Killer calves

[bigtavi8]

hey guys...i have really been working my calves lately trying to get them to grow. I really want showstopper calves. Some ppl are all about the bis and chest but i want to be known for my calves. I do 3 days a week min on them usually about 12 sets per day. Ive tried heavy weight, seated, donkey calve raises, smith machine, standing...Both 1 leg and 2 leg. Also ive tried rest/pause, heavy negatives, partials, high reps, and FST 7. Is there anything im missing or that you guys find is really good at building mass. I know genetics plays a large factor but i dont want that to be an excuse to hold me back. What are the best mass builders for the calves!!!

[ubcpower]

x2 bump

[LonelyBedouin]

What I found is make sure your not bouncing the weight, which Im sure you already know. But stop at the top and stop at the bottom. Other then everything you mentioned, low rep high weight

[macka]

also high resistance cycling helps

[O-Train]

Best advice I ever heard, was actually from JohnnyO back on MN. When you do calf raises put the pressure on your big toe. So roll in towards your big toe not out towards your 4 little toes.

Also, I see a lot of guys doing kind of a hitch motion and bending their knees. Usually because they are using too much weight, don't do that.

[baza]

God I hate watching guys add some much weight and barely move it. You see their heels move aobut 2 inches. You bench a plate, but have the strongest calves in the gym... doesn't that make you wonder? lol

[Fibreman]

My method is to be sure to alternate every calve workout. If doing calves 3 days per week, Monday would be low repetitions high weight, Wednesday would be high repetitions low(er) weight, and Friday would be high resistance cycling.

[devo09]

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/training-the-calves.html

You need to use heavy weight BUT, include a 3-5 second negative AND a 3 second pause at the bottom

[O-Train]

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/training-the-calves.html

You need to use heavy weight BUT, include a 3-5 second negative AND a 3 second pause at the bottom

This is Lyle McDonald writing this correct? (from the website) It's well written, the section discussing AR density is new to me.

[Praetorian]

The large diamond muscle you see is the gastrocnemius it is predominantly fast twitch fibre which responds well to heavy weights and lower reps..ie standing calf raises, donkeys, etc. The Soleus muscle which lies underneath is predominantly slow twitch which responds better to higher repititions...on the seated calf press.
Genetics makes a huge factor in calves...if you dont have the genetics you can build decent calves...but youll never have freaky calves like Dorian or Fankhouser etc
P

[YYZgeddylee]

Take praetorians advice.
The most effective change you can
make to your routine for sure.

[Benny62]

Maybe it's genetics for me but my biceps and calves are so easy to grow. I actually will skip these workouts because i feel sometimes they feel out of proportion to the rest of my body but still stand out. The trainers at the gym nicknamed me "calves" I find lighter weight and high reps will build your calves. also mix with some heavy lifting like on the leg press machine. change the angle of your toes to face oputward like a duck and inward like a pigeon. Skipping is probably the craziest calve builder for me, 15 mins 3 times a week you will see results. Also jogging and doing stairs helps. I find my calves respone to higher intensity workouts and my quads/glutes respond to heavier resistance training. Just my 2 cents.

[pip44]

ill agree with the long pause at the bottom of the motion i gained a quite a bit on my cavlves when i decided to not half ass them and treat them like a real muscle group

[Ritch]

Implants. Just get implants. Some day I will for sure. I was going to start a calve thread. My calves suck. I`m really complexed by them. I could never get them to even be 16 inches. This was when I was training them 3 times a week. Tried everything. When I was trying they were always 15.5 inches. Then I stopped training them and they grew to 16 inches! I know, big deal... What helped in the end was just gaining weight. From carrying around more weight they got bigger. Best mesurement was 16.5 inches. I know, you`re all laughing, ha ha ha... Yes my calves suck, but they got bigger by training them less. I stopped seated calves raises (for some reason my strength on this exercises has almost never gone up and this is after 13 years of doing them, so **** it...) and the best exercise for me are standing one leg calve raises done at home on a step. So nobody can see me training my wimpy calves...

[LonelyBedouin]

Implants. Just get implants.

Ahaha this just reminds me of entourage. With Johnny Drama wanting calf implants. "Can I ask you a question, are those real or are they implants" "What?!?" "Your calves bro" lol

[bigtavi8]

Implants or synthol ftw eh! lol..ill try P's techniques but they are still very good options..lolol..

[ubcpower]

does anyone actually know anyone who has done calve implants?

[bigtavi8]

i dont know anyone who has went through with it but i have a good buddy who injured his spine and can not do flexion of the calves at all and he sed he may consider it. IMHO if i couldnt work them and i had the extra cash( probobly wouldnt but) id do it..only if it was the only way...

[Ritch]

Implants or synthol ftw eh! lol..ill try P's techniques but they are still very good options..lolol..

If I knew somebody in my area who had a rep of being able to do proper synthol shots, I`d go for it. I hate to say it, but I`ve pretty much given up on making calves a priority. Now I just do 4 sets or so at the end of my workout and they hover around the 16 inch mark. Still bigger than when I used to train the piss out of them.. Hell, I even tore something in the bottom of my foot once while doing seated calve raises. I once made a pair of shoes by screwing in some blocks in an old pair of shoes so I could walk around on my tip toes, also up an incline drive way, still to no avail...

[Ritch]

does anyone actually know anyone who has done calve implants?

Yes. I know a fireman who has had them. They look great! But that`s just one guy. Still by today I`m pretty sure it would be a low risk procedure.

[ubcpower]

i hear its like a month of not training lower body and a rough recovery

[Ritch]

i hear its like a month of not training lower body and a rough recovery

Still worth it. You get it done during February then train like a mother ****er t`ill summer. Before the opp, you overtrain yourself to shits to make the down time worth it. Calves, we`re talking calves here man...