From an email:
Q: I have a problem with my calves, its defenitely the weakest body part for me, by FAR! It is lagging way behind and I need some tips on how to make it grow. I am running out of options and if by next late spring I dont see any improvements, I think I will commit the deadly sin...injecting oil in them!!! HELP. Please refrain from giving me tips if you too are suffering from skinny calves. Thanks.
---------------------
A: Donkey calf raises are one of the best exercises for calves. Have any of you ever seen the classic photo of Arnold with two of his bodybuilding buddies on his back with his feet on a calf raise platform? Yeah, it looks silly, but it WORKS. Screw what anyone in your gym thinks... have your training partner sit on your back, your legs straight but not locked out, back straight, and hands balancing you on a bench or something. If they are not heavy enough, have them hold heavy dumbbells until you begin to really feel it.
Even better than Donkeys is HIKING on steep mountain trails if you have them available. I grew up in Colorado and I have never met someone on the trail with small calves. In fact, most hikers have calves like bloated over-ripe cantelopes hanging off their legs. Plus, steep up-hill training will blow out your quads and glutes, and give you some extra cardio which you know you don't do enough of. The key to calves is that they can take so much more of a hammering than you realize. The muscle tissue is slightly different than the rest of your muscles inthat they re-oxygenate VERY quickly, therefore must be punished for a long period of time to really get worked.
Another trick, if don't live in an area with steep, rocky trails close by, is to do 60-100 yard sprint drills on sand, like a sandy beach. It will BLOW THEM OUT! The whole idea about using either hiking or sand sprint drills is that you are submitting them to an extremely UNSTABLE environment, shocking the muscle, and causing your calves to recruit muscles never touched in a closed-chain machine exercises. You may be able to lift a lot, but that is only because your nervous system becomes more efficient. You can definitely get stronger without gaining size. Look at competitive powerlifters. They specifically train to keep their mass down while refining their bodies physics in certain movements. Think "Pocket Hercules" (remember him from the last summer olympics? Pound for pound the strongest man in the world, but tiny!). Don't train like a strength athlete if you want to gain mass!
Q: I have a problem with my calves, its defenitely the weakest body part for me, by FAR! It is lagging way behind and I need some tips on how to make it grow. I am running out of options and if by next late spring I dont see any improvements, I think I will commit the deadly sin...injecting oil in them!!! HELP. Please refrain from giving me tips if you too are suffering from skinny calves. Thanks.
---------------------
A: Donkey calf raises are one of the best exercises for calves. Have any of you ever seen the classic photo of Arnold with two of his bodybuilding buddies on his back with his feet on a calf raise platform? Yeah, it looks silly, but it WORKS. Screw what anyone in your gym thinks... have your training partner sit on your back, your legs straight but not locked out, back straight, and hands balancing you on a bench or something. If they are not heavy enough, have them hold heavy dumbbells until you begin to really feel it.
Even better than Donkeys is HIKING on steep mountain trails if you have them available. I grew up in Colorado and I have never met someone on the trail with small calves. In fact, most hikers have calves like bloated over-ripe cantelopes hanging off their legs. Plus, steep up-hill training will blow out your quads and glutes, and give you some extra cardio which you know you don't do enough of. The key to calves is that they can take so much more of a hammering than you realize. The muscle tissue is slightly different than the rest of your muscles inthat they re-oxygenate VERY quickly, therefore must be punished for a long period of time to really get worked.
Another trick, if don't live in an area with steep, rocky trails close by, is to do 60-100 yard sprint drills on sand, like a sandy beach. It will BLOW THEM OUT! The whole idea about using either hiking or sand sprint drills is that you are submitting them to an extremely UNSTABLE environment, shocking the muscle, and causing your calves to recruit muscles never touched in a closed-chain machine exercises. You may be able to lift a lot, but that is only because your nervous system becomes more efficient. You can definitely get stronger without gaining size. Look at competitive powerlifters. They specifically train to keep their mass down while refining their bodies physics in certain movements. Think "Pocket Hercules" (remember him from the last summer olympics? Pound for pound the strongest man in the world, but tiny!). Don't train like a strength athlete if you want to gain mass!
