Calves

T

Typhon

2
Quite a basic question; what do you guys do to work your calves?

I'm a pretty tall guy (6'2") with long limbs so it's been hard work trying to get any size on my legs, however, my quads and ham's have just started to look pretty big. The problem is my calves still suck big time so now my legs are looking a bit odd because of the difference in size between my upper and lower leg

I do calf raises about once a week but apart from increasing the frequency of these are there any other things I could try?

I was wondering, are calves likely to be prodominantly type 2's? Should they then be hit with high rep work?
 
try both seated and standing calf raises. The soleus is kind of a "pop em out" muscle. It lies underneath the glastroc and pushes it out. seated works the soleus more because of the knees being bent.

I've heard that the soleus should be worked with high rep and the glastroc with low reps (not like 1-3, but maybe 6-8 or something) however, it's more a question of what works for you.

Myself I don't do much direct calf work, but I do get a lot of work on them from my oly lifts.
 
IMO you need to train it more than once per wk.
try doing some heavy calf raises with a drop set after,that way you get the best of both.
 
Thanks for both those replies guys.

So calf raises are just about it for calf development? I should make it clear that my calves are pretty strong, just very slim, it's purely hypertrophy I'm looking for to stop my legs from looking silly

Drops sets sound like they might do something, I haven't done a drop set on anything for about 12 months
 
They can usually also handle pretty high volume, frequency and low rest periods. The calfs are adapted to high volume and high frequncy work, they recover quick. Just think about the fact that you use them every time you walk or run!
 
i noticed a big difference in calf size when i started running,you could try hill work or running with a weighted pack etc.
you very rarely see big guys (muscle or fat) with small calves so load plus volume as karky said.
 
It might not be a bad idea to train the tibialis anterior (at the front of the shin) it can add some tickness to the lower leg. Running backwards barefoot in sand (if you have access to a beach) is said to really work both the tibialis and the rest of the lower leg muscles really hard!
 
Running in sand certainly is hard, I used to do that when I was a student but I now live about 100 miles from the coast. I'll certainly try calf raises from standing and sitting, the hill running could be a good idea too but my time is at such a premium it can be hard to find the time
 
CCR said:
Running in sand certainly is hard, I used to do that when I was a student but I now live about 100 miles from the coast. I'll certainly try calf raises from standing and sitting, the hill running could be a good idea too but my time is at such a premium it can be hard to find the time
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treadmill high gradient:p
 
Another good way is to have your toes on an edge, lower as far as can and then lift up and repeat. Eccentric contractions will work the calves a lot harder than normal raises.
 
err.. you can use the treadmill, but you have to use a small incline.
And it's way harder in sand. How would a treadmill be harder? :s
 
matt182 said:
Another good way is to have your toes on an edge, lower as far as can and then lift up and repeat. Eccentric contractions will work the calves a lot harder than normal raises.
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are you talking about a negative,ie when you get to the bottom step of and then lift the weight using your quads,and then restart,its just that the way you have desciribed it that sounds like a normal raise.
 
try doing squats and go all the way down, but stay on your toes.
hold it for 10-20 seconds. and repeat 10-20 times. or more:)

now thats a burn..
 
Those are called hindu squats. They are ok for BW.. never really saw the point in them though.. but I sure as **** wouldn't add weight to it..
 
balance is obviously key.
but ive never had a problem doing them
 
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