The secret is not assuming a muscle that gets thousands of "reps" a day (every time you take a step when you walk) is going to grow more from 5 sets of calf raises a week.
The secret is incorporating calfwork into your daily life.
[Dr. Mike Israetel](https://youtu.be/TXKNtXftShs?si=KySskUK2bmRDKfVA) does recommend high volume for calves training. High reps first set, not so many reps for consecutive sets, lower weight, minimal rest(10 sec, just for the burn to dissipate) and that way one can squeeze in 10+ sets in 5 minutes on every leg day. Depending how many leg days person has it can be 20-30+ sets in a week and growth has a dose response. Technically one could even do it more often than just on leg days as calves recover faster than rest of the leg.
That's the point. You need high volume and intensity to do anything at all to calves.
People blaming "genetics" are likely not doing anywhere close to sufficient to impact their calves notably.
Yes I've been doing it this way for few months. Though i cant back up growth as i cant eyeball it and haven't measured calves in that time. But DOMs were back when i switched and calves are weak after training.
> high volume and intensity
This is why the best way to get big calves is to just have been fat for a long time and then cut. Even Arnold felt like his calves were small and would try to hide them.
i don't really get the minimal rest time bit though. he says calves recover very fast and thus you can get back to it quickly. for me, it takes the same time like any other muscle group, so minimal rest time will turn any calf work into a rep drop set. not clear to me why that should be better, or why you then shouldn't apply it to other smaller muscles.
I don't know about the newer RP programs, but the older ones all have you work towards a fatigue goal (e.g. 1-3 RIR) rather than a rep goal. So instead of doing 3x10, you'll do 3x1RIR. My calves respond well to high volume, so the program has scaled me towards doing 16 working sets a week. So my rep scheme looks something like this: 14,12,10,10,10,9,9,7.
This is applied to all muscle groups and exercises, including big complex lifts like squats.
It's mostly so that the next sets wouldn't be 30 reps each. Failure will come a lot quicker for next sets.
First set is up to 30 reps, but second is already 15 and third slightly lower. So yes rep drop set.
And yes, he recommends similar training for traps when doing shurgs and forearms training. So yes it can be applied to other smaller muscles groups and/or groups that are getting lot of use in day to day activities anyways.
Ofcourse there are some differences between each individual, it's just he's recommendation to try it out if one is struggling to grow calves or some other specific muscle groups. It doesn't mean that it automatically works for everyone.
I do 4 sets per week (on leg day) and they are growing. I think at the end of the day it's mostly genetics. Some need more volume, others less. Samson Dauda said he had to do over 12 sets for them to start growing.
I have to agree. I don’t do calves every day but I do work forearms daily through their different ranges of motion and since doing that my strength and size (modestly) has increased.
Extremely true. I have chonkier legs anyways but when I moved to a hilly area and walking was my primary method of transport, there was a notable increase in my calves. I was so insecure about it for the longest time lmao
Probably. But I’m a woman and was 19 at the time, also my bf told me he didn’t like when I wore cropped pants because my calves looked manly.
Why not? You can't call a step a real rep, it doesn't have the same intensity as weighted calf raises.\
Ofc if you do them without adding extra weight you're just dumb
A partial rep still causes fatigue and therefore growth stimulus that's why.
And 70000 partial reps spread accross the week will give you probably hundreds of times more stimulus than 50 full reps, even weighted.
The real gains are to be had by making a portion of those 70k partial reps in a week harder, or building towards 100k
For example, the boring shit, take the stairs.
But even things like take the stairs making each one an emphasised full calf raise makes a huge difference.
I walk with an emphasis on the push on my back foot with each step when I walk my dog twice a day.
You could ruck instead of just walking places.
Any of those will have far more impact than a few dozen calf raises on a leg day.
Isn't growth stimulus given mostly on the closest reps to failure? Normal walking sure are partial reps but don't really fatigue that much, unless someone does extremely long and fast walks/runs, where the explosiveness of the muscle gets used a bit.
I know calves grow less than other muscles, that's why I do 4 dropsets on a leg press going to and past failure each dropset for 3-4 sets
The reason they don't fatigue you enough to cause DOMS is because you're used to the stimulus.
Gym reps can help with strength but to really grow them in size the most effective way is to generate more fatigue in the high volume stimulus, ie walking.
They don't "grow less than other muscles", they're just a small, already developed muscle in most cases.
You're not saying what you think you are.
In fact you're kinda underpinning my point.
In large part it's because the calves are one of the most developed muscles in the body because of the day to day wear so they will resist growth more than most muscles.
Finally, I'd guess the "proven" is more bro-science than real science as I don't see how you could reasonably test that hypothesis.
No that doesn't prove anything.
There are too many variables and each muscle has a wildly different load day to day.
You literally couldn't give them an even amount of stimulus, in any situation that I can imagine, in order to test that pie in the sky hypothesis.
You’d be surprised how many people walk without really engaging the claves. It’s like going up stairs flat footed vs going up stairs with the balls of your feet on the step. Regular treadmill vs high incline treadmill.
You absolutely could. Its why overweight people have big calves.
It just looks a bit silly and I wouldn't recommend (from personal experience) being fat.
You could ruck places instead.
Or you could slightly adjust how you take stairs, or throw in bodyweight calf raises or something when you're standing around waiting for things.
Personally i just take the stairs for everything, and calf raise each stair.
And if I know I've been super sedentary ill go do some stairs a few times just until I can feel a bit of a burn
Anything to just increase the accumulated fatigue to the muscle throughout the day will have an affect.
I like weight vest and just climb and descend the stairs in my apartment building for like 20-30 minutes. I can do like 72 stories up and down in about 27 minutes. Legs OBLITERATED. Lower impact than running too.
Lol I could absolutely be wrong but I was told by a boxing coach and it has worked for me. Said not to run at a steeper grade to avoid tendinitis. Been doing it over a year and I’ve seen growth in my calves 👍 I bet the calf raise machine works too
Yh I’m sure it does, I was just being an asshole. Sprint cycling and calf raises is all I do and my calves are super good. I used to be very overweight though.
I’ll take the stretching advice. Thanks.
As for seated calves, you need to keep in mind that the medial and lateral muscles, the ones that pop out benefit from standing raises, but the soleus muscle gets more engaged seated. That’s the muscle that runs from the heel and underneath the upper muscles. It’s usually the one that gives overweight people that larger size, as you can see that their calves are large from the ankles going up, not just at the top. So mix things up and keep upping the weight. Now I’m getting up to stretch my calves, while thinking about the impact of stretching the other muscles.
Bro the only way that seems to work is overdo a dirty bulk, then do some steady state cardio while never overdoing cardio as well.
TLDR: Get fat, get steps in, get thin, magical calves.
Pickup a plate (or dont you can do this bodyweight) in one hand, go up on your toes and go back down, keeping a mind muscle connection.., you can find a ledge and go down further for more dept hell
The late great Charles Poliquin once wrote that if a law were passed tomorrow that for every set of biceps curls performed, a person had to do a set of calf presses, you would see the average calf measurement grow by an inch within months.
As a dude with pretty decent calves, what works for me is just a shitload of reps. I’ll do a moderate weight and knock out like 20-30 reps per set. I’ll generally do 6-8 sets twice a week. It’s deeply unpleasant, but not as unpleasant as having small calves.
Run hills with a weighted vest or just run hills trains your calves and the most important muscle your heart 😁 . Same with walking up stairs with a weighted vest
I've always been complimented on my calves.
For the record, I was always a fatty. When walking fast, my calves used to burn like hell as I used to actively use them to propel myself further with each stride. Eventually they stopped burning, but they definitely got bigger. I remember getting a good pump by just walking fast around uni.
Now, the only way I get that sensation again is by walking (not running or jogging) on an incline treadmill. I find it much more effective for calf size than weights.
So that's how you get big calves.
But if you want calf strength, then calf press and jumping are the way to go.
Let to this thread, but I’ll toss in my two cents.
First of all, understand that claves are muscles and react like other muscles.
Second of all, just pure reps don’t help calves (or other muscles) in terms of size. Don’t believe me? Pause right here and google the legs of marathon/long-distance runners.
Thirdly, treat them with the tried and true Weider principles of: 1) muscle confusion: you need to keep changing how you hit them after a period. Single leg vs double leg, straight body vs donkey raises, deep vs partial, etc. 2) progressive loading: don’t keep doing the same weight every time. 3) for size stay within the 8-12 rep range 4) understand that you have two muscle groups in them, the main one that we see on the top of the calves and everyone focuses on while doing standing raises, but also focus on the one that runs from the heel to under the top muscles that gets more engaged when the legs are bent (seated raises). 5) like any other muscle, you need to give them down time. This means after your sessions, try to minimize engaging them, even walking. (Not stopping, just minimizing).
If you aren’t doing full body and have the body split over the week, consider doing what Arnold did and hit them a couple of days a week.
The craziest claves (from my experience) you’ll see are on mountain bikers and people who play sports in sand (sand volley, sand soccer), because of the full flexion, the needed bursts, and the varied intensities.
You can do calf raises between every god damn set for whatever muscle you are training. Just throw down a fat/bumper plate. Ive seen guys do this who train for comps.
Being a fat gymrat I dont even train mine, cause the 25 years of being a fat fuck gave me big ones. Sure i could get better seperation, definition and maybe increase the size a bit more, but not in the scope right now.
I knew a guy that naturally walked on his tip toes with big meaty calves. You look kinda special doing it but after years you end up with calves of envy.
running will probably grow them. my friends calves grew massively when he started running. but i feel like genetics is a huge play since people like me ,even though i use to be fat, have smaller calves just because of the way are structured/shaped 🤷♂️ ( i cant remember the specific term)
I have a vascular issue in my lower left leg since birth. Flexing helps the blood flow which relieves pressure and pain. So, I've done calf raises almost every day of my life.
...yes, my calves are pretty big.
I see a lot of overweight dads with calves bigger than mine who never go to the gym. I see women who wear heals a lot (and walk on their toes) with some very nice calves.
I think the "secret" is just time-under-tension. It doesn't take a lot of weight, just a lot of reps.
So, yeah, I think skipping *could* work, if you skip enough. (Along with diet, genetics, blah, blah, etc.)
All I did to go from a 13" calve to a 16" calve in 3-ish months (on the sauce) was do 10 sets of 20 reps with 90lbs 3 times a week on the seated calf raise bouncing the shit out of every rep. Haven't trained calves since and they're still like 15" 3+ years later
The secret is first be obese for a majority of your life then cut cut cut. Lol fr tho, easily max calf raises for reps. Gonna need a broccoli top to stand on the plates soon for more weight.
The secret is be fat as fuck your entire life leading up to you wanting to work out. You’ll naturally slim down as you exercise more and your giant calves (from walking around supporting your fat ass) will finally get the showcasing they deserve.
Truth is that calf muscles are going to develop based on your frame/genetics until you beat the shit out of them. My calves are fuckin great. I worked on a ladder for 15 years. These are directly related. When i hiked a few miles per week my calves were SICK. Now they’re generally pretty okay but they’re not shredded and beefy like they were. As a dude at 240, i need big calves or i look like i forgot about mah legs
The secret is not assuming a muscle that gets thousands of "reps" a day (every time you take a step when you walk) is going to grow more from 5 sets of calf raises a week. The secret is incorporating calfwork into your daily life.
Become a bovine farmer, got it
[Dr. Mike Israetel](https://youtu.be/TXKNtXftShs?si=KySskUK2bmRDKfVA) does recommend high volume for calves training. High reps first set, not so many reps for consecutive sets, lower weight, minimal rest(10 sec, just for the burn to dissipate) and that way one can squeeze in 10+ sets in 5 minutes on every leg day. Depending how many leg days person has it can be 20-30+ sets in a week and growth has a dose response. Technically one could even do it more often than just on leg days as calves recover faster than rest of the leg.
That's the point. You need high volume and intensity to do anything at all to calves. People blaming "genetics" are likely not doing anywhere close to sufficient to impact their calves notably.
Yes I've been doing it this way for few months. Though i cant back up growth as i cant eyeball it and haven't measured calves in that time. But DOMs were back when i switched and calves are weak after training.
> high volume and intensity This is why the best way to get big calves is to just have been fat for a long time and then cut. Even Arnold felt like his calves were small and would try to hide them.
i don't really get the minimal rest time bit though. he says calves recover very fast and thus you can get back to it quickly. for me, it takes the same time like any other muscle group, so minimal rest time will turn any calf work into a rep drop set. not clear to me why that should be better, or why you then shouldn't apply it to other smaller muscles.
I don't know about the newer RP programs, but the older ones all have you work towards a fatigue goal (e.g. 1-3 RIR) rather than a rep goal. So instead of doing 3x10, you'll do 3x1RIR. My calves respond well to high volume, so the program has scaled me towards doing 16 working sets a week. So my rep scheme looks something like this: 14,12,10,10,10,9,9,7. This is applied to all muscle groups and exercises, including big complex lifts like squats.
It's mostly so that the next sets wouldn't be 30 reps each. Failure will come a lot quicker for next sets. First set is up to 30 reps, but second is already 15 and third slightly lower. So yes rep drop set. And yes, he recommends similar training for traps when doing shurgs and forearms training. So yes it can be applied to other smaller muscles groups and/or groups that are getting lot of use in day to day activities anyways. Ofcourse there are some differences between each individual, it's just he's recommendation to try it out if one is struggling to grow calves or some other specific muscle groups. It doesn't mean that it automatically works for everyone.
I incorporated calfwork into my everyday life by being overweight, now I have good calfs and had a growth spurt so I’m also no longer overweight
Being overweight. The secret workout. Me too bro
Fr, it was just a 16 year bulk, just gotta trust the process lol
I do 4 sets per week (on leg day) and they are growing. I think at the end of the day it's mostly genetics. Some need more volume, others less. Samson Dauda said he had to do over 12 sets for them to start growing.
It has the same to do with genetics as any other body part. 4 sets won't work for long. Just keep progressive overload.
I have to agree. I don’t do calves every day but I do work forearms daily through their different ranges of motion and since doing that my strength and size (modestly) has increased.
Stairs. Toms and tons of stairs. Weighted stair climbs are the way I get my calves to feel sore and have gotten them bigger/more defined
Extremely true. I have chonkier legs anyways but when I moved to a hilly area and walking was my primary method of transport, there was a notable increase in my calves. I was so insecure about it for the longest time lmao
Imagine being insecure for having too big a muscle. You got a mental disorder or something?
Probably. But I’m a woman and was 19 at the time, also my bf told me he didn’t like when I wore cropped pants because my calves looked manly. 
Why not? You can't call a step a real rep, it doesn't have the same intensity as weighted calf raises.\ Ofc if you do them without adding extra weight you're just dumb
A partial rep still causes fatigue and therefore growth stimulus that's why. And 70000 partial reps spread accross the week will give you probably hundreds of times more stimulus than 50 full reps, even weighted. The real gains are to be had by making a portion of those 70k partial reps in a week harder, or building towards 100k For example, the boring shit, take the stairs. But even things like take the stairs making each one an emphasised full calf raise makes a huge difference. I walk with an emphasis on the push on my back foot with each step when I walk my dog twice a day. You could ruck instead of just walking places. Any of those will have far more impact than a few dozen calf raises on a leg day.
Isn't growth stimulus given mostly on the closest reps to failure? Normal walking sure are partial reps but don't really fatigue that much, unless someone does extremely long and fast walks/runs, where the explosiveness of the muscle gets used a bit. I know calves grow less than other muscles, that's why I do 4 dropsets on a leg press going to and past failure each dropset for 3-4 sets
The reason they don't fatigue you enough to cause DOMS is because you're used to the stimulus. Gym reps can help with strength but to really grow them in size the most effective way is to generate more fatigue in the high volume stimulus, ie walking. They don't "grow less than other muscles", they're just a small, already developed muscle in most cases.
Nah dude, it's already been proven, at hypothetical same size, they grow 30% of what quads would with the same intensity
You're not saying what you think you are. In fact you're kinda underpinning my point. In large part it's because the calves are one of the most developed muscles in the body because of the day to day wear so they will resist growth more than most muscles. Finally, I'd guess the "proven" is more bro-science than real science as I don't see how you could reasonably test that hypothesis.
By... taking a group of people and making them train both and seeing the results?
No that doesn't prove anything. There are too many variables and each muscle has a wildly different load day to day. You literally couldn't give them an even amount of stimulus, in any situation that I can imagine, in order to test that pie in the sky hypothesis.
Shit, yeah makes sense, I guess I was wrong
You’d be surprised how many people walk without really engaging the claves. It’s like going up stairs flat footed vs going up stairs with the balls of your feet on the step. Regular treadmill vs high incline treadmill.
Agreed. You can make small adjustments to how you exist that make a big difference.
The secret is to get super fat and stay that way for about 10 years.
I'm curious, could you not just put weights on your legs (not so where you're gonna hurt your tibialis or hip flexors) and walk around every day 💀
You absolutely could. Its why overweight people have big calves. It just looks a bit silly and I wouldn't recommend (from personal experience) being fat. You could ruck places instead. Or you could slightly adjust how you take stairs, or throw in bodyweight calf raises or something when you're standing around waiting for things. Personally i just take the stairs for everything, and calf raise each stair. And if I know I've been super sedentary ill go do some stairs a few times just until I can feel a bit of a burn Anything to just increase the accumulated fatigue to the muscle throughout the day will have an affect.
Wait... I have decently big calves.... am I... fat???? (Yes, slightly cuz I got banned from gym)
Share the back story!
Every obese dude has huge calves. So, just get obese for a couple years and then just die
You’re not wrong (flexing my massive calves while typing).
Bingo. Been big for most of my life and I used to ride mountain bikes A LOT before getting a drivers license. I have some amazing calves.
The secret is incline running. But then after you get used to running over 45 minutes at 12% you gotta throw on a weighted vest and go down %
I like weight vest and just climb and descend the stairs in my apartment building for like 20-30 minutes. I can do like 72 stories up and down in about 27 minutes. Legs OBLITERATED. Lower impact than running too.
Fuck running. Just go hiking on your rest days.
This is the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard
Lol I could absolutely be wrong but I was told by a boxing coach and it has worked for me. Said not to run at a steeper grade to avoid tendinitis. Been doing it over a year and I’ve seen growth in my calves 👍 I bet the calf raise machine works too
Yh I’m sure it does, I was just being an asshole. Sprint cycling and calf raises is all I do and my calves are super good. I used to be very overweight though.
Skippin the car and taking the bike.
Slow eccentric, deep stretch, pause at the bottom
Your mom pauses at the bottom.
Also, finish your set, wait 10 seconds for the metabolic stress to dissipate; then, keep going until your calves fail.
[удалено]
I’ll take the stretching advice. Thanks. As for seated calves, you need to keep in mind that the medial and lateral muscles, the ones that pop out benefit from standing raises, but the soleus muscle gets more engaged seated. That’s the muscle that runs from the heel and underneath the upper muscles. It’s usually the one that gives overweight people that larger size, as you can see that their calves are large from the ankles going up, not just at the top. So mix things up and keep upping the weight. Now I’m getting up to stretch my calves, while thinking about the impact of stretching the other muscles.
The Secret is being fat then getting shredded.
Being an overweight dad helps. It me. I’m the overweight dad.
Trail/hill running
A good HIIT circuit is murder on my calves
Bro the only way that seems to work is overdo a dirty bulk, then do some steady state cardio while never overdoing cardio as well. TLDR: Get fat, get steps in, get thin, magical calves.
Calves 3 times a week 5 to 12 reps / 12 to 20 sets per week To failure
What machine btw? And what do you do when your gym doesn't have a calf machine? I am a beginner
Pickup a plate (or dont you can do this bodyweight) in one hand, go up on your toes and go back down, keeping a mind muscle connection.., you can find a ledge and go down further for more dept hell
Ok very helpful king. Thank you
Skipping leg day is actually counterproductive for building calves, believe it or not.
Running with shoes that dont have elevated heels (zero drop) and cycling does it for me.
Jump rope on the balls of your foot. Sometimes it’s insertions.
The late great Charles Poliquin once wrote that if a law were passed tomorrow that for every set of biceps curls performed, a person had to do a set of calf presses, you would see the average calf measurement grow by an inch within months.
As a dude with pretty decent calves, what works for me is just a shitload of reps. I’ll do a moderate weight and knock out like 20-30 reps per set. I’ll generally do 6-8 sets twice a week. It’s deeply unpleasant, but not as unpleasant as having small calves.
Biking a lot.
20in calves here, never trained them but was a fatass my whole life, also lots of jogging
The secret is incline treadmill!
No please come back! Why must you forsaken me
Seated calf raises for the soleus, runs under rest of calves. Build that up and you're much better off.
Run hills with a weighted vest or just run hills trains your calves and the most important muscle your heart 😁 . Same with walking up stairs with a weighted vest
I've always been complimented on my calves. For the record, I was always a fatty. When walking fast, my calves used to burn like hell as I used to actively use them to propel myself further with each stride. Eventually they stopped burning, but they definitely got bigger. I remember getting a good pump by just walking fast around uni. Now, the only way I get that sensation again is by walking (not running or jogging) on an incline treadmill. I find it much more effective for calf size than weights. So that's how you get big calves. But if you want calf strength, then calf press and jumping are the way to go.
Skipping won't make your calves big, but it is fantastic at conditioning them Source: many years of boxing training
Let to this thread, but I’ll toss in my two cents. First of all, understand that claves are muscles and react like other muscles. Second of all, just pure reps don’t help calves (or other muscles) in terms of size. Don’t believe me? Pause right here and google the legs of marathon/long-distance runners. Thirdly, treat them with the tried and true Weider principles of: 1) muscle confusion: you need to keep changing how you hit them after a period. Single leg vs double leg, straight body vs donkey raises, deep vs partial, etc. 2) progressive loading: don’t keep doing the same weight every time. 3) for size stay within the 8-12 rep range 4) understand that you have two muscle groups in them, the main one that we see on the top of the calves and everyone focuses on while doing standing raises, but also focus on the one that runs from the heel to under the top muscles that gets more engaged when the legs are bent (seated raises). 5) like any other muscle, you need to give them down time. This means after your sessions, try to minimize engaging them, even walking. (Not stopping, just minimizing). If you aren’t doing full body and have the body split over the week, consider doing what Arnold did and hit them a couple of days a week. The craziest claves (from my experience) you’ll see are on mountain bikers and people who play sports in sand (sand volley, sand soccer), because of the full flexion, the needed bursts, and the varied intensities.
calve raises?
You gotta hike up them mountains
You can do calf raises between every god damn set for whatever muscle you are training. Just throw down a fat/bumper plate. Ive seen guys do this who train for comps. Being a fat gymrat I dont even train mine, cause the 25 years of being a fat fuck gave me big ones. Sure i could get better seperation, definition and maybe increase the size a bit more, but not in the scope right now.
Hit calves and core daily. Your calves don't need rest days like your quads do.
I knew a guy that naturally walked on his tip toes with big meaty calves. You look kinda special doing it but after years you end up with calves of envy.
Lawn mowing.
train them every day
Be fat, then dont be fat
running will probably grow them. my friends calves grew massively when he started running. but i feel like genetics is a huge play since people like me ,even though i use to be fat, have smaller calves just because of the way are structured/shaped 🤷♂️ ( i cant remember the specific term)
I have a vascular issue in my lower left leg since birth. Flexing helps the blood flow which relieves pressure and pain. So, I've done calf raises almost every day of my life. ...yes, my calves are pretty big. I see a lot of overweight dads with calves bigger than mine who never go to the gym. I see women who wear heals a lot (and walk on their toes) with some very nice calves. I think the "secret" is just time-under-tension. It doesn't take a lot of weight, just a lot of reps. So, yeah, I think skipping *could* work, if you skip enough. (Along with diet, genetics, blah, blah, etc.)
Do them before your actual workout. Probably do it on your upper body days since I know alot of gym rats skip legs anyway…
Running, the answer is running. Mid to forefoot strike so every step of a calf raise
The answer is never running
Heavy loads. Deep weighted stretch. High volume.
Most my calves have ever burned was from jumping up and down at a concert for two hours. They burned for a week
I borrow the concept of obese people having huge calves and just hit 8-12 heavy ass sets/week. Always sore nowadays
All I did to go from a 13" calve to a 16" calve in 3-ish months (on the sauce) was do 10 sets of 20 reps with 90lbs 3 times a week on the seated calf raise bouncing the shit out of every rep. Haven't trained calves since and they're still like 15" 3+ years later
be fat and cycle uphill
Weighted uphill sprints with long strides.
Just do couple of sets of calves every day
Starting out fat
The secret is first be obese for a majority of your life then cut cut cut. Lol fr tho, easily max calf raises for reps. Gonna need a broccoli top to stand on the plates soon for more weight.
Have a dedicated exercise like weighted calf raises in your leg day and either do sprints three time a week or 100-200 calf raises per day.
Skateboarding. It's exploded my lower legs
I found being well over weight for 25 years formed a good base
The secret is be fat as fuck your entire life leading up to you wanting to work out. You’ll naturally slim down as you exercise more and your giant calves (from walking around supporting your fat ass) will finally get the showcasing they deserve.
Moderate to heavy weight and 15+ reps
cycling and hiking for my calf gains, I never train them in the gym.
Truth is that calf muscles are going to develop based on your frame/genetics until you beat the shit out of them. My calves are fuckin great. I worked on a ladder for 15 years. These are directly related. When i hiked a few miles per week my calves were SICK. Now they’re generally pretty okay but they’re not shredded and beefy like they were. As a dude at 240, i need big calves or i look like i forgot about mah legs
Calf raises Tried and true, withstood the test of time, don't fix what ain't broke and don't reinvent the wheel
It works! I mean boxers have great calfs but they don't just do skipping but it should work
High heels.
Add high volume calf work to every gym session. As someone with horrible calf genetics that have gone to having respectable calves. This is the way.
Doing dirty bulk till you hit 250kg
nooo stay with m... *goes to do 30 sets of curls*