Calves Genetic??

[DNoMac]

My calves are pretty small, especially compared to my upper body.I have read that calves are genetic and are the hardest muscle to work-also because of the muscle density. Obviously I do calf raises in my leg routine, but is there anything else I can do to increase the size? I usually do 4 to 5 sets with about 10-15 reps or until my calves are completely on fire. Any suggestions??

[bigol'legs]

Try doing them 2-3 times a week.. and mix up the reps, keep your calves guessing..

try...

4 sets standing calf raises... 10 reps, superset with seated calf pushes.. 30 reps
4 sets seated calf raises... 10 reps, superset with standing calf raises.. 30 reps.

also turn your toes out and in on everyother set.

[RUDY-14]

Hey big ol, not trying to jack this thread but I had a question about calvs and I know you are the man to talk to about legs so here goes, I've had problems with my calfs since I did my first cycle three years ago, (brute cycle, sooostupid) anyway almost immediately afer the first injection I was in quite a bit of pain and since then I get brutal calf cramps and shin splints, even from just walking, when I was playing hockey it got really bad. I love calfs and used to train them everyday I was in teh gym, they are naturally fairly strong and fairly thick however the only thing I do is standing calf raises, I love these one of my favs forsure but I can not do seated calf raises, if I even do one rep they cram right up...so painful, anyway any ideas why this is or what else i could for calfs? I went to the doctor when it hapened 3 years ago and told him that I had been injecting AAS into my calfs, he thought it was something to do with the angle my foot was at, it was straining somethingm I k now this is a ****ty description but its hard to describe. ANyway just curious.

[bigol'legs]

dont know much about shin splints... never had them. But id make sure ya go to the doc and get a updated check up.... tell him whats going on. And I dont think AAS has anything to do with it... its been 3 yrs.

[longhornDr]

My calves were stagnant for quite some time despite trying many different training approaches. Then one day I saw some cyclists and was blown away by how ridiculously huge and cut their calves were. I asked these guys what they did for calves and they said "nothin, just ride the bike alot."

So i started doing the bike for cardio instead of the elliptical xtraining and my calves have started to grow very nicely (still doing my regular calf routine as well).

I've only been doing it for a month but the bike has definitely made a difference.

[DNoMac]

Good look on the tips fellas. I'll definitely try the crazy calve routine as well as the bike.

[hoss827]

Calves are the hardest muscle to genetically work bro...I had NONE, flat out ZERO calves. Try hitting them 2-3 times a week...High reps 2-3 sets and low reps (8-12 range) 2-3 sets. Arnold himself said that his calves didn't grow well until he started using higher rep ranges of about 20-30. My calves were 14 inches...They're now almost 17.5 and that was in a matter of months. hit em hard bro.

--Hoss

[British Bulldog]

Has anyone tried Nelson Montana's 'cooked calves' method? I do it every other week in my calve routine. Use a weight so that you will fail on about 20-25 reps. Rest for a few seconds, do as many reps as you can. Rest for a few seconds, then do some more reps. Keep going until you reach 100 reps. It certainly does 'cook' your calves.

[Lostsoul]

Bulldog, yeah i tried that once, i had lactic acid in my calves for about 6 days, not good bro, i dont think that'll make em grow, you need a lot of weight to make calves grow, took mine from 15" to 18.5 in about 8 months (having terrible "calf genetics") all i did was train em heavy, and did a bit of variation, nice slow negative reps are good, also try stretching them after you work them, i only do 1 set of 10-12 reps but heavy.

[groverman1]

Shock principle should work with any lagging bodypart.

[arthurb999]

I had pretty skinny legs when I first started. My calves are huge now. What I did is hit them twice a week and really nailed them. Two of my favorites are:

1. On the seated calf raise machine - put 10, 10lb weights and have your friend help you out on this. Do a set of 10 and have him take a 10 off, do another set of 10 and have him take another off, do another... all in one set. Do not stop.

2. Drop sets on the standing calf raise machine. Stack it for 10, have your friend drop the weight to 75%, another 10, 50% another 10, 25% another 10.

That did it for me in about 1 year.

[LM1332]

what they said

[PJAY71]

All I'm sayin is, thank God I don't have my Father's calves - love ya Pop but it's true. They'd think I was on stilts, lol. Got Mom's long full calf bellies.

[Symian]

I never had calves until I tried something new.

I use the squat sled with 4-6 plates.

I do one calf at a time so as one doesn't adjust for the weakness of the other.

After pressing with each side 8-12 reps I use both feet and burn out about 15 reps.

On each set I start with a different side, cuz when you start the burn set the ending side gets hit more.

By doing it this way I'm utilizing both high and slow twitch fibers, and I've seen awesome results.

Sym

[rambo]

I get pissed when I see fat old men or old women (believe it or not) have huge, ripped calves. I am just BLOWN away by how unfair that is. In what previous life did these people win their pro card? It's like their 98% bodyfat applies only in areas OTHER than their magnificent calves. It angers me. Definitely a genetic thing.

[PJAY71]

Always perferred heavy donkeys - the Hammer Strength has a good model and you can really load it up. Heavy and always 15reps to failure - blows my calves up.

[Gear]

Its hard 2 say, you just have 2 try different routines and exercises and see wats best for you. Eventually something will work for you.

[JDMSilviaSpecR]

I guess I'm lucky, I work out my calves once a week, heavy though, and I've got 18 1/2 inch calves. I'm 5'10', 180, 9% bf.