Calves

**DarkFalcon** · 05-16-2005, 11:57 PM

OK let's hear what's worked for you in bringing up your calves. Mine suck period, I need some kick ass tips for shorts season.

**johnsbod** · 05-17-2005, 12:03 AM

I've always had good calves, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to give advice on them, but I'll give it a shot.

My favorite exercises are seated calf raises, seated calf extensions (similar to doing calf raises on a leg press machine, but at no angle), and standing calf raises on the Smith machine. Experiment with the rep range and see what works. I know a lot of people only respond to high reps in their calf muscles. Personally, I'm find with lower reps and heavier weights. The seated calf raises are a must for full calf development. Since they are a relatively small muscle, you could work them 2-3 times per week, depending on how well you recover. I think a lot of people who have lagging calves have never tried high reps, so if that's you try something in the 20 rep range and see what happens.

**DarkFalcon** · 05-17-2005, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsbod

I've always had good calves, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to give advice on them, but I'll give it a shot.

My favorite exercises are seated calf raises, seated calf extensions (similar to doing calf raises on a leg press machine, but at no angle), and standing calf raises on the Smith machine. Experiment with the rep range and see what works. I know a lot of people only respond to high reps in their calf muscles. Personally, I'm find with lower reps and heavier weights. The seated calf raises are a must for full calf development. Since they are a relatively small muscle, you could work them 2-3 times per week, depending on how well you recover. I think a lot of people who have lagging calves have never tried high reps, so if that's you try something in the 20 rep range and see what happens.

Hmm..your right, I've always tried the 8-12 range. Maybe the higher range will do the trick along with a second calf day?

Master Of Puppets · 05-17-2005, 12:26 AM

To tell you the truth, I do not work calves with weights consistently. I walk a mile from school every day, and my calves get a good workout from that because I try to get home quickly to eat when I get home.

On ocassion, I do heavy bb calf raises, working in the 8-10 rep range. My calves have grown quite significantly from when I started, but they were very small when I started.

-MOP

**DarkFalcon** · 05-17-2005, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Of Puppets

To tell you the truth, I do not work calves with weights consistently. I walk a mile from school every day, and my calves get a good workout from that because I try to get home quickly to eat when I get home.

On ocassion, I do heavy bb calf raises, working in the 8-10 rep range. My calves have grown quite significantly from when I started, but they were very small when I started.

-MOP

I'm very small framed (ie. skinny by nature) so my calves have always been embarasingly small. Friends used to ask me to quit riding my chicken around.

**Sholiz** · 05-17-2005, 02:23 AM

Guide to Becoming a Machine?

Brinn · 05-17-2005, 04:47 AM

I got crappy calves. Nothing seems to work for them. It wouldn't be so bad if the shorts I wear didn't cut off at just above the knees. When are hotpants coming back in?

**DarkFalcon** · 05-17-2005, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brinn

I got crappy calves. Nothing seems to work for them. It wouldn't be so bad if the shorts I wear didn't cut off at just above the knees. When are hotpants coming back in?

Screw hot pants I'm hoping leg warmers come back in!!

http://www.americanphoto.co.jp/pages...lans-47574.jpg

scott_donald · 05-17-2005, 11:05 AM

hmmm i suck as onl do calves with power shrugs... so no idea...

hmm i would try what u havent so far...so yep the high reps...

try 15 and even 20...

LatsMakeTheMan · 05-17-2005, 04:41 PM

My calves are definitely my weakest bodypart. They've got decent definition, but I've got very high attachments, so they appear very small. On top of that, they aren't symetrical. The attachments on the right one are noticably higher than on the left one. They do have the same measurements, though, about 15.5 inches. Since my arms are about 16.25 at the moment, I guess they aren't all that small, but they "look" small and that's what counts.

I need to do a serious, prolonged bulk and see what I can do. I've only bulked twice, and neither was for a very long time.

**DarkFalcon** · 05-17-2005, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatsMakeTheMan

My calves are definitely my weakest bodypart. They've got decent definition, but I've got very high attachments, so they appear very small. On top of that, they aren't symetrical. The attachments on the right one are noticably higher than on the left one. They do have the same measurements, though, about 15.5 inches. Since my arms are about 16.25 at the moment, I guess they aren't all that small, but they "look" small and that's what counts.

I need to do a serious, prolonged bulk and see what I can do. I've only bulked twice, and neither was for a very long time.

You must be endo by nature then. I'm always bulking..lol. :p

LatsMakeTheMan · 05-17-2005, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFalcon

You must be endo by nature then. I'm always bulking..lol. :p

Heh, you guessed it. The mass tends to come relatively easily for me (obviously not in the calves, though

), but I'm always fighting the fat.

**johnsbod** · 05-17-2005, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatsMakeTheMan

Heh, you guessed it. The mass tends to come relatively easily for me (obviously not in the calves, though

), but I'm always fighting the fat.

Same here. It's both a blessing and a curse.

Testosterone · 05-18-2005, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatsMakeTheMan

Heh, you guessed it. The mass tends to come relatively easily for me (obviously not in the calves, though

), but I'm always fighting the fat.

Me too. Double edged sword eh?

chris2489 · 05-18-2005, 12:25 AM

Heres something that sholud get your calves up. It worked for me, my brother, and some friends.

Pick a calf exercise wear the legs are straight out. Then go up for 2-3 seconds, then hold for 2 seconds in the exstended position, then lower for 4 seconds. Only do 1 set to failure. You should notice a difference in your calves anywhere from 1-3 months. The average seems to be about 2 months though.

LatsMakeTheMan · 05-18-2005, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2489

Heres something that sholud get your calves up. It worked for me, my brother, and some friends.

Pick a calf exercise wear the legs are straight out. Then go up for 2-3 seconds, then hold for 2 seconds in the exstended position, then lower for 4 seconds. Only do 1 set to failure. You should notice a difference in your calves anywhere from 1-3 months. The average seems to be about 2 months though.

That sounds cool. Right now I'm cutting so I'm not really going at the calves all that hard, since while on a restricted diet I can't expect to gain much mass anyway. But I'll give this a shot.

**DarkFalcon** · 05-18-2005, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2489

Heres something that sholud get your calves up. It worked for me, my brother, and some friends.

Pick a calf exercise wear the legs are straight out. Then go up for 2-3 seconds, then hold for 2 seconds in the exstended position, then lower for 4 seconds. Only do 1 set to failure. You should notice a difference in your calves anywhere from 1-3 months. The average seems to be about 2 months though.

Sounds too easy to be true..lol. How many times a week?

Diab0lic · 05-18-2005, 10:55 AM

I do seated calf raises for my soleus muscle. Since its primarily a slow twitch muscle, I do 3 sets in the high rep range (15-30) on this machine, not too heavy, focusing on form. For gastrocnemius which is a fast twitch muscle, I do standing calf raises 4 sets heavy as hell in the 6-15 range. You should see my shoulders after a calf workout, bruised up and busted capilliaries and shit

Now and then I will do some calf extensions on the horizontal or 45 degree leg press for my tibialis and extensors, but they usually get worked quite hard when I do the other calf exercises, so I dont do them all the time. Ill do 12-20 for those. Ive always had quite big calves, but they used to be out of shape. This routine has fixed that.

chris2489 · 05-18-2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFalcon

Sounds too easy to be true..lol. How many times a week?

I forgot to mention to pick a weight you fail around 12-15 reps. And this is not easy. If you go balls out so that no matter how hard you try to get another rep your feet dont budge you calves will be on fire. You can do this once or twice a week. If you do them more than once a week make sure you only do 1 every 4 days. So if you were to do them on monday you wouldnt do them till friday. Just make sure your calves are 100% recovered before you work them out again. Also make sure you are either going up in weight or reps each workout.

05-16-2005, 11:57 PM	#1
DarkFalcon I've got a RAGING clue! Join Date: May 2005 Location: dnyc99's cleaning staff Posts: 11,511 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 299	Calves OK let's hear what's worked for you in bringing up your calves. Mine suck period, I need some kick ass tips for shorts season.

05-17-2005, 12:03 AM	#2
johnsbod Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 2,733 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 60	I've always had good calves, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to give advice on them, but I'll give it a shot. My favorite exercises are seated calf raises, seated calf extensions (similar to doing calf raises on a leg press machine, but at no angle), and standing calf raises on the Smith machine. Experiment with the rep range and see what works. I know a lot of people only respond to high reps in their calf muscles. Personally, I'm find with lower reps and heavier weights. The seated calf raises are a must for full calf development. Since they are a relatively small muscle, you could work them 2-3 times per week, depending on how well you recover. I think a lot of people who have lagging calves have never tried high reps, so if that's you try something in the 20 rep range and see what happens. __________________ Wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen können, posten Sie hier. Misc Perv #69

05-17-2005, 12:26 AM	#4
Master Of Puppets Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2,007 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 47	To tell you the truth, I do not work calves with weights consistently. I walk a mile from school every day, and my calves get a good workout from that because I try to get home quickly to eat when I get home. On ocassion, I do heavy bb calf raises, working in the 8-10 rep range. My calves have grown quite significantly from when I started, but they were very small when I started. -MOP __________________ :chairhide:

05-17-2005, 02:23 AM	#6
Sholiz Soldier In Progress Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,427 Recipes: 3 Rep Power: 230	Guide to Becoming a Machine? __________________ You hear me before you see me, I got King Kong in the trunk

05-17-2005, 04:47 AM	#7
Brinn Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 127 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 5	I got crappy calves. Nothing seems to work for them. It wouldn't be so bad if the shorts I wear didn't cut off at just above the knees. When are hotpants coming back in? __________________ "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man." - Jebediah Springfield RIP New and Improved! (Formerly Known As Just Shoot Me!) - 05/05/05

05-17-2005, 11:05 AM	#9
scott_donald New Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Aberdeen, scotland Posts: 23 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	hmmm i suck as onl do calves with power shrugs... so no idea... hmm i would try what u havent so far...so yep the high reps... try 15 and even 20...

05-17-2005, 04:41 PM	#10
LatsMakeTheMan Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 185 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 5	My calves are definitely my weakest bodypart. They've got decent definition, but I've got very high attachments, so they appear very small. On top of that, they aren't symetrical. The attachments on the right one are noticably higher than on the left one. They do have the same measurements, though, about 15.5 inches. Since my arms are about 16.25 at the moment, I guess they aren't all that small, but they "look" small and that's what counts. I need to do a serious, prolonged bulk and see what I can do. I've only bulked twice, and neither was for a very long time. __________________ Super Saiyan in training..... My MySpace account....come love me: http://www.myspace.com/eric2080

05-18-2005, 12:25 AM	#15
chris2489 Amateur Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: wilmington, North Carolina Posts: 70 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 4	Heres something that sholud get your calves up. It worked for me, my brother, and some friends. Pick a calf exercise wear the legs are straight out. Then go up for 2-3 seconds, then hold for 2 seconds in the exstended position, then lower for 4 seconds. Only do 1 set to failure. You should notice a difference in your calves anywhere from 1-3 months. The average seems to be about 2 months though. __________________ For the highest quality at the rock bottom lowest price go to trueprotein.com 5% discount code-CHK284 trueproteincanada.com 5% discount code-CHK284

05-18-2005, 10:55 AM	#18
Diab0lic Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: NZ Posts: 125 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 7	I do seated calf raises for my soleus muscle. Since its primarily a slow twitch muscle, I do 3 sets in the high rep range (15-30) on this machine, not too heavy, focusing on form. For gastrocnemius which is a fast twitch muscle, I do standing calf raises 4 sets heavy as hell in the 6-15 range. You should see my shoulders after a calf workout, bruised up and busted capilliaries and shit Now and then I will do some calf extensions on the horizontal or 45 degree leg press for my tibialis and extensors, but they usually get worked quite hard when I do the other calf exercises, so I dont do them all the time. Ill do 12-20 for those. Ive always had quite big calves, but they used to be out of shape. This routine has fixed that. __________________