How to get better sized calves

[Minion0812]

Hey guys im really struggling getting my calves bigger do you have any good workouts or suggestions. Thx!!!

[Times Roman]

What's your routine look like?

[SEAviator]

I heard that good calves are genetic..... or you have them or you dont...

if you dont, well, just work them out, trial and error, find what works, but dont expect them to grow easily

[SEAviator]

BTW i need some input on this as well...

[Nooomoto]

Whats your leg routine look like? How much do you weigh?

[D7M]

Genetics.

Also, run a search for "calves" and get reading....

[jypoll]

are you doing calf raises on legs day??

[Times Roman]

My legs are more of a runners leg, which means thinner. but I've been working them for a few months hard, and they seem to be coming around. I've gained about 3/4" on the calf and over an inch on the quads.

[sprinter911]

Calves are tough bro. Mine would never grow. Oddly enough, I started running about 2 yrs ago. Now they respond nicely when I train them in the gym. The guys in my family all have small calves (not freakishly small, just undersized). and they ask what I did to make them grow. I attribute the recent gains to my running regiimen I was employing hardcore for a while. I don't run nearly as much now but I think the initial surge shocked them.

[Cousinbutch]

The calves genetics thing is such a cop out its ridiculous, shape? yes. Size? no.
Not many people train them properly, so people with good genetics just get them from the crap training while everyone else still has toothpicks.

Don't over train them, remember they have to carry you around all day as well as the training.

Go heavy, but don't sacrifice range. Stay on the balls of your feet. Go all the way down until the stretch hurts (not the pull-a-muscle hurts way) and go up slow, 2-3 seconds up. Get as high as you possible can while still on the balls of your feet, if you can't get high enough drop the weight. Hold and squeeze at the top for 2-3 seconds and 2-3 seconds back down.

Keep reps in the normal range you normally train with, 6-12 for me depending on weight, go until complete failure. I only do 1-2 sets per exercise but do whatever you normally for a smaller muscle group.

I do two exercises for them every week, one with straight legs and one with knees bent. Use whatever you've got at your gym. I like doing standing raises on the smith press with a large wood block under my feet. Leg press machine is great too. never fully lock out your knees, adds pressure to them and takes away from the tension on your calves.

Stretch them often, alter the angle of your feet too. My calves still aren't huge, but I've added over an inch in a matter of a couple months.

Good luck.

[danimal79]

I heard that good calves are genetic..... or you have them or you dont...

you heard wrong. if that's the case, why workout at all? chest, biceps, calves, "you either have it or you don't", right? lol...true, genetics can be the determining factor between good calves and GREAT calves, but anyone can develop decent calves if they workout properly. the problem is that most people, don't.

[NP_Gorilla88]

I have to agree with Cousinbutch. form is key and full range of motion but i like to work in the 10-12 range and go as heavy as i can for 3 or 4 cets. I like to shock them every couple weeks once they stop hurting from the standard rep range and do 4 cets of 25-50 reps with 30 seconds rest, i do these ones to failure and it always keeps my body guessing. Form is key and different rep ranges are going to work for different people because everyone body adapts differently.

[Natureboy71]

An article I found:

By: Todd Blue

I have done some articles on calves and calve training before but this is a little bit of a different approach. I have scanned many of the message boards, talked to many of my friends and even took into account my own personal struggles with calve development throughout the years. For years I thought that calve development was solely dependent on genetic makeup and just figured that you either had them or you didn't. Now granted in some cases genetics play a huge role in certain individuals calve development but not everybody. Arnold had really weak calves but busted his butt to build the cows he ended up with. But it wasn't until after he changed his approach to calve training.

The more I watched people train (or try to train) and the more I talked to people about calve training and development one glaring thing continues to stand out. Most people train calves totally different from every other body part on their body. Now grant it, calves can be a very boring body part to train and it's not as fun as training say chest or arms but in order to get that overall well developed body they can't be neglected. People will blast each and every body part but when it comes to calve training they give it minimal effort, if you want to even call it minimal. Since I joined the current gym I train at I have yet to see anyone and I do mean anyone that has trained calves first in their workout and with the same intensity that they use for their other body parts. I see them blast their chest, blast their arms, blast their shoulders, blast their legs, blast their back but never see them hit the calves with the same intensity, yet they whine about their calves lagging so far behind.

When training calves pretend you are training your chest or biceps. Calve training requires just as much if not more of the same style of intensity that you use when training these other body parts to get them to respond at a good rate of growth. When I do see people in the gym train calves it's so different from their normal training. The same people that were slinging around big heavy weights and cussing during each and every rep are now doing calves the in a totally opposite manner. Calves must be forced to grow and you have to use intensity to do that. For me, when I blast my calves I am pushing myself through the ultimate pain barrier. Nothing burns as bad as a good hardcore calve workout, nothing. Try doing a set of 50 reps next time you hit the calves and you will see what I mean.

I see some really big boys with a lot of muscle mass, except for calves, and it cracks me up the way they train. They will go as heavy as 400lbs on bench press, as heavy as 500lbs on squats and curl 100lb dumbbells for reps, but when it comes to training their calves they will be on the seated calve raise with a whopping one 45lb plate on the rack and still wonder why their calves won't grow. Heavy weights are great for stimulating the chest to grow right? So why not the same for calves, they will grow in the same manner as you chest or shoulders would if you force them with the heavy iron. Since you are walking on them each day it is a must that you overload them with a ton of weight when training them since they are a tough, dense muscle from all the other things you do with them: running, jumping, walking etc. I read some where that Arnold believed in overloading them with 2-3 times his bodyweight on standing calve raises. You have to force them to grow with the heavy weights, none of this sissy crap using one or two plates.



Garrett Downing knows calves!
When I see most people train they do the usual three sets of ten reps and walk off with out being in pain, I judge a good calve workout by the amount of pain I am in after I blast them. The three sets are fine but I believe in taking the calves to complete failure and for me that usually falls around 20-25 reps. They burn bad, really bad but that's where the intensity comes in to help push through your pain threshold and stimulate them to grow like never before. I also like to go as high as 50-100 reps on certain days. This will make you hurt like you have never hurt before, but I love it.

As far as training frequency goes I think it's all up to the person. I train mine two to three days a week, more three-day week training than two days. I have seen my best results from hitting them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On occasion I will train them once a week just to confuse them. I know some people that train them everyday, claiming that since they are such a tough body part that this is the only way to make them grow. Now, what kind of growth would you expect of your chest if you trained it everyday (I have been around some guys that do this too, you know the everyday bench pressers in the gym)? None would be the correct answer; your calves need recovery time just like everything other body part does.

Hit all the heads when training them. You do flat bench, incline bench and decline bench for chest to hit all the heads of chest right? So why not do the same thing for the calves to develop the entire calve. When your toes are pointed out it hits the inner head of the calves, toes pointed in hits the outer head and toes pointed straight hits the entire calve. So make sure you focus on each head to develop to entire calve. Also don't just stick to one exercise, use all the equipment to your advantage. You wouldn't do just barbell curls for biceps would you? No, you would do dumbbell curls, preacher curls and one of the many other exercises too. So don't forget to target all the different heads of the calve muscle.

Try different things when training them too, confusion is a great tool in bodybuilding. A lot of time the problem with calve development is just simply being in a training rut. So I like to add giant sets, sets to failure, sets of 50 and the ultimate calve killer, a set of 100 reps. Also, calves can be a very boring body part to train so if you add some variety in your calve workout it will take the boredom out of training them.

One thing that I feel is important is form. Those little quarter reps just don't cut it in calve training. You know those reps where people just go a quarter of the way up and just sit and bounce the weight up and down for a few reps. Make sure you get the full range of motion. Stretch all the way down at the bottom and on contraction go all the way up like a ballerina would do and squeeze the calve. Keep the reps slow and controlled, no bouncing.

Calves are a very important component in producing a complete body, not just for bodybuilding but also for anyone who is just into weight training to look good. I have found out that the ladies like good calve development. It makes the legs just look ten times better and really completes the leg development. Now my calves aren't anywhere near their potential yet but at least now I am not embarrassed by the lack of size they have. There was a time I was ashamed to where shorts because they looked like two sticks. Calves take time to grow so just train them hard and intense, just the same as you would do arms, and the growth will come. Just keep them a priority in your workout week and never neglect them and you will experience some great gains.

So don't neglect your calves. I think it just looks plain pitiful when I see some big huge freak walking around on little sticks for calves, it really makes the rest of the package look bad.

Todd Blue

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

"Pretty much all I have going for me is decently sized calves- right around 17.5". I frequently am asked what the trick is. Well, it's totally genetic. Nonetheless, this routine did help me push my calves to even greater growth. It is seriously one of the toughest programs for a smaller bodypart I have ever done. If you're looking to grow your calved for next summer, try this and stick to it...if you can

I have literally been trying to track down this program for months! It is a grueling calf program that I have used in the past with great success. The real kick in the nuts was when I realized that it was available at ******** this whole time.

Charles has done training work with a number of Olympic caliber alpine skiiers, who require specialized calf programs (big calves act as a cushion for skiiers, preventing possible knee problems by inhibiting particular angles making the knee susceptible to injury).


Day 1- High Volume

A1) Donkey Calf Raises: 3 sets x 30-50 reps. TEMPO: 10X1

A2) Seated Calf Raises: 3 x 10-5-5 (one set 10, second set 5, third set 5)
TEMPO: 10X1

Rest: 120 seconds before repeating A1

(Poliquin reccommends always working the gastroc prior to the soleus)

B) Standing Calf Raises: 10 x 10-30 at TEMPO 11X1
Rest 10 seconds between each set. Your calves will be on fire.

Day 2: Low Volume- two days following Day 1.

A1)Triple Drop Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 10-10-10
i.e. three drop sets
TEMPO: 12X1- i.e. 2 second stretch/hold at bottom portion of rep.
Rest: 90 seconds between sets.

Poliquin advises training calves twice over a five day cycle. This program was originally developed for Luke Sauder, a Canadian Alpine Skiier prepping for the Nagano Olympics- it required the Canadian Ski Team to remould a new set of custom boots for him.

5010 represents a tempo.

The first number is the duration of the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement
The second is the duration of the pause at the fully stretched position
The third is the duration of the concentric (raising) phase
The fourth is the duration of the pause in the fully contracted phase

Any tempo with the letter X for the concentric portion is an explosive rep."

[baseline_9]

Another article 4 u guys

Training the Calves
Of all of the bodyparts that bodybuilder types want to grow, calves have traditionally been one of the most difficult. In fact, in the field, calves are often thought to be one of the most genetic muscle groups, you either have them or don’t have them.
And, for reasons you’ll see below, there is certainly an element of truth to that. Individuals with great calves often don’t train them at all while others toil away (sort of) at training their calves with little to show for it.
What’s going on?
Well, a number of things. In this article, I want to look first at some of the underlying physiology of the calves as well as examining why the calves seem to be so resistant to growth. Then I want to look at common training errors that simply contribute to the problem.

Calf Anatomy and Fiber Typing
The muscle group referred to as the calves actually include several muscles although most only focus on two: the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The primary function of these muscles is to act as plantarflexors (pointing the toe) although the gastroc also has very weak knee flexion activity (which is why some people will catch calf cramps on leg curl type movements).
This is also why doing calf work with the knee bent (e.g. seated calf raise) tends to work the soleus preferentially, since the gastroc crosses the knee, if the knee is bent, the gastroc can’t contribute as significantly to force output. Put differently, if you do a straight legged calf movement, both the gastroc and soleus get trained, if you do bent-knee work, only the soleus really works.
Anatomically, the soleus essentially lies ‘underneath’ the gastroc but both give the calf its distinctive diamond like shape (when developed). As I sort of alluded to above, the soleus doesn’t cross the knee, the gastroc does (why it can function as a weak knee flexor).
Many people seem to still think that the calf is a primarily slow twitch muscle but this is incorrect. The gastroc is actually a fast twitch muscle and is involved in explosive type movements. This is actually part of what is colloquially referred to as Black Man’s Calf Syndrome.
Black bodybuilders have commonly been completely unable to develop calves and the function of the calves is part of why. High/short calves are excellent for jumping and sprinting but have little potential for growth, they are simply too short. Black bodybuilders (or white bodybuilders for that matter) who have a short/high gastroc with a long tendon will make fantastic jumpers and sprinters; but great calves they will never have.
In any case, the soleus is predominantly a slow twitch muscle as it is more involved in overall stability (what rehab types often call a tonic muscle) of the ankle complex. The difference in fiber type between the gastroc and soleus has implications for training that I’ll get to at the end.
I really should note another issue with the calves and that has to do with the very tiny lever arm of the achilles tendon relative to the ankle (the axis of rotation). Because of the specific anatomy of the calves, a rather small muscle can actually generate a massive force (technically: torque) around the ankle. This is one reason that many people can use such absolute massive amounts of weight on calf work (in addition to something I’m going to talk about below).

So Why are the Calves So Stubborn?
I haven’t honestly ever seen anything to suggest that the calves are genetically resistant or prone to muscle growth but there is one lesser well known biological fact about calves that contributes to the difficulty in making small calves into big cows (see what I did there?).
I’m assuming that everybody reading this knows or has heard of androgen receptors (AR). The AR is what testosterone and related molecules bind to and one of the effects is to stimulate protein synthesis. In men, there is a distinctive pattern of AR whereby there is a higher AR density in the upper body (especially the traps and shoulder girdle which is why steroid users tend to have their shoulders BLOW up when they take anabolics) decreasing as you move down the body. If you think about it, this makes sense, since the typical wide shouldered v-shape is sort of the ideal ‘male’ physique, and we evolved like this for a reason.
By the time you get to the calves, the AR density is very low. So even if you train the absolute hell out of them they simply don’t get the same training effect because testosterone can’t exert as much of an effect. Even the legs of most men don’t have the same androgen receptor density as the upper body; yes, I’ve just given you guys an excuse for chicken leg syndrome.
On this note, my friend and altogether too smart guy Bryan Haycock once hypothesized to me that he thought that modern bodybuilders had better legs and calves than guys of old due to their essentially year round anabolic use. By constantly bombarding even the low AR number of the legs and calves with constant dosing (not to mention that studies show that steroids actually upregulate the AR number), he felt that this contributes to better leg size (compare for example, the size of Lee Haney’s legs to that of Arnold in his prime, despite all that squatting with logs, Arnold had proportionally smaller legs compared to his upper body).
In any case, this is a big part of the reason that the calves are so hard to develop. I’d note, and this is purely an empirical observation on my part, that some people seem to have somewhat reversed patterns whereby AR density seems to be higher in the lower body and lesser in the upper body. These folks develop legs easily but the upper body never seems to catch up. Women, especially those carrying more weight seem to have this happen but I’ve seen it in men too. Again, no research on this, just an observation over the years.

What We can Learn from Kangaroos
There’s another aspect of calf function that most ignore but that I think contributes massively to most people’s complete inability to develop their calves. Everyone reading this at some point been in the weight room and seen the absolute skinniest of folks bouncing enormous amounts of weight on calf exercises without appearing to be working very hard. They couldn’t do this on any other exercise, did you ever wonder what was going on?
To understand what I’m going to explain, I need to talk about elastic tissue and how it stores and recoils energy. Tissues like tendons are termed elastic tissue (meaning that they can stretch/deform and come back to normal afterwards), if you load them quickly (e.g. through a fast eccentric), they actually store energy which you can then get returned to you if you move quickly enough. This is part of why it’s always easier to bench out of a bounce than with a pause (there are other reasons that aren’t relevant here). So just remember that: elastic tissues can store energy and return it if you move quickly enough.
And that brings us to kangaroos. Ever seen a kangaroo hop, ever notice how bouncy they are? As it turns out, when kangaroos hop for distance, they do it in a very certain frequency. And research has shown that this frequency allows them to load the tendon on the back of their leg to get a massive amount of elastic recoil; this allows them to keep going and going without using much muscular energy. It’s massively efficient because tendons don’t really get tired.
Do you see where I’m going with this yet? The human achilles tendon, the elastic tissue connective the calves to the bottom of the foot works similarly (not to nearly the magnitude of the kangaroo mind you). This is an adaptation for human locomotion, when you walk and the shin moves forwards, it loads the achilles which gives you a bit of energy return, it saves energy for walking and running
Quite in fact, running shoes have tried to build mechanical versions of this, spring type cushions in the heel of shoes that return energy when you run so that less muscular energy is required.
What do you think is happening when people do bouncy bouncy calf work? That’s right, they are basically using the elastic energy return potential of their calves to move enormous amounts of weight without performing much muscular work; and since the combination of tension and work is what stimulates growth…biology isn’t the only reason most people’s calves don’t grow. Most people just train them terribly.
I honestly think this is where the idea of doing massively high reps on calves came from: when you bounce, you use such a tiny amount of muscular effort with each rep, that you have to do hundreds of reps to get the muscle to feel anything at all.
Of course, there’s a much easier solution; you’ve probably guessed what it is but this brings me to the next section: how to train the calves.

How to Train the Calves
First, let’s sum up what I’ve covered:
The gastroc is primarily a fast-twitch muscle
The soleus is primarily a slow-twitch muscle
If you do calf work with straight legs, you work both the gastroc and soleus
If you do calf work with bent legs, you work only the soleus
When you bounce, the achilles tendon does much, if not most of the work and the calf does little
I didn’t mention the androgen receptor density thing because, short of taking steroids year round, there’s nothing you can do to control that. But with proper training, we can take all of the above into account.
First, here’s my standard go-to calf routine.
A straight legged calf exercise: 5 sets of 5 done in the following fashion.
From a dead 2 second pause, explode up, squeeze for 1 second at the top, 3 second eccentric (for tempo freaks, this would be written X/1/3/2: explosive concentric, 1 second squeeze at the top, 3 second negative, 2 second pause at the bottom). Take 3 minutes between sets and GO HEAVY. When you get all 5 sets of 5, add weight at the next workout. The gastroc is fast twitch, it responds to heavy loads. The explosive concentric out of the pause will maximize tension, the squeeze makes sure that you’re controlling the weight, the slow eccentric is critical for growth. Note: be careful on the pause, don’t overstretch the calves or you can give yourself plantar fascitis. But don’t cut range of motion either. You want some stretch on the calves, don’t try to drop your heels as far as possible.
Follow that up with:
A bent-knee calf raise: 3-4 sets of 8-10 done in the following fashion.
From a 2 second pause, take 2 seconds to squeeze the weight up, brief pause at the top, 2 second eccentric (so 2/1/2/2). 60-90 seconds rest and use as much weight as you can in good form, you may have to drop weight after each set due to fatigue. Being slow-twitch, the soleus will respond to longer sets and more of a fatigue stimulus. This should hurt like hell.
Putting it a little more clearly:
Straight leg calf raise: 5X5/3′ rest on a X/1/3/2 tempo
Bent knee calf raise: 3-4X8-10/60-90″ rest on a 2/1/2/2 tempo.
That’s it, do the above twice per week (once every 5 days if you have poorer recovery) either as specialization or after legs. Oh yeah, and you need to be gaining weight to grow calves (or any body part). You’re not going to build muscle out of thin air and wishful thinking and if you’re not gaining weight while doing the above, you won’t grow anything.
Do the above for an 8 week cycle, take the first 2 weeks sub-maximally (you won’t be able to walk the first week if this is your first time dead pausing calf work) and then push the weights as much as you can (especially on the heavy sets). After 8 weeks, drop the weight for 2 weeks and either hit it again or move on to something else.
I can’t guarantee that the above will turn your piddle calves into cows but compared to how 99% of people train calves, the above coupled with a slight caloric surplus can only help.
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[lovbyts]

Natureboy71, good article and I agree fully. Not long ago (almost 3 years) I had NO calves due to being 99% paralyzed from the waist down due to ruptured disk L5. I had to start from square one.

I do pretty much everything written above but I started out with pretty light weight and reps due to not even being able to stand on the balls of my feet using BOTH feet let alone one at a time.

My calves have grown a lot and since I have focused even more lately on form, full flex and heavy weight I see them taking off even more. I agree, most people dont work calves like the rest of the body but they should. Stop doing 30, 40 reps and expecting them to get big. Work it like you wold any other muscle you want size from.

[CFforged]

Instead of regular cardio try short, intense sprinting intervals, 50-100 meter repeats. Also, try running barefoot, but ease into it.