Suggestions for Stubborn Calves?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

So, i’ve been hitting calves up hard, training them with this exercise, that rep range, so on and so forth. the problem is, they’re still way to skinny looking for a guy my size. im 6’2", 220 lbs, my quads measure 26 inches yet my calves are a measely 16 inches, and no matter what i do, they stay there

2

loads of ideas in this thread, no need to start a new one

3

LL,

I have a very effective calf routine posted in this thread:

4

Iron Dwarf (thanks for that great link btw!) in it you mentioned doing flat footed calf raises in the smith machine. Do you always do this style for calf raises ie calf raises on leg press etc, where you dont let your heel drop below your ankle? or do you only do that in the smith machine?

5

[quote]george1011 wrote:
Iron Dwarf (thanks for that great link btw!) in it you mentioned doing flat footed calf raises in the smith machine. Do you always do this style for calf raises ie calf raises on leg press etc, where you dont let your heel drop below your ankle? or do you only do that in the smith machine?[/quote]

Presently I let my gym membership lapse, so I’m training in my home gym again. And although I don’t have a Smith machine, I use my Leverage Squat machine to do bare/flat-footed calf work. They are the backbone of my calf routine!
You can really go heavy with these.
And because I don’t have a leg press machine, I also do traditional calf raises (toes up on the block). I use the same schemes as I did in the commercial gym, and also find creative ways to mix it up.

The take-home point in my routine isn’t to follow what I do exactly - but to find ways to blast your calves while keeping it interesting, challenging, and fun. I think guys spend years half-heartedly doing “mandatory” calf raises with little enthusiasm at the end of their workouts.

EDIT: Perhaps I didn’t answer your question.
Yes, I only did full-stretch calf work in the leg press machine. Since being in a seated position mimics the bent torso of the donkey calf raise, I took advantage of that extra stretch.

6

hill sprints

7

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
LL,

I have a very effective calf routine posted in this thread:

http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/need_calves[/quote]

This, and what ID said about half-assing it. I have been doing more or less this routine for 3 months (apart from the negatives, I just didn’t like them) with a few other bits added in; super setting with body weight sets when failing with weighted raises, using fst type stuff like stretching the hell out of my calves when they are pumped, not decided if this has any positive effect on growth yet but it hurts like hell!!! In a good way

There is no doubt my calves have grown and put this down to three things:

Training them frequently

Establishing a better mmc with them -as ID advised in calves to cows thread

Contracting them HARD and squeezing on every rep with a controlled descent

Thanks Iron Dwarf, another few months and I will have cows for sure!

8

[quote]lemony2j wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
LL,

I have a very effective calf routine posted in this thread:

This, and what ID said about half-assing it. I have been doing more or less this routine for 3 months (apart from the negatives, I just didn’t like them) with a few other bits added in; super setting with body weight sets when failing with weighted raises, using fst type stuff like stretching the hell out of my calves when they are pumped, not decided if this has any positive effect on growth yet but it hurts like hell!!! In a good way

There is no doubt my calves have grown and put this down to three things:

Training them frequently

Establishing a better mmc with them -as ID advised in calves to cows thread

Contracting them HARD and squeezing on every rep with a controlled descent

Thanks Iron Dwarf, another few months and I will have cows for sure![/quote]

Thank YOU, Lemony! Nothing solidifies my credibility like another person’s success on a program I prescribed.

9

Inlcine running, walking.

Sprinting, jogging, walking.

Done more for my calves than any exercise.

10

Notice the common theme among these & other recommendations for calves is volume volume volume. I learnt from my mistakes as well last year. Was taking near a gram of test (plus others) a week and gained 10kg in 8 weeks only trained calves once a week & on occasion, twice, with the same volume as for other bodyparts,result - everything but my calves exploded in size. I dont think the f8#kers grew at all! If this doesn’t prove that you need lots of volume for calves then i dont know what does.

Needless to say i wont be making the same mistake again.

11

Thanks guys! I tried the standing smith machine calf press, bare footed, flat footed, it was fucking unreal! Next on the list is hill sprints, except i have almost 4 feet of snow where i live

12

DC protocol or
high reps(20+) with good stretch and good MMC