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Calf Condition...Ready to wear Shorts?This article appears in the May issue of Natural Muscle Magazine Featuring Digital Video Exercise Demonstrations By: Scott H. Mendelson CFT, SSC, SPN Many consider the Calves to be the biceps of the lower body since they are so readily visible, especially during the spring and summer months when we dare to wear shorts. My goal is to end the confusion about calve training and give you some tools you can use asap to increase your size and definition without forcing yourself into a limping soreness which can be easily be detected when see colleagues walking on the back of their feet. Born with Great Calves?However some people are born with great calves and others can train them until the end of days with no results. All things being equal we all have the ability to improve the musculature, but a select few picked the right parents and have the genes to sport great lower legs. Well as we all know life is not fair, so let us focus on what we can control.
Anatomy 101Our anatomy session will be brief and to the point, the lower leg is made up of the gastroc which inserts into the back of the knee and ankle while the soleus only connects to the ankle. The gastroc has a greater role in explosive movements such as jumping, while the soleus provides stability and support. Increasing the strength and size of the calf muscle can reduce injury by protecting the knee and ankle joints from trauma. Keys to Calve Training Success
Train calves first during the workout You must train your calves or any prioritized body part first in the workout an early in the calendar week, which is when your capacity to train reaches it's peak for the week. This prioritization method does wonders for results, and fortunately fatiguing your calves during the beginning of the workout is unlikely to negatively affect any other exercises as long as you do enough stretches to keep the calves loose for the remainder of the session. Ditch Your Wrist StrapsAn easy way to build grip strength is to ditch your wraps! Wrapping devices instruct the forearms to shut down since wrap does the work. I guarantee that you will not have the chance to attach a wrap to a heavy shopping cart as it is rolling down hill. You can either grip the cart or lose your merchandise. The importance of griping pieces of clothing or objects is extremely important in many sports and will separate the winners from the losers in many competitions. As a blocker, can you grip the jersey of the defensive end coming to kill your Quarterback? Flexibility the forgotten element of calf GROWTHThe forgotten element to calf training is flexibility work; it only takes one session with a massage therapist who enters the calf area to detect if a lot of junk has built up in the area. I have had more than a few deep tissue massages that had me jumping off of the table and sweating bullets from the sheer pain created by the lumps of scar tissue, but rectifying the situation was a necessary task. Calf inflexibility will cause problems with exercises such as the squat by causing the heels to raise off the ground during the decent due to a lack of length in the muscle.
I strongly suggest that those of you with tight calves consider not training the area at all in lieu of stretching movements which will help to free up at least some of the scar tissue and restore proper length to the area. A torn calf is no fun to say the least and you are setting yourself up for injury by training a tight muscle. Furthermore it is highly unlikely that the calves will grow if scar tissue is prevalent in the area.
Now to the training. For the most part gyms across the nation have similar machines to blast the calves or at least make people get this impression. Seated exercises work the soleus while standing movements are gastroc dominant. I have seen great explosions in growth from training the calf unilaterally (one leg at a time). This will help to isolate each leg and correct any muscular imbalances. Yes you will have to lower the loads that you have previously used, but in the long run your strength will sky rocket. Do not make the mistake of bouncing the loads at the bottom of the movement, instead stretch the musculature and eliminate momentum to increase the challenge of every rep. Dissents must be slow and controlled to ensure that the total set length is adequate to stimulate growth. Finally you must lift the loads explosively to for gastro movements to activate those fast twitch muscle fibers which thrive on acceleration for growth. Some soleus movements are best done in a slow and controlled fashion, but this will all be laid out for you below.
Day 1 Workout
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest (seconds) A1
Toe Elevated Unilateral Calf raise
2
10
4-2-x
45 A2 Seated Unilateral Calf Raise
2 12 6-3-1 45 B1 Leg Press Calf Raise
2
8 4-2-x 45 Workout
Day 2
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest (seconds) A1
Machine Standing Calf Raise*
2
6
4-3-x
45 A2
Seated Calf Raise*
2 6 4-3-x 45 B1 Hack Squat Calf Raise 2 8 6-3-x 45 * Raise load with both legs, lower using one leg only LEGAL DISCLAIMER |
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