost every other day. They take a beating everyday from walking so they're use to the persons body weight. Putting more work into them will cause results!
Don't be that guy in the gym with a big upper body and small lower body! Lol

[MarshL]

Only started training calves recently, this thread should help out pretty well!

[PersianD3mi]

Epic. My recent unanswered curiosity has been answered unintentionally. Thank you.

[jlcampbell03]

Nice training tips! I have been training calves 3 days a week and they are tiny not proportionate to my upper body at all…waiting to be one of the memes that float around lmao

[1ATOMIC1]

The reason why people fail to grow their calves is because they don't give them the same treatment as they do to say arms or chest, they don't consider them important enough, hence don't devote enough time to them. To make your calves grow you have to utilise enormous weight for many repetitions and many sets. Don't forget your calves carry your bodyweight all day long, so hitting them with a couple of light sets is laughable at best. The other reason why the calves don't grow is, because people use too much weight, in fact much more than they can handle. So instead of performing the full proper stretch, followed by a proper contraction, they jerk their knees to help throw the weight up. Yes you end up lifting more, but not only do you end up damaging the cartilage in your knees, but also you're working your quadriceps instead of targeting the gastrocnemius muscles.

Remember what Schwarzenegger said: "To obtain calves like mine, you have to devote at least 500 hours of often brutal and painful workouts."

If you want to improve the size of the inner (larger) gastrocnemius muscles, that give that distinctive, large diamond shape, then turn your feet slightly outwards. If you wish to focus more on the (smaller) outer heads, then turn your feed inwards. Keep your legs straight with a slight bend in the knees to absorb the shock. Try being strict, and in about three to four months you should start seeing a difference.

[MattMQ]

What are your calves at now?

best things I have found for my calves, who are about normal calve genetics (started at at 15.5 I think when I first started lifting-I have a log way back ten years ago where I measured by body-parts-calves included)

-working them intensity

-DC calve training

-walking on a real steep incline and pushing off with the ball of your foot-performing cardio this way 10-20 minutes 2 times a week or so , maybe after a calve workout (and making sure fully hydrated with water, taurine and or potassium because they can cramp!)

- going real heavy while still have decent form (most ive gone is about 700 lbs)

-Donkey calve raises esp for the back of them

[dippy1830]

I do kegels every day and got those Blake Griffin's calves, na mean?

[flimflammery]

I've recently started training calves as I've decided they are just as important as all the other muscles I train! At the moment I'm doing 3x12 standing calf raises followed by 2x12 seated calf raises which I usually do after squats or leg press and I do this 3x a week. Taking into consideration that I've never trained them before will this be sufficient for growing my calves or at least seeing a significant difference within a few months? Also will training my calves help my squat?

[JimmyPrincipe]

as a novice your calves will grow from squats alone . . . as an intermediate level lifter i rarely see people making huge strides in calf development . . . of course you can improve your calves with the exercises youve posted but the key to this particular muscle group seems to be genetics

[maxcabral]

Is there any ankle workouts? Or can calf raises help thicken your ankles? My ankles are pretty skinny and just tryin to get them bigger and I don't know if working out with my calves is just enough or not

[Gearhead454W9]

It had never occured to me until seeing this to work the calves in the manner of dorsi flexion. Thanks!

[Insanecardio]

The reason why people fail to grow their calves is because they don't give them the same treatment as they do to say arms or chest, they don't consider them important enough, hence don't devote enough time to them. To make your calves grow you have to utilise enormous weight for many repetitions and many sets. Don't forget your calves carry your bodyweight all day long, so hitting them with a couple of light sets is laughable at best. The other reason why the calves don't grow is, because people use too much weight, in fact much more than they can handle. So instead of performing the full proper stretch, followed by a proper contraction, they jerk their knees to help throw the weight up. Yes you end up lifting more, but not only do you end up damaging the cartilage in your knees, but also you're working your quadriceps instead of targeting the gastrocnemius muscles.

Remember what Schwarzenegger said: "To obtain calves like mine, you have to devote at least 500 hours of often brutal and painful workouts."

If you want to improve the size of the inner (larger) gastrocnemius muscles, that give that distinctive, large diamond shape, then turn your feet slightly outwards. If you wish to focus more on the (smaller) outer heads, then turn your feed inwards. Keep your legs straight with a slight bend in the knees to absorb the shock. Try being strict, and in about three to four months you should start seeing a difference.

**** doesn't damage your knees bro.

[carlot]

can i follow the steps as a newbie?

[Bimmerboi32]

Excellent post!