Growing calves - what's your sweet spot?

[adamgentile]

The most stubborn body part for me to even show some growth has always been the calfs. I have slow twitch muscles and discovered high reps do nothing for me. I used to be a long distance runner and played lots of basketball growing up, always had skinny legs and calfs.

I have found heavier weight and low reps are finally doing something. I have limited equipment in my garage so I setup an improvised a seated calf raise machine. My last set at 205lbs for 12.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DsmNPzhjIY

[ajdahlheimer]

I started incorporating skipping rope for 20 minutes a couple times a week in to my workout regiment about 3 years ago and it has done wonders for my calves. I never could get them to grow via any lifts either.

-AJ

[adamgentile]

I started incorporating skipping rope for 20 minutes a couple times a week in to my workout regiment about 3 years ago and it has done wonders for my calves. I never could get them to grow via any lifts either.

-AJ

Ironically I started skipping robe as well this past weekend. I timed my watch for 10 minutes, not easy! I had to take breaks, but my the calf's were feeling it!

[NorwichGrad]

I do it CT Fletcher style.

I command dat mu^&$#^%$er to GROW!

[adamgentile]

I do it CT Fletcher style.

I command dat mu^&$#^%$er to GROW!

Ha! I love this video! Haven't seen it in awhile. Nice one.

[ajdahlheimer]

Ironically I started skipping robe as well this past weekend. I timed my watch for 10 minutes, not easy! I had to take breaks, but my the calf's were feeling it!

If you are looking for any pointers, I made a thread about it a while back.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=177219661

It took me a LONG time and many hours of practice to actually learn how to do it correctly.

[StinnerOzz]

Haven't found exactly what works for me, but have found the range of things that work via combination. The biggest thing for me has not been a) heavy weights, b) low weights, c) over-stretching, d) higher reps for ballerina-levels of ROM, e) anything that would fall under a Google search for "how do you REALLY make your calves grow?" or some such **** that you always see when you're up at night and praying to finally find the secret magic tips...

Anyway, the most important thing for me has been improving on the mind/muscle connection and taking the brunt of the work off of my FEET and onto my actual calves. Shocking I know, but the feet tend to take over and my calves barely do the work most the time. That coupled with the usual good ideas of hard peaks, slow eccentric, controlled concentric, pausing to release the elasticity, etc. have worked well.

[MrCarrot]

Funnily enough I think my calves were most prominent when I was a teenager and rode around a lot on a bicycle.

These days I don't train my calves, I kind of feel they get worked doing squats and leg presses and I'm ashamed to say I just don't look at them very much!

[adamgentile]

If you are looking for any pointers, I made a thread about it a while back.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=177219661

It took me a LONG time and many hours of practice to actually learn how to do it correctly.

Cool, I will check it out.

[John Prophet]

my current working hypothesis is that its mainly about workload. In other words if u have small calves and u have been doing 6 sets per week....there is nothing you can do to make them SIGNIFICANTLY bigger with those same 6 sets per week. Over the course of whatever time frame (years) you need to work up to 30 or 50 sets per week or whatever.

The most I have worked up to so far is 20 sets in a week. Then again last week I did 18 sets and 8 of those were also drop sets so who knows but its probably near equivalent to 26 sets.

of course there is also intensity and various other factors but in the end I think its just about total workload per week etc.

[drudixon]

Anytime I put on 10lbs or more, my calves always seem to grow to compensate. I don't put fat down there so I think it's just all the walking and yardio I do.

[weiss1967]

my current working hypothesis is that its mainly about workload. In other words if u have small calves and u have been doing 6 sets per week....there is nothing you can do to make them SIGNIFICANTLY bigger with those same 6 sets per week. Over the course of whatever time frame (years) you need to work up to 30 or 50 sets per week or whatever.

The most I have worked up to so far is 20 sets in a week. Then again last week I did 18 sets and 8 of those were also drop sets so who knows but its probably near equivalent to 26 sets.

of course there is also intensity and various other factors but in the end I think its just about total workload per week etc.

JP, on spread. I also found through experimentation (frustration mostly) that increased number of sets got my calves going. For a period of time and until calves cought up I was doing nothing less than 7 sets, often 10 set, which would be either 20 or 30 sets for a total number per week, depedning on number of leg days in that week. And, there is also that ROM thing, calves seem to need more of the extended part of the range, like StinnerOZ put it, "to ballerina stance". This was something mentioned to me by one PT passing by, and it turned out to be of great help. Also, higher reps seem to be good calves too. As you might have heard, I am a big fun of 20-rep sets. So, perhaps all these things combined - total workload, higher reps, extended ROM is what needed to grow calves. Maybe this is what needed for biceps or forearms, or maybe this is one hell of an ultimate growth formula.

[OldFartTom]

Of no real benefit to the thread and anecdotal only, it might please the "it's genetics" crowd.

I saw someone in the gym this morning who was slim and looked fit, who had calves like elephant's leg but had arms like a snowman. Never seen such an extreme mismatch before.

[induced_drag]

Seated calves should be the least of your focus. If you want your calves to POP, do straight leg exercises. The soleus is more of the focus with bent legs. Given it's prominence of slow twitch. On avg the soleus is aprox 80% ST, whereas the Gastro is only 50-60% slow twitch. (will respond better to hypertrophy)


I struggled for MANY years with my calves ALWAYS being my "weak point" visually. I have high insertion points which means they will never be huge like the guys that tie in at their ankles Years and years, I "burned" my calves to oblivion...and nothing.

I finally started training them "heavy". I utilized uni-lateral assistance as a BIG part of this. (heavy negatives)

My calves are still not equal to the rest of my development, but I did add over 2" on them eventually


This was my legs in my 20's. Talk about bird calves! This was with aprox 5 years of training under my belt and aprox 190lb bw. I was putting in lots of calf work....just no results

Below that was a pic from 14 years ago, when I had been out of the gym for MANY years. You can see that I was not blessed with calves! (But my daughter is cute! She is 16 now....holy cow!)







This is what they look like today. Not huge by any means, but not something you would be drawn to laughter over
My leg skin is paper thin these days. I often wonder if I carried normal fat, my guess is they would be 17-18" They cold measure aprox 16 1/2. During my first few years of training, I could not get them to move past 14"

[JAR6]

This is what they look like today. Not huge by any means, but not something you would be drawn to laughter over

So what was your routine where you saw the best results? and at what frequency?

[willybrokeback]

Seated calves should be the least of your focus. If you want your calves to POP, do straight leg exercises. The soleus is more of the focus with bent legs. Given it's prominence of slow twitch. On avg the soleus is aprox 80% ST, whereas the Gastro is only 50-60% slow twitch. (will respond better to hypertrophy)


I struggled for MANY years with my calves ALWAYS being my "weak point" visually. I have high insertion points which means they will never be huge like the guys that tie in at their ankles Years and years, I "burned" my calves to oblivion...and nothing.

I finally started training them "heavy". I utilized uni-lateral assistance as a BIG part of this. (heavy negatives)

My calves are still not equal to the rest of my development, but I did add over 2" on them eventually


This was my legs in my 20's. Talk about bird calves! This was with aprox 5 years of training under my belt and aprox 190lb bw. I was putting in lots of calf work....just no results

Below that was a pic from 14 years ago, when I had been out of the gym for MANY years. You can see that I was not blessed with calves! (But my daughter is cute! She is 16 now....holy cow!)







This is what they look like today. Not huge by any means, but not something you would be drawn to laughter over
My leg skin is paper thin these days. I often wonder if I carried normal fat, my guess is they would be 17-18" They cold measure aprox 16 1/2. During my first few years of training, I could not get them to move past 14"

I don't know why but on all of your posts the links never appear to me. When I read them its akin to listening to somebody talk about a ghost in the room you can't see.

[StinnerOzz]

double post

[StinnerOzz]

Seated calves should be the least of your focus. If you want your calves to POP, do straight leg exercises. The soleus is more of the focus with bent legs. Given it's prominence of slow twitch. On avg the soleus is aprox 80% ST, whereas the Gastro is only 50-60% slow twitch. (will respond better to hypertrophy)


I struggled for MANY years with my calves ALWAYS being my "weak point" visually. I have high insertion points which means they will never be huge like the guys that tie in at their ankles Years and years, I "burned" my calves to oblivion...and nothing.

I finally started training them "heavy". I utilized uni-lateral assistance as a BIG part of this. (heavy negatives)

My calves are still not equal to the rest of my development, but I did add over 2" on them eventually

Do share the routines you feel impacted them the most. I relate to a lot of what you said. It's not frequency, workload, levels of hardcore, etc. It's doing the right thing THE RIGHT WAY. I'm still working on figuring that out, as I mentioned here, and am improving after all these years. I haven't done heavy negatives though; how do you incorporate them?

[supramax]

adamgentile,

Do jump squats. Explode.

[induced_drag]

So what was your routine where you saw the best results? and at what frequency?

It has changed and wandered, but the principles are the same.

I have integrated truly "HEAVY" work. Heavy meaning something I can really only get 6-10 reps out of for a set. This means full eccentric with a pause (no bounce) and full contraction. Good warmups are essential, since I found out I have never really stressed myself this way.

I started training them 3 days a week.

95%+ of my focus was straight-leg exercises. I ditched the seated presses. I dont think they are 'bad' but you are not getting much out of them. Probably does not hurt to do them, but I like efficiency in my workouts and I dont want to spend time on things that are not productive.

I utilized uni-lateral overload on one sometimes two sets. (last sets of my workout).


-Essentially chose a weight you cant press with one leg.
-Press up with both feet.
-Remove one foot (or just back off...no need to lift it away fully as long as it is not applying force)
-Lower in a controlled manner with one calf.
-Repeat press with both feet
-lower with the other leg


Max reps 8-10/leg. Use these sparingly. They work you hard and you can easily over do what are essentially full negative reps.

Sometimes I stop the lowering at several points along the way down for variation.



NOTE:this is a lot of stress on the Achilles so be careful. Prior to doing this, I realized I had never really stressed my calves all that much despite 1000's of past reps. Calves just will eat up the volume all day. I believe the new growth was a byproduct of them actually having to work under a load which is more than they have ever seen. Just be careful.

I don't know why but on all of your posts the links never appear to me. When I read them its akin to listening to somebody talk about a ghost in the room you can't see.

You probably have me on ignore...everyone else does

Not sure on pics, I use imgur?

Do share the routines you feel impacted them the most. I relate to a lot of what you said. It's not frequency, workload, levels of hardcore, etc. It's doing the right thing THE RIGHT WAY. I'm still working on figuring that out, as I mentioned here, and am improving after all these years. I haven't done heavy negatives though; how do you incorporate them?

See above. The uni-lateral assistance is the big one. Just use sparingly. In fact, I often use it every other. Just going by feel. I am a firm believer in not having to work so hard you are puking in the corner to grow. I have had a lot of success and I dont think I have ever worked to the point of puking. There is a difference between pushing yourself to grow and then pushing just to push. The latter I think can actually be counter productive.

[wj72wc]

Looking for larger calves? Sprinters and football or rugby players have them, not all, but enough. What's in common? Very short, but fast sprints. Just 5 to 10 yards up and back. Up and back 5, up and back 10, up and back 5. It's only 40 yards, but after 5-10 sets I think you'll feel it. Also, do 20 yard sprints backwards. If you get calf cramps; where your calf muscle feels like a iron baseball trying to migrate to your kneecap, welcome to the club.

[JAR6]

95%+ of my focus was straight-leg exercises. I ditched the seated presses. I dont think they are 'bad' but you are not getting much out of them. Probably does not hurt to do them, but I like efficiency in my workouts and I dont want to spend time on things that are not productive.

This does make sense, seeing that the soleus will still get worked when doing straight leg calf-raises.

I have been doing 4 sets standing, 4 sets seated, but think im going to switch to just 6-8 sets standing and see if it works better.