Hey
I think im in pretty good shape..but when i look down at my calves, they look so puny and unattractive. Im lost about training them. Every evening, when i go for my walk i strap weights around my ankles. Ive also been doing some simple exercises ive read about like standing calf raises etc. Its been quite long and they re still the same size! I think im doing something wrong because lately my heel has started to hurt. None of the gyms around have any equipment to train calves!! Is there a sure shot routine i can do at home. anyone? I feel miserable.

The secret?

HEAVY weight. Very heavy. As in, much, much more than your bodyweight. It takes a lot of intensity and weight to overload the calves for most people.

Does your gym have a leg press machine? Calf raises on that tend to be quite effective.

How about a dip belt along with a block of wood? We were just talking about this in another thread, look here:

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=330311&postcount=6

So do you have any of that equipment?

The secret?

HEAVY weight. Very heavy. As in, much, much more than your bodyweight. It takes a lot of intensity and weight to overload the calves for most people.




TRUE TRUE TRUE!!!!


Let's say you weigh 150 pounds. Every time you walk around, your calves are pushing 150 pounds. You can probably walk for many miles and your calves don't feel a thing. Heavy weight is the way to stress the calves to get them to grow.


(1fastgtx has god calves. So jealous I am)

1fastgtx has good calves too (let's not oversell them) ;)

Lagging calves? Try these:

Criss-cross walk on a treadmill.

Walking backwards on treadmill set at very high incline.

100 Rep Standing Calf Raise Rest/Pause style. :cry:

Hack Squat machine standing calf raises: 1x12 reps to failure using a 10 second negative for each rep. Once you reach 12, increase weight for next session.

Will bring the calves right on up. ;)

:tu:

I would try the perfect 10 training by chad waterbury on t-nation for your calfs. High frequency would be my first choice.

You know whats a silly thing that probably worked for giving me nice bulky, muscley calves? I've walked on my tip toes when barefoot or in socks since i was little.
You should try doing so throughout the day when youre not working them with machines and the like- most people cant even hold their weight for long on their tip toes. Believe me- my calves Have to be strong for that.. ive had anywhere form 180-240 pounds to carry around on these suckers through the years of tip toeing. :)
It might help!

If you weigh 150lbs. and you do asingle leg calf-raise on a block of wood you now have your entire weight on one calf.

Add a 50lb. Dumbell and you just hit 200.

Criss-cross walk on a treadmill.
Walking backwards on treadmill set at very high incline.

You just found your post leg workout cardio. :tu:

You just found your post leg workout cardio. :tu:

LOL...:lol:
The one time I actually tried these after doing legs, I lasted all of 10 seconds, as I resembled the Scarecrow on the Wizard Of Oz. I went flying off the treadmill in a heep and crumpled to the floor much like a marionette who's strings have been abruptly cut. It was very entertaining for my fellow gym mates :claplow:

And zen, kindly refrain from using my name and the "C" word in the same sentence for any future posts. :nono: Thank you sir.

:p

Hey guys! woah, thats a lot of information!
ok here's the thing! which you probably already guessed. i dont train... so most of the lingo for me is GIGO (garbage in garbage out)!
hmm lemme think, maybe a negative is a pause! whats a hack squat machine? and failure well is failure! :D

..and mastover is telling a novice like me to try an exercise which ended him in a heap!

so i should probably also try the idea by Unkind loving... tiptoe around at work. ..it would be fun to all those eyebrows go up! :) and no 1FastGTX there is no leg press machine... i wish there was *sigh* would make my life so much easier.

i dont train... so most of the lingo for me is GIGO (garbage in garbage out)!


:bang: :spank:

Hey!! Mastover!!:mad: im trying here!! some support please

Hey guys! woah, thats a lot of information!
ok here's the thing! which you probably already guessed. i dont train... so most of the lingo for me is GIGO (garbage in garbage out)!
hmm lemme think, maybe a negative is a pause! whats a hack squat machine? and failure well is failure! :D

..and mastover is telling a novice like me to try an exercise which ended him in a heap!

so i should probably also try the idea by Unkind loving... tiptoe around at work. ..it would be fun to all those eyebrows go up! :) and no 1FastGTX there is no leg press machine... i wish there was *sigh* would make my life so much easier.

Negative phase = eccentric part of a rep... aka the easiest portion.

Hack squat machine is basically like a leg press but reversed,so your standing rather than lying down or seated. [ http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SLHackSquat.html ]

Are you just working your calves? Seems odd that its just that if it is the case.

Hey!! Mastover!!:mad: im trying here!! some support please

Hmm....well I am trying too. So are alot of people here. Sorry if you took offense to my emoticons as a motivational tool. But I am confused :confused: You say you don't train. How else am I to interpret that?? As someone who is "trying"???

Btw, thanks for your PM :nod: I really got a good chuckle over it :lol:

Mine grew so little (read: not at all) from weights that I stopped doing them a long time ago. I imagine that with a truly concerted effort, I could have gotten something, but they were by far the most stubborn body part. The only thing that's put any size on (not much, but definitely a little) has been running. Since I've changed from heel striking to all forefoot running (so my calves are never unweighted while my foot is on the ground), I know they are going to grow quicker. The first time I did it made them sorer than they've ever been in my life.

And zen, kindly refrain from using my name and the "C" word in the same sentence for any future posts. :nono: Thank you sir.

Uh OK, your post workout, uh, "cooldown". There you go.

I would think though, if you left just enough glycogen in the tank to do this calf walking last, it would help the rest of the legs feel good right away as opposed to having to wait. Just moving the legs is great for circulation.

..and mastover is telling a novice like me to try an exercise which ended him in a heap!

When it comes to calves - the only novices are people who are not ambulatory.

This is why you have to hit the calves so hard! Just walking around during the day hits the calves quite hard.

Suppose you were to walk on your hands for a mile. You would probably be able to be famous for being the one person to ever have done that. But if you walk on your legs for a mile, it's not a bad thing, but it is not going to make the Guinness Book any time soon. Your legs are very strong already, and calves normally have great strength endurance too.

To make progress in exercise, you have to present the muscles in question with something that requires a good deal more than their normal exertion. Otherwise it's just all in a day's work for them.

So people are not trying to be unhelpful to you (certainly not mastover). We just suspect that your calves are a lot stronger than you think, and we are probably right.

And it is a really important question: Why don't you train? Is there a medical reason? We would need to know about that. You can see that mastover is a body builder from his picture, and you can see that I am pretty far from that from mine. But if you want your body to do stuff - whether it's looks or function or be healthy - some form of training is a really useful tool. You really can't do it all with just diet.

hey hey guys! easy on the newbie! dont be so quick to judge! Jeez ! i feel like i ve committed a sin

when i say i dont train, it means its nothing hard core, its terribly disorganised and there's no target...
im more of a yoga person (in the morning)... i do my 45 mins of brisk walk in the evening, some light weights (dumbells), pullover, shoulder press, tricep extension, bicep curls, crunches, leg curls and extensions, standing calf raises..mostly just to make sure i stay a certian size and shape

but guys , the lingo ! all i know is i do three sets of 12 ..of each! thats as far as my vocab goes :P

Uh OK, your post workout, uh, "cooldown". There you go.

I would think though, if you left just enough glycogen in the tank to do this calf walking last, it would help the rest of the legs feel good right away as opposed to having to wait. Just moving the legs is great for circulation.

Okay! GREAT!! Gotcha.Thanks zen...I'll give this a try next week!!!

:whistle:

....and Abigail, yes we are a tough bunch, but what's the point in coddling and sugarcoating? We want to see you SUCCEED. Hence, the tough love. :tu:

i need some more tough love ... the tank's running low

here's an easy one for you...it adds weight, thereby making your calves grow..but you can do it anywhere you have a friend and a flight of steps...:)

stand on a step on a flight of stairs, with only your toes on the step..hold the railing...

have someone hop on your back a la piggy-back style

raise and lower your heels while person is on your back...

repeat until your calves burn...then go a little longer... :D

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1063194 I've been doing this routine for 2 weeks. I do one legged calf raises and it is so tough I can barely walk. You will really feel this 2 or 3 days after.