The muscles of the calf are a tough muscle to develop compared to some other muscle groups like the chest and arms. This does not however mean that they can not be developed.
It is true that the reason the calves are difficult to build is that they are used to operating against constant resistance through walking, running, climbing stairs, etc., this means that in order to get the calves to grow, certain principles will have to be adhered too!
In this article I will discuss what these principles are and how to apply them to grow big calf muscles!
First, the main calf muscle is the Gastrocnemius muscle. This is the muscle that is the prime mover whenever you raise your heel. The Gastrocnemius muscle is the one calf muscle that is responsible for that beautiful, but elusive diamond shape look that well developed calves have.
The first principle is that you must gain weight to build big calf muscles. In general the size of the calves is relative to, and to an extent dependent on, overall body weight and general muscle bulk. You can not expect to build big muscles if you lack muscular size in your body and legs. After all, the legs are the "roots" of the lower limbs. There is also the matter of bone thickness and size which are also genetically predetermined and which also have quite a bearing on the overall size and bulk factor of the calves.
In general the heavier the bones structure of the lower leg, the greater the potential for calf size. Ankle measurement gives an idea of what is the actual bone size.
Then there is the shape of the calves. The ideal is long low and full bellied calf muscle. If you have shorter higher calves, this will naturally put a limit on how much you can develop the calves. You can add size to the calves but you cannot lengthen the calves and some people will always have calves that give the appearance of having long ankles not matter how big they make their calves. So while a person with genetically poor calf muscle may not win any best calf prizes, there are at least some improvements that it is possible to make.
Your calf muscles can be improved and developed with the right training methods! The right training methods will be one which includes a way to attach content tension on the calves without over training them!
A good example might be to super set between two sets of calf exercises without resting.
In summary, no matter the condition of your calf muscles you can develop them if you know your limitation and follow the right calves training program.
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