S
simonjpa
Member
- Sep 10, 2010
- 61
- 11
Ok you want monster calves. Here are the secrets to getting them.
1: HIGH REPS and TWICE PER WEEK
Calves are the ONLY exercise that I recommend doing more than 12 reps. For any other exercise I would only say 10-12 reps max. Any more and your not using heavy enough weight and it's just useless. But for CALVES, high reps is much better. Moderate weight, but high reps. You want to SQUEEZE every rep out. No funny stuff. Your last rep should have your legs shaking.
Calves are one of the only muscles than can take significant beating. Walking everyday is putting stress on the calves. TWO TIMES a week is a MUST.
2: NO MACHINES
Calves are the WORST exercise to do on machines. Every pro bodybuilder thinks the calf machine is the holy grail for big calves. WRONG. Machines for calves are horrible. There are many variations of calf machines, but all involve sitting down with your knees under pads and your feet on platforms pushing up through toes and lower/raising heel. MANY people use to heavy weight, don't do full extensions, and CHEAT. They cheat by activating their quads. Some machines have handles above the pads to hold with your hands. 9 times out of 10 people will yank on these when the weight gets heavy. USELESS!!!
Calf machines also do not work the whole calf muscle. I REPEAT - THEY DO NOT work the whole calf muscle!
3: BEST EXERCISES
The best exercise for monster calves are as follows...
Standing Calf raises - use stairs or a platform. FULL EXTENSIONS!
Donkey Calf raises - FULL EXTENSIONS! FEEL THE BURN!
4: CALF PAIN
This is very important for the first real calf work out. If you are not hitting calves properly YOU WON'T HAVE PAIN.
There is always a little pain after finishing a set. You want to stretch your legs. Then it goes away.
AFTER your FIRST REAL calf work out, you will get pain TWO-THREE days after. This is called DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
You will have MAJOR pain in one or both calves. You will PROBABLY not be able to walk or you will be limping. NO you did not pull or tear your calf. This is GOOD news!!!
The feeling should be like the very first time you did an intense weight session. Do you remember? The first time hitting squats. The next day you had massive pain in your quads and couldn't sit down! Your first deadlift session, it felt like your back muscles were ripped apart!
Calves are the same the FIRST few times because people DO NOT TRAIN THEM PROPERLY!
The pain should subside in 3-5 days after. After a few training sessions you won't get DOMS anymore.
5: GENETICS
Genetics are what separate the amateurs from the pros. Unfortunately calves are the toughest for results if you have trained properly.
Race wise, Asians have the best calf genetics and Blacks have it the worst.
To get monster calves you must follow all my advice above. If you do NOT see significant change in your calves in 3-4 months, you genetically have poor calves.
Let me tell you I thought I had horrible calves when I started. I thought I had high insertions and small calves. After trying applying different routines I found what worked and my calves BLEW up.
Steroids will NOT give you monster calves if you have poor genetics.
1: HIGH REPS and TWICE PER WEEK
Calves are the ONLY exercise that I recommend doing more than 12 reps. For any other exercise I would only say 10-12 reps max. Any more and your not using heavy enough weight and it's just useless. But for CALVES, high reps is much better. Moderate weight, but high reps. You want to SQUEEZE every rep out. No funny stuff. Your last rep should have your legs shaking.
Calves are one of the only muscles than can take significant beating. Walking everyday is putting stress on the calves. TWO TIMES a week is a MUST.
2: NO MACHINES
Calves are the WORST exercise to do on machines. Every pro bodybuilder thinks the calf machine is the holy grail for big calves. WRONG. Machines for calves are horrible. There are many variations of calf machines, but all involve sitting down with your knees under pads and your feet on platforms pushing up through toes and lower/raising heel. MANY people use to heavy weight, don't do full extensions, and CHEAT. They cheat by activating their quads. Some machines have handles above the pads to hold with your hands. 9 times out of 10 people will yank on these when the weight gets heavy. USELESS!!!
Calf machines also do not work the whole calf muscle. I REPEAT - THEY DO NOT work the whole calf muscle!
3: BEST EXERCISES
The best exercise for monster calves are as follows...
Standing Calf raises - use stairs or a platform. FULL EXTENSIONS!
Donkey Calf raises - FULL EXTENSIONS! FEEL THE BURN!
4: CALF PAIN
This is very important for the first real calf work out. If you are not hitting calves properly YOU WON'T HAVE PAIN.
There is always a little pain after finishing a set. You want to stretch your legs. Then it goes away.
AFTER your FIRST REAL calf work out, you will get pain TWO-THREE days after. This is called DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
You will have MAJOR pain in one or both calves. You will PROBABLY not be able to walk or you will be limping. NO you did not pull or tear your calf. This is GOOD news!!!
The feeling should be like the very first time you did an intense weight session. Do you remember? The first time hitting squats. The next day you had massive pain in your quads and couldn't sit down! Your first deadlift session, it felt like your back muscles were ripped apart!
Calves are the same the FIRST few times because people DO NOT TRAIN THEM PROPERLY!
The pain should subside in 3-5 days after. After a few training sessions you won't get DOMS anymore.
5: GENETICS
Genetics are what separate the amateurs from the pros. Unfortunately calves are the toughest for results if you have trained properly.
Race wise, Asians have the best calf genetics and Blacks have it the worst.
To get monster calves you must follow all my advice above. If you do NOT see significant change in your calves in 3-4 months, you genetically have poor calves.
Let me tell you I thought I had horrible calves when I started. I thought I had high insertions and small calves. After trying applying different routines I found what worked and my calves BLEW up.
Steroids will NOT give you monster calves if you have poor genetics.
