calf workout- QUICK RESULTS

[Gianna1]

Hi i'm Gianna and i'm new to this website...i have a question that is extremely important to me...so i'd appreciate any advice...
I'm a very small built 22 yrs old female so i basically have small bones and not alot of muscle...but my calves are my biggest concern...they are extremely thin and i feel like they make my legs look weird and out of proportion. I would like to ask if there is any workout routine that i can follow to get the size of my calfs bigger (preferably 1.5 cm or more) in a relatively short period of time (2-6 months)...I would like them to get bigger all around specially the inner side...
I know a few exercises that is for calfs (standing or seating calf rise) but i'm not sure how many reps i have to do each day or what to eat or what to do at all to get any results...i really don't want to go for implants and i would really appreciate any help regarding this because its been effecting my confidence in a bad way...

thanx

[warriors]

well calves have a lot to do with genetics but u can build them up to a nice size. I dont know about any one else but my calves have always responded well to higher reps around 15-20 and workin them at least 2 times a week. Just experiment with exercises and reps until u feel comfortable and start seein some improvements.

[Cyber_Space]

jumping rope is another way to build your calves

[Gianna1]

i started doing standing calf rises last week and i've been doing it everyday so far...because my calfs are generaly the only body part i need to work on...is working them everyday for like 10-15 minutes healthy? I'm totaly clueless when it comes to working out so can someone explain to me with detail what generaly works and what doesn't? another thing is i don't want to end up with very manly calfs :S
I appreciate the advice

[warriors]

well calves are a muscle just like every other muscle in ur body so there is no need to work them everyday. Just stick to at least 2 times a week.

Also FYI there is a female section here also if dont feel comfortable askin these questions here. Not tryin to run u off or anything but just lookin out.

[Gianna1]

yes i noticed the female section but i know men in general are more into workingout their calves so they might have more experience in that area..is this section only meant for men?

[TTRAIDER]

what I have found to be very effective is to pick a weight you can do 20 reps with and start off doing 15, then rest 10 seconds then do as many as you can up to 15 then rest 10 sec... Keep doing that until you reach 75 reps. I have been noticing some good results.

[warriors]

yes i noticed the female section but i know men in general are more into workingout their calves so they might have more experience in that area..is this section only meant for men?

no no no....this section is for anybody that wants to come in here for advice. I didnt mean it like that i was just lettin u know in case u didnt.

[Stinker]

If you want to focus on the inner side of your calves point your toes inward on the standing calf raise. Pointing toes out will do the opposite.

[derekchinese]

use the leg press machine to do your calf raises, by the end of the set you can use your thighs to really push the calves, it works really well, just try it!

[spaz1810]

i've found from experience and a trainer and another well respected bb in my gym both told me that calves respond better to higher reps due to the function that they have - i experimented with ranges from 15-20 all the way up to 25-30 on the standing calf raise and found that 20-30 of complete failure on each set worked best

just let me warn you that this workout is the most painful thing i have ever felt when lifting - first time i stepped off and my legs gave way from pain. but don't worry it subsides within about 5 seconds

[DUILEE]

If all you're trying to do is define your calfs I'd say running would be the best way. I've done calf raises for years but I didn't start noticing alot of change until I started running more often.

[Gianna1]

thanx for all the advice...i'll try them all and see what works out best for me..

[Kane Fan]

yes i noticed the female section but i know men in general are more into workingout their calves so they might have more experience in that area..is this section only meant for men?

lol no
we arn't trying to chase you away (in fact bring a few female friends around if you like!)
but women don't gain muscle as fast as men
so other women would be better able to give you an idea of how long it'd take to reach your calf goals
I don't think I'd train calves every day
maybe 2x a week
I prefer seated calf raises but that's just a personal preference thing
I like to train my calves with like 5-10 sets of around 6 reps
my small muscles usually work well from that
then again everything tends to work for me I'm spoiled that way

[imageek]

wanna try some donkey calf raises??

[Wizard_hat]

Well Gianna, here's what I'm doing for calves. There's no guarantee that it will work for you, but you may want to think about it.

In just over a month, I've added 1cm and 1.5cm to my right and left calf respectively.

Seated calf raises
Bent over calf raises

In my four day cycle, I do legs on days 2 and 4. I train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so, for example, I'd do seated calf raises on Wednesday, and then bent over calf raises on the following Monday.

For both, I warm up with two sets, nothing too heavy, as I want to conserve as much energy as I can. When the muscles are warm, I put everything I have into one rest pause set, which is three minisets divided by two 10-15 breath pauses. I push until failure on each miniset, which is after about 10 reps or so.

My strength gains have been quite good, in my opinion. Click here to check out my workout journal. Click here for a calf pic from 11 November (about 40 days after I started training again).

[ravadongon]

Read this: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...highlight=calf

Really interesting stuff. Since I started walking correctly (pushing off from the ball of my feet) my calf size has increased by more than 1" in less than a month (without altering training style).

[Gianna1]

Interesting stuff...i'll try it

[Gianna1]

hi i had to sign in with a different name since the other one wasn't working...I just wanted to say i haven't tried everything when it comes to calf workouts...last week i started working them out for the first time because i realized i really don't want to do it with implants and i'm willing to do anything to get results i want. I have this question:
When i do the standing calf rises i can usually do 3 sets of 25-30 reps each...and usually towards the end of it i feel the burning pain in my calfs and i can feel that they're being worked out but when i do the seated calf rises i can go on for 200 reps and there is no pain or burning what so ever and i figured i might be doing it wrong. so this is how i do it:
i seat on my chair and put two dumbbels of 5 pounds each on each of my legs close to my knees and put my feet on a piece of wood or something and just do the rises while holding the dumbels so that they don't fall. but i can go on and on and i don't feel any pain or don't feel as much tightness and explosion feeling as the standing calf rises. so is there something wrong with what i'm doing or its just that way with the seated calf rises?
please help me out with this and thx for all the advice []

[AJbuilder]

Gianna,

There is a difference between a seated calf raise and a standing calf raise. The seated calf raise works mainly the soleus muscle, which is the part of the calf that is somewhat underneath the gastrocnemius muscle of the entire calf. The gastro is the muscle that's visible and shows to the eye and the soleus lies just underneath the gastro . You're not able to see the soleus. So essentially, the soleus is a functional muscle that does some stabilization to the legs when you walk. The soleus can take a bigger beating so if you're not using real heavy weight, you won't feel it as much.

The seated calf raises isolates the soleus, leaving little work on the gastro. So I wouldn't fret about seated calf raises so much. I would concentrate more on standing calf raises because that's the exercise that works the gastro and the soleus together. When the gastro contracts in the standing position of standing calf raises, stress is also shifted to the soleus as it helps the entire calf muscles stabilize. You get more work with standing calf raises so stick to them instead.

This is what you can try for calves as well. Normally you would think of doing 4 sets of 12 for standing calf raises with 2 min. rest in between each set. So that is 48 reps in at least 7-8 minutes( including the rest, you can do the math).

But a better strategy that has helped me and a few other people I've helped is to do more or the same amount of work(reps) in less time. Try this:

- do one set of 12-15 reps( that should take about 40-60 seconds to complete one set), then in a rest pause fashion rest for 15-20seconds and crank out another few reps. You should be able to do about 4-7 more reps now so that's a total of 16-22 reps already done in just 80 seconds. Now continue rest pause and rest for another 20seconds, crank out a few more reps, rest again for 20s, do a few more, and repeat until you can only do one rep or no reps at all. Now in under just 6 minutes, you should be able to do at least those 48 reps already. This isn't an easy workout and will require a lot of concentration and will to continue. Essentially you are doing more work in less time. Next workout, try to beat those numbers and do more reps or add more weight. Progression is also a key here.

Hope this helps.

[Gianna1]

i will try that..thx for the help