Weight Training Tips and Articles

Weight Training For Bigger Calves

May 7, 2008 on 4:54 am | In Weight Training Routines, Weight Training Exercises, Legs, Calves, Build Muscle |

  One of the toughest muscle groups to build through weight training are the calves. How big your calves are depends a lot on genetics as you’ve no doubt seen people who never exercise with huge calves and people who exercise constantly with small ones. Take an elite athlete like Evander Holyfield whose calves weren’t more than 13 or 14 inches around when he was in his prime and that should tell you how much of a role genetics plays in how big your calves are. Despite this you can certainly increase the size of your lower leg muscles with intense calf workouts.

  The calves are a very fast recovering muscle group (you use them constantly while walking or running) so you can train them more often than other muscles. This means that while you may do your calf training routine on your leg day, you may also want to train them during another workout as well. Depending how your weight training routine is split up you can do some calf exercises every other day or once every 3 days.

  Another key to building bigger calf muscles is to do high reps on your calf exercises while using as much weight as possible. Since you are always using your calves you need to train them with as much intensity as possible to get an effect. When you start a calf exercise do 15-20 reps with good, full reps where you stretch them at the bottom of a rep and get as high on your toes as possible to finish a rep. Once you get to a point where you can no longer do any more full reps do as many “bouncing” reps as you can stand before finishing your set.

  To gain calf muscle size you need to do both standing and seated calf raises. The standing calf raises will build the gastrocnemius muscle, while seated calf raises will build the soleus muscle. If you want you can throw in some sets of calf raises on the leg press machine. If you focus on training both of major muscles of the lower legs during your calf workouts you’ll get more of muscle size you’ll be on your way to building bigger calves.