Massive Calves

Bodybuilding - Building Massive Calves

The most stubborn and hard to develop body part for most bodybuilders is definitely a pair of diamond shaped calves. Even at the professional level, a great pair of calves is seldom seen on stage.

There are a few reasons why this is the case, especially in today's bodybuilders as opposed to bodybuilders from the past.

Firstly, the top reason that calves elude so many people is simply stated; a lack of effort and an equal lack of understanding just what the calves need to stimulate growth in the area. The majority of trainees tack on a few sloppy half hearted sets at the end of their quad session and then whine about how their calves won't respond and that it's just not in the cards for them to ever have a pair of impressive lower legs.

The key is to use a full range of motion, varied rep ranges, stretching between sets, short rest periods, and lots of intensity techniques. You see a ton of guys in the gym using a veritable ton of weight on calf movements, but they are usually doing a bobbing kind of motion where the body does most of the moving with no ankle flexion. Go all the way up and all the way down on every rep, and when you can do no more full reps, do half reps until you can't stand the pain, then do a few more.

Supersets, Drop Sets, and Giant Sets are killer and will help make them grow fast. Be intense and work hard, with a full range of motion, and lots of stretching, and they will grow. Another thing is to treat them like any other body part, if you do 12 sets for chest, and tack on only a measly 4 sets for calves, you aren't working hard enough or smart enough for that matter.

- Always get a full range of motion during the exercise.

- Keep the calves guessing by doing different workouts at every training session. The calves adapt to training easier than most muscles.

- Use different intensity techniques, such as Supersets, Drop Sets, Tri-sets.

- Always stretch the calves between sets.

Calf workouts

Bodybuilding - Mass Building Calf Muscles' Workouts

It is important to know that for many people the calf responds to higher reps. See what works for you but for most you need to be doing at least 15 reps per set. You want to concentrate on really feeling the calf contracting during the set and get a good stretch at the bottom of the movement and a hard contraction at the top. Do not bounce during the movement. You want to make sure that during both the concentric and eccentric part of the movement is nice and slow and controlled.

Workout #1:
Standing Barbell Calf Raises 4x15
Seated Barbell Calf Raises 4x15
Donkey Calf Raises 4x15 

Workout #2:
Standing Barbell Calf Raises 4x15
Standing One-Leg Dumbbell Calf Raises 4x15
Seated Dumbbell Calf Raises 4x15

Workout #3:
Smith Machine Standing Calf Raises 4x15
Standing One-Leg Calf Raises 4x15
Donkey Calf Raises 4x15

Workout #4:
Calf Press on Leg Press Machine 4x15
Machine Standing Calf Raises 4x15
Machine Seated Calf Raises 4x15

Workout #5:
Calf Press on Leg Press Machine 4x15
Standing Barbell Calf Raises 4x15
Machine Seated Calf Raises 4x15

Workout #6 (Smith Machine):
Smith Machine Reverse Standing Calf Raises 4x15
Smith Machine Standing Calf Raises 4x15
Smith Machine Seated Calf Raises 4x15

Workout #7 (Bodyweight):
Standing Bodyweight Calf Raises 6x15
Standing One-Leg Bodyweight Calf Raises 6x15

Calf

Bodybuilding - Anatomy of the Calf Muscle

The gastrocnemius is also called the calf muscle. The muscle itself is one that is visible on the body (meaning it doesn't lie underneath any other muscles and therefore is not visible by the eye). The gastrocnemius attaches to the heel (at the Achilles Tendon) and originates on the femur (behind the knee). The calf muscle has two heads (the medial and lateral heads).

Soleus:
Unlike the gastrocnemius, this is one of those muscles that I mentioned above that are not visible because it lies underneath another muscle. It is for this reason that the muscle isn't very well known among those just starting out. The medial head originates on the posterior tibia and the lateral head on the posterior fibula. These two heads unite and insert into the calcaneal tendon.

Plantaris:
The plantaris is a very small muscle. The long tendon of the plantaris passes between the gastrocnemius and soleus and inserts into the calcaneus. It originates at the lateral epicondyle of the femur, just above the origin of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius.