Are skinny calves holding you back? If you have skinny calves, then they could hold you back from winning local, regional or national bodybuilding contests. If you're not a competitive bodybuilder, then skinny calves may be an embarrassment to you. I'll bet that some of you with skinny calves don't wear shorts in the gym. Right? Well, don't feel bad. I truly understand.
Nothing can be as frustrating as having a good upper body and big thighs with skinny calves. It happens to a lot of competitive and recreational bodybuilders. Most bodybuilders want a proportional body. This means their calves must be in proportion to the rest of their body. A rule of thumb for male bodybuilders is that your neck, arm and calf sizes should be nearly the same. So, if you have a 17" arm, then you should have 17" calves to be proportional.
The calf muscle group is a totally different type of muscle and requires a specialized type of training to achieve maximum growth. The training principles and techniques used to successfully train the calves must be different than conventional training systems that train the pecs, delts, arms, etc.
Well, skinny calves don't have to hold you back. The solution is to completely transform your current calf training routine to incorporate the following four key elements:
1. Stretching Between Sets - Add a 30 to 45 second stretch between each calf exercise set. Stretching helps joint flexibility and assists in muscle growth.
2. High Intensity Training Techniques - The traditional straight sets are not intense enough to stimulate long-term calf growth. Add High Intensity Training Techniques such as drop-sets, add-sets, eccentric sets or rest-pause to your calf routines to thoroughly stimulate your calves.
3. Exercise and Exercise Equipment Variation - There are four standard calf training exercises: Standing Calf Raise, Seated Calf Raise, Donkey Calf Raise and Toe Press (on Leg Press). Mix these exercises up often in your workouts. Don't do the same calf exercise or calf exercise machine every workout. Keep your calf muscles guessing with a different stimulation each workout.
4. Multiple Repetition Schemes - Don't use the same repetition range for all your calf sets. Your calf routines must have a mix of exercises in the 8 to 20 repetition range and exercises in the 20 to 100 repetition range. This is necessary to work the Type II-Fast Twitch fibers AND the Type I-Slow Twitch fibers in the gastrocnemius and soleus.
Because the soleus are primarily Type I-Slow Twitch muscle fiber, you should perform most of your sets in the 20-100 rep range. For the gastrocnemius, you will attain maximum growth by having a 50-50 split of 8-20 rep range and 20-100 rep range.
If you want unprecedented calf growth, then you need to incorporate these four elements into your advanced calf training.
Jeffry Robinson is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer specializing
in muscle building, fat loss and fitness consulting. With over 40 years
of bodybuilding experience and his in-depth knowledge of physiology,
anatomy and muscle building principles, he has developed new and
revolutionary information products for bodybuilders.
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