There are a lot of different and possible calf exercises that you
can do to get bigger calves starting today. If you flip through any
popular bodybuilding or health and fitness magazine, you'll no doubt
find a bunch of articles and pictures of guys doing different calf
exercises and calf workouts. But from being in this industry for the
amount of time as I have, you notice that a lot of men don't train their
calves at all.
It's almost like they are a forgotten body part, which I have no clue why. If you want an aesthetically pleasing physique then you must train your calf muscles. You don't want to have big legs and big arms but tiny calves because that would just look embarrassing when summer time rolls around and you have to wear shorts.
Now when it comes to training your calves, there are numerous approaches that you can take. Some people argue that you should work out calves heavy and hard because they are a slow twitch muscle group so this will shock them into growth. Another group of people will argue that you should use high reps to train your calves since they can take a lot of pounding and volume.
In truth, both sides are true to a point. But in the end, calves are just like any other body part that you would train if you wanted it to get bigger. If you have to focus on them, train them hard, and let them rest and recover every other muscle in your body. Now there are some exercises that are better than others and we'll get into those in a second. But first I want to give you a great calf training tip that you can use right away to get the most out of each and every exercise and every workout that you do.
The thing with any type of calf training exercise is that you can really utilize the stretch reflex of the muscle when you are going through plantar flexion and dorsiflexion within the movement. This is because of your Achilles tendon which stores a lot of elastic energy. So at the bottom of the movement if you don't realize this, you can be taking a lot away from your calf muscles doing the work and instead transfer most of it through your Achilles tendon as kinetic energy.
Just like any other muscle, we want it to do the most work possible and not have to rely on any other muscles to help complete the exercise. So what I have been implementing, which I picked up from Dante Trudell is a brutally hard method to training calves.
You only do one set, but this one set last upwards of 2+ minutes. You will pick a weight let's say for standing calf raises and begin the movement at the bottom position. You'll hold this position for 5 seconds then explosively contract your calves and explode up really squeezing hard at the top of the movement. From there you'll slowly lower the weight down for 5 seconds all the way into the bottom position and keep it there for another 5 seconds.
Again, from there explode up and repeat this sequence for a total of 15 reps. By slowly lowering the weight and holding your foot in dorsiflexion at the bottom of the exercise, you eliminate the stretch reflex and completely take the Achilles tendon out of the movement allowing your calves to do all the work. I have to warn you though that is really painful so start out with a light weight that you almost think is too light in the beginning. I guarantee that it won't feel so light later on in the set.
So my two favorite calf exercises that I rotate using this specific training technique are donkey calf raises and seated calf raised. I really like donkey calf raises because of the extra stretch you get in the hamstrings and calves from being bent over. I also like the basic seated calf raises because they target the soleus muscle which lies underneath your gastrocs. When developed, this can really add a 3-d element to your entire lower leg and actually help to push your calves out even more.
If your gym does not have a donkey calf raise machine then all you need is a step, something to support yourself and a weighted vest or belt. Simply just step and place your toes at the end of the step and bend over slightly until you feel a stretch in the back of your legs. From there slowly lower for 5 seconds, hold it there for another 5 seconds then explode back up.
Seated calf raises are easy to perform too. Most gyms have one of these machines, if not you can still do them by yourself. Simply position a bench next to a step or anything that will allow you to get a good stretch in your calves. For resistance you can just use 2 dumbbells and place them on each knee. From there, slowly lower for 5 seconds, hold it for 5 at the bottom then explode back up.
All in all, these 2 calf exercises are perfect for what you want to accomplish. You don't need to go crazy with changing up the exercises since your body takes longer to adapt to the exercise than it does to the repetition amount. But if you implement this calf training tip into each exercise for each set, I guarantee your calves will grow like weeds. But don't say I didn't tell you so when for the first week you might not be able to walk that much.
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It's almost like they are a forgotten body part, which I have no clue why. If you want an aesthetically pleasing physique then you must train your calf muscles. You don't want to have big legs and big arms but tiny calves because that would just look embarrassing when summer time rolls around and you have to wear shorts.
Now when it comes to training your calves, there are numerous approaches that you can take. Some people argue that you should work out calves heavy and hard because they are a slow twitch muscle group so this will shock them into growth. Another group of people will argue that you should use high reps to train your calves since they can take a lot of pounding and volume.
In truth, both sides are true to a point. But in the end, calves are just like any other body part that you would train if you wanted it to get bigger. If you have to focus on them, train them hard, and let them rest and recover every other muscle in your body. Now there are some exercises that are better than others and we'll get into those in a second. But first I want to give you a great calf training tip that you can use right away to get the most out of each and every exercise and every workout that you do.
The thing with any type of calf training exercise is that you can really utilize the stretch reflex of the muscle when you are going through plantar flexion and dorsiflexion within the movement. This is because of your Achilles tendon which stores a lot of elastic energy. So at the bottom of the movement if you don't realize this, you can be taking a lot away from your calf muscles doing the work and instead transfer most of it through your Achilles tendon as kinetic energy.
Just like any other muscle, we want it to do the most work possible and not have to rely on any other muscles to help complete the exercise. So what I have been implementing, which I picked up from Dante Trudell is a brutally hard method to training calves.
You only do one set, but this one set last upwards of 2+ minutes. You will pick a weight let's say for standing calf raises and begin the movement at the bottom position. You'll hold this position for 5 seconds then explosively contract your calves and explode up really squeezing hard at the top of the movement. From there you'll slowly lower the weight down for 5 seconds all the way into the bottom position and keep it there for another 5 seconds.
Again, from there explode up and repeat this sequence for a total of 15 reps. By slowly lowering the weight and holding your foot in dorsiflexion at the bottom of the exercise, you eliminate the stretch reflex and completely take the Achilles tendon out of the movement allowing your calves to do all the work. I have to warn you though that is really painful so start out with a light weight that you almost think is too light in the beginning. I guarantee that it won't feel so light later on in the set.
So my two favorite calf exercises that I rotate using this specific training technique are donkey calf raises and seated calf raised. I really like donkey calf raises because of the extra stretch you get in the hamstrings and calves from being bent over. I also like the basic seated calf raises because they target the soleus muscle which lies underneath your gastrocs. When developed, this can really add a 3-d element to your entire lower leg and actually help to push your calves out even more.
If your gym does not have a donkey calf raise machine then all you need is a step, something to support yourself and a weighted vest or belt. Simply just step and place your toes at the end of the step and bend over slightly until you feel a stretch in the back of your legs. From there slowly lower for 5 seconds, hold it there for another 5 seconds then explode back up.
Seated calf raises are easy to perform too. Most gyms have one of these machines, if not you can still do them by yourself. Simply position a bench next to a step or anything that will allow you to get a good stretch in your calves. For resistance you can just use 2 dumbbells and place them on each knee. From there, slowly lower for 5 seconds, hold it for 5 at the bottom then explode back up.
All in all, these 2 calf exercises are perfect for what you want to accomplish. You don't need to go crazy with changing up the exercises since your body takes longer to adapt to the exercise than it does to the repetition amount. But if you implement this calf training tip into each exercise for each set, I guarantee your calves will grow like weeds. But don't say I didn't tell you so when for the first week you might not be able to walk that much.
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