how to get BIG calves

I've got ok calves and people will say its genetics but truth is I like to train calves and have done so multiple times per week for years
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first and foremost you need to train those fuckers and you need to train them hard and often.. don't treat them like secondary muscle group. hit them with a purpose

full range of motion. if half reps on bench press don't count and won't build your chest why do you think half rep bouncing calf raises will build your calves . you need to stretch and contract with intensity and purpose

high frequency.. for me about 3x per week is ideal. you may need 4 or 5.. just hit that shit hard for 10-15 mins with full range of motion and move on to the rest of your workout

standing calf raises are way better then seated calf raises .. the seated calf raise machine mainly works your soleus muscle that surrounds your calf . standing calf raises will hit the main meaty part of the calf itself


vary your rep ranges . do standing calf raises with 315 for 10 reps.. then strip the weight off and do 135 for 25 reps. get a burn and really focus on the contraction.


mind muscle connection.. probably the most important with calves then any other muscle group. really put your mind into that muscle when your training and contract as hard as possible.

don't quit when it burns. when it starts to burn thats when the reps actually begin



anyhow, couple tips for you no calves guys

Bout time!

Awesome! Thank you! I just refused to post a video of myself because of my calves, talk about insecure chicken legs there.
Will follow this up!

Interestingly, I barely directly train calves ever, yet I regularly get asked what I do for them. I’ll throw in some shit every few blocks just to kill time.

No one like my answers for what I do though. “Weighted vest walks, squats and deadlifts.” “Nah, I mean like what kind of calf raises and stuff?” “I already answered that.”

My calves were pathetic in the beginning but after being consistent with training them hard and using various rep schemes they are one of my best body parts now.

Appalachian Trail builds big calves from what I hear

My calves suck.... they are 15.5” on a good day. I have very high insertions. I look like an idiot in shorts because my upper body is fairly big, but my calves are tiny. Makes me want to quit bodybuilding because the more mass I put on my upper body, the more ridiculous my calves will look.

I have been training them hard for about 3 years now... I would go to the gym for a day and train nothing but calves. Heavy weight, full range of motion, and drop sets... sometimes triple drop sets. Standing, seated, and “donkey” style on the leg press. I would hit them so hard it would be difficult to drive home. Yet unfortunately I see no improvement. They are a little more defined now but still extremely small.

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Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289

My calves suck.... they are 15.5” on a good day. I have very high insertions. I look like an idiot in shorts because my upper body is fairly big, but my calves are tiny. Makes me want to quit bodybuilding because the more mass I put on my upper body, the more ridiculous my calves will look.

I have been training them hard for about 3 years now... I would go to the gym for a day and train nothing but calves. Heavy weight, full range of motion, and drop sets... sometimes triple drop sets. Standing, seated, and “donkey” style on the leg press. I would hit them so hard it would be difficult to drive home. Yet unfortunately I see no improvement. They are a little more defined now but still extremely small.

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Considering the nature of calf fiber makeup, give weighted vest walks a shot. Worked great for me. I’m also not talking about some pussy ass Walmart 20 lbs. vest either. Get one of the 80-100s that are used in firefighter training and walk a mile or two a day in it. If your calves don’t grow from that, I’m at a loss.

That’s not a bad idea... I think I’m going to starting hitting them more than once a week as gearheaded suggested once I’m back on a cycle.

Problem is guys train calves as an afterthought. It's always last on the list and never prioritized. If guys put the same effort into calves as they do chest and arms they probably wouldn't be a weakness for most people. I've always trained mine heavy with moderate reps. Never was a believer in high reps for them as to me that's what they get all the time, imho.

Kel would you suggest training them multiple times a week as well?

My calves grew when I hit them twice a week. Just do them until utter destruction.

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Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289

My calves suck.... they are 15.5” on a good day. I have very high insertions. I look like an idiot in shorts because my upper body is fairly big, but my calves are tiny. Makes me want to quit bodybuilding because the more mass I put on my upper body, the more ridiculous my calves will look.

I have been training them hard for about 3 years now... I would go to the gym for a day and train nothing but calves. Heavy weight, full range of motion, and drop sets... sometimes triple drop sets. Standing, seated, and “donkey” style on the leg press. I would hit them so hard it would be difficult to drive home. Yet unfortunately I see no improvement. They are a little more defined now but still extremely small.

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Peg mgf works like a charm for local growth

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Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289

Kel would you suggest training them multiple times a week as well?

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For most people yes.

Well I’m down. I’m shooting all my gear in my calves and hitting them first on every workout day. We’ll see how this goes

I'm partial to seated raises using a block or plate under the toes and use a heavy enough weight to get 25-30 reps and ON FIRE with acid.
This allows me to use LOTS of weight and get a stretch w/o stressing my spine. Otherwise I'd have to basically do raises with my heavy squatting weights to get a workout....nope.
Another option is on the leg press, but it feels weird to me and risky.

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Originally Posted by NCC1968

Another option is on the leg press, but it feels weird to me and risky.

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100% agree .. leg press calf raises are risky for sure. for most people its a naturally strong position. when I've done these in the past I had to load up the leg press machine with every plate in my gym and then start stacking weights on top of the leg press as well . and that was to get around the 20 rep range.. unfortunately having 1000+ pounds having to be supported on a leg press with your knees with potential to lock out and buckle, and your hip joints and lower back to support that as well . your kinda fucked just to get a calves pump out of it.
you get more of a workout just loading up all the plates to begin with

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Originally Posted by i_SLAM_cougars

Well I’m down. I’m shooting all my gear in my calves and hitting them first on every workout day. We’ll see how this goes

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I've been shooting calves for years - it's a fun time.

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Originally Posted by Windex

I've been shooting calves for years - it's a fun time.

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I pinned a bunch of DHB or Boldernone Acetate in them a few months back, I can’t remember. I do remember that I couldn’t walk right for like 4 days lol.

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Originally Posted by Reborn747

Peg mgf works like a charm for local growth

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You have my full attention... why haven’t I heard of this??? And why hasn’t this been discussed on this forum more??

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Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289

You have my full attention... why haven’t I heard of this??? And why hasn’t this been discussed on this forum more??

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There is hardly any research on it or any human trials for that fact but I know of and have used it myself and it works ! Only downside is you have to inject it locally into the trained muscle straight after gym for best results , it is a form of igf1

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I would be willing to do almost anything for bigger calves lol

Before and afters of anyone saying it is possible or bullshit.

I am going to start to train the tibialis and calves EOD on my next bulk, alternating between smith calf rises for low reps and heavy weight and seated calf rises with high reps and low weights, because, usually, you have more type II muscle fibers in the gastrocnemius and more type I in the soleus.

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Originally Posted by cylon357

I LOVE smith calf raises off of a block. Get a full stretch at the bottom. The pump I get from these is off the charts and I struggle to stand still after the set because the calves are like 'fack off, mate! We are DONE!' Then a couple of minutes later I'm doing it again.

Actually, I'm finding it hard to describe the hurts so good pain lol! Like, damn, I can't stand flat footed! Let me try tiptoes... ahh thats better for like 5 seconds then back to flat footed. I'm sure I look like a cat with tape on its feet. Anyhow, like I said, hard to describe but I'm betting that if there is any group of people that knows what I'm talking about, it's this one. :D

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I used something similar, but with a barbell for a while. It served two purposes. Obviously there was some calf work, but because I used 495-585, it helped me get over the whole “oh fuck this is heavy” mind games that happen with walking out high intensity squats. When you get used to nearly 600 lbs. sitting on your back for reps of calf work, walking out 455 for a squat feels like nothing.

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Originally Posted by cylon357

I remember reading about Ed Coan way back talking about walking out with some crazy a** number (north of 1000 pounds) and considering he was 220 at the time, I was like daaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmn!

Anyhow, this is one situation where I prefer the smith machine over free weights - this is no doubt because my balance is sh!t. It's nice to have dedicated calf machines but not every facility does (but you can bet your rump they have a smith machine).

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And even when they do, it's usually those that you can't load with plates, it gets light really fast.

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Originally Posted by cylon357

I remember reading about Ed Coan way back talking about walking out with some crazy a** number (north of 1000 pounds) and considering he was 220 at the time, I was like daaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmn!

Anyhow, this is one situation where I prefer the smith machine over free weights - this is no doubt because my balance is sh!t. It's nice to have dedicated calf machines but not every facility does (but you can bet your rump they have a smith machine).

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You don’t need to walk out when doing the calf work. I’d get myself set on the block and then just push right up out of the j-hooks in the rack and start working. The key is just setting the hooks low enough that you have to kind of squat it up a little so the bar never hits them when doing calf reps.

I've starting going full range standing or in leg-press machine 3x a week, I get decent pump on the outer side of calves and front.
However, non anywhere else no matter the stance.
Any suggestions?

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Originally Posted by Fiskevatten

I've starting going full range standing or in leg-press machine 3x a week, I get decent pump on the outer side of calves and front.
However, non anywhere else no matter the stance.
Any suggestions?

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try it standing up in a smith machine standing on a wood block or some bumper plates . you'll hit the inner head of calves much better by standing tall, rather then sitting bound up in a leg press

Well I’ve started training them 3x a week.... wish me luck.

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Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289

Well I’ve started training them 3x a week.... wish me luck.

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If it were any other muscle group, I’d say you’re nuts. However, due to the very nature of calves and what they do all day, hitting them multiple times per week is likely your best bet. The damned things just recover so fast from any amount of work.