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Understand that when I say “lagging calves,” I
don’t mean a lagging body. If your whole body lacks
substantial muscle mass, then, of course, your calves will
too. In that case the solution is not a calf-specialization
program but an overall growth-specialization program, one
that will bring your calves up along with everything else.
The following, however, is a 10-week specialization program
for the calves. Before I get into the details, I want to specify
a couple of conditions you should meet before embarking on
it.
First of all, this routine will do you absolutely no good
if you haven’t already added substantial muscle mass
to your thigh, hip and back structure. It also won’t
help if you’ve been in the training doldrums for a long
time or if you embark on it immediately following another
calf-specialization program.
On the positive side, if you’ve been using a sound overall
mass-gaining program and have added significant muscle and
strength everywhere but your calves, try this routine. You’re
aiming for minimum of a half inch gain after 10 weeks on this
program. Fit it in twice during a six-month period and you
could put on well over an inch. That may not be a spectacular
gain, but it’s substantial nonetheless.
Generally speaking, most bodybuilders simply don’t train
their calves (or their thighs and lower backs) with the effort
and will they put into training other bodyparts. Even when
you work them intensively and conscientiously, however, the
calves aren’t usually very receptive to training, so
it’s a waste of time to train them any way but seriously.
The Exercises
The gastrocnemius is the main calf muscle. The lower leg is
composed of several smaller muscles as well as the gastrocnemius.
If you concentrate your attention on adding substantial size
to the gastrocnemius, the smaller muscles will come along
for the ride.
This routine is based on two exercises, the one-leg heel raise
performed while holding a dumbbell and the donkey calf raise.
There are other calf exercises, not all of them good ones,
but these two are magnificent.
For the one-leg heel raise, or one-leg calf raise, as it’s
popularly called, all you need is a high block that doesn’t
wobble, something to hold onto and a freeloading dumbbell
or set of dumbbells. Even if you don’t have a set of
dumbbells, you can put together a single one.
The donkey calf raise hits the calves in a different way.
You use a high block or platform as you did in the first exercise.
In this case you also bend over at the waist, rest your forearms
on a bench and have someone sit on your lower back. The weight
of the person will directly affect the size of your calves.
Even if you train alone, you should be able to get someone
to sit on your back, there’s no exertion involved. If
you have access to a Smith machine, you can use that for resistance.
The block you use should be high enough that at full stretch
you can’t touch the floor with your heel. Plant your
foot or feet in the best position for yourself. Try to avoid
slipping off the block as you work through the set. Keep your
knees locked at all times other than during the final, twilight
zone reps, on which you can unlock them a little to keep the
reps moving. Do all the reps of every set with continuous
tension.
Work through the exercises with your big toe or toes pointing
either straight forward or very slightly outward. Lower to
a full stretch under control; don’t just drop down.
Push up to the very top of the rep in a steady and controlled
manner, letting your heel rotate slightly inward if that comes
naturally for you. As the set progresses, the reps become
harder to do. At this stage you must drive up much more forcefully
from the fully stretched position. The further you get into
a set, the more forceful you must be as you’re trying
to get out of the bottom position. Don’t bounce, and
don’t shorten the reps. No matter how far along you
are in the set, if you have the will, you can get out another
rep.
On the one-leg heel raises trainees frequently rest the non-working
leg on the back of the working leg. This can shift the stress
of the exercise somewhat and may reduce its effectiveness.
Try to do the movement without resting your nonworking leg
in this manner. It’s easy enough to get used to.
The Program
Throughout the 10-week program you work your calves only twice
a week, performing the one-leg heel raises at the first workout
and the donkey raises at the second. At each workout you perform
only two sets of the designated exercise.
Week 1 - Take it easy to start. At the first
workout do two sets of maximum reps of the one-leg raises
without holding a dumbbell. Start with the left leg. Perform
a full set, and when you’re finished, do the same number
of reps for the other leg. After the first complete round
rest very briefly, then return to the first leg and work through
the second set. At the second workout do the donkey calf raises
with someone who’s on the light side sitting on your
back. Aim for about 30 reps and do two sets performed to just
short of the absolute limit.
Week 2 - Start using a dumbbell on the one-leg
heel raises at the first workout. Use as big a dumbbell as
you can handle while performing a minimum of 20 reps, at least
for the first set on each leg. For the second workout add
a bit more resistance on the donkey raises, enough to let
you clear 20 reps.
Week 3 - For this week you add five pounds
to your dumbbell on the one-leg calf raises and 10 pounds
on the donkey raises. The person on your back can simply hold
a plate for the extra resistance.
This week you start sweating blood to maintain or exceed the
reps you did during the previous week. This degree of effort
is the substance of the program or any program, for that matter.
If you don’t sweat blood, you won’t gain. Because
the calves have such a capacity for tolerating pain, you must
simply venture further and further into it.
In addition to the weight increases you add another factor
this week. At the end of each set, immediately after you fold,
get back into the top position and do very short burns, as
they’re called. Just move up and down in the top two
inches of the range of motion. Do as many burns as you can.
The pain will be massive, but get out a few more all the same.
A great thing about calf training (at least with the exercises
we’re using) is that you don’t have to worry about
a weak link giving out before the target muscles do. Unlike
the big basic movements such as squats and deadlifts, with
calf exercises you only have to concentrate on the calves.
There’s no discomfort in the shoulders, chest and lower
back, as there is when you do squats and no discomfort in
every inch of your body, as there is when you do truly limit-effort
deadlifts. When you work calves, you lock yourself into that
pain and savor it. The more you put up with, the better your
results. So really push those sets to the nth degree.
You keep your set totals to a minimum, so there’s no
need for conscious or unconscious holding back of effort.
Just let it all out. Take it as a cast-iron fact: Two sets
done to the limit will stimulate more calf growth than 20
pseudo-limit sets. How anyone can do high numbers of repeat
“limit” sets is beyond me. There must be more
than one meaning for the word “limit” in this
context.
A three-minute rest between sets is the maximum; a little
less is even better.
Week 4 - This week you do exactly the same
as you did in week 3, except you add another five pounds to
the one-leg heel raises and another 10 to the donkey raises.
Week 5 - Now you add another twist. In workout
1, before you do the burns at the end of each set of one-leg
heel raises, quickly put down the dumbbell and, on the same
leg you just worked, do as many reps without the dumbbell
as you can. Now do the burns.
For the second workout perform the donkey raises exactly as
you did in week 4 but add an extra couple of reps.
Week 6 - Add another five pounds to the dumbbell
and 10 on your back. Remember that you want to do your utmost
and then some to keep the reps above 20, at least on the first
set of each exercise. The reps will be lower on the second
set, but that’s normal. After the final burns on the
final set of each exercise, lower yourself to a full stretch
and gently bounce in the low position. You should be in so
much pain at this stage that when you finish, a further surge
of pain hits you.
Week 7 - This is a repeat of week 6 with
the regular five- and 10-pound increases. From now on for
the second set on each leg of the one-leg heel raises you
drop the weight, using a dumbbell that’s only half the
poundage you used on the first set. The dumbbell should be
getting quite heavy now, and if you’re not already doing
it, you should start by warming up with a set of about 15
heel raises without a dumbbell before you get into the heavy
sets.
In the second workout use a lighter person on your back for
the second set. By reducing the poundage on the second hard
set of each exercise, you should be able to keep the reps
up more.
Week 8 - Add the usual five and 10 pounds,
even if your reps drop below 20. In the first workout, before
you put the dumbbell down to do the weight-free reps, use
the nonworking leg to help get you back up, then lower yourself
on the working leg. Doing as many of these as you can will
add to the pain considerably.
Here’s a summary of what you should be doing on the
one-leg calf raise. Perform a full-range maximum-rep set with
the appropriate dumbbell immediately followed by two legs
up and one leg down immediately followed by maximum reps without
the dumbbell immediately followed by maximum burns. The pain
can get to the point where it disappears and temporary numbness
and immobility set in. This is maximum stimulation.
You continue doing the donkey raises as usual, and no two-up-and-one-down
reps.
Weeks 9 and 10 - Repeat week 8, adding the
usual five pounds to the one-leg raises and 10 to the donkey
raises each week.
Calf Program Tips
This is about as intense a routine as you can do for your
calves. If you can truly say you’ve never trained your
calves hard, there’s no need to jump into this sort
of program. Just take your calves seriously from now on, and
as long as you build up to using substantial dumbbells, they’ll
grow.
Those of you who have trained your calves hard without success,
however, give this routine your all. Once you’ve built
up to using a dumbbell of more than 70 pounds for 20 good,
slow and continuous reps, especially in combination with all
the extra work beyond the first 20 reps, your calves will
be much improved.
If you feel the program is too tough for you to do in one
go, take a break after the sixth week. For one week just do
two sets of one-leg calf raises without a dumbbell on each
of the two training days. Stop each set just short of maximum
reps, and perform no extra reps. Then the next week jump back
into the program.
Ideally, you should start this routine after you’ve
been following an overall size-and-strength-building program.
Take a week’s layoff before starting it, and during
the 10 weeks just maintain the rest of your body. Training
twice a week with a whole-body routine should do the job well.
Just do the calf routine first in your workout.
The calves are your major priority here, so don’t combine
his routine with a weight-loss program or a demanding routine
for the rest of your body. It’s simply too much to work
yourself to the bone for the rest of your body and then pile
the extra calf work on top of that.
Eat well and rest well, and spare yourself any demanding physical
work outside the gym. In other words, keep what you have from
the knees up and then apply yourself to piling on some size
to your calves.
Related Articles
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Exercises
Classic
Calves and Hamstring Exercises
Massive Calves In
Six Weeks
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