My calves = My nemisis

[dirty~d~]

I have no idea how I got stuck with 'skinny' calves, but I'm tired of them. My thighs grow with little difficulty, but my calves just don't want to keep up. Do any of you women have any tricks for getting the muscles to respond? I do toe raisers of all kinds (with substantial weight), extreme hiking on weekends, jogging slowly on my toes, running stairs... I realize genetics have a big part of it (my father has somewhat skinny calves), but there has to be some way to get them to grow. Thanks ahead of time for any tips.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Calves, unfortunately, are about 90% genetics. lol

But you can help them along somewhat - try jumping rope, jumping jacks (good for cardio intervals!) and even some plyometrics. Anything requiring explosive running/jumping type movements will help calf development.

I (thank god!) am very blessed with calves, but have NEVER goitten anything out of those toe rasie machines at the gym (besides a compressed spine, lol). I'd rather do jumping rode, and plyo's.

 

[FitFossil]

Cyclists have AWESOME calves. Even though their bodies may be skinny, their calves are a chiseled work of art. I'm considering adding some cycling to my routine as I wasn't particularly blessed by the Calf Fairy either.

Fat people also seem to have unusually good calves. I guess it's the extra weight, so it's like they're training them all the time.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Fat people also seem to have unusually good calves. I guess it's the extra weight, so it's like they're training them all the time.

OMG, that made me laugh out loud. I've noticed that too! lol


Also, never thought about cycling. Good advice - maybe try a Spin class.

 

[dirty~d~]

Fat people also seem to have unusually good calves. I guess it's the extra weight, so it's like they're training them all the time.

LOL! Speaking of... I have a very close friend who over the years has put on a substantial amount of weight (she knows it and I don't preach). We joke back and forth a lot about how she'd trade me her calves and her boobs (DDs) if she could have my waist and thighs... yes I realize that it doesn't quite calculate.

I do have a mountain bike that has been collecting dust since I moved. Quite honestly I never once thought of it as a way to help build muscle mass. I guess I could squeeze in a few trips up the mountain every month and see how it goes. Thanks for the advice ladies.

 

[Sassy69]

What do you do for calves now? The types of training I've heard that just blast the hell out of calves is the donkey calves machine and doing fast sets, but of course do full range extension. Yea, calves are challenge.

 

[dirty~d~]

I've tried the seated toe raisers (donkey) with very little change in size.

 

[Sassy69]

For how long? What sort reps / weights?

 

[dirty~d~]

I tried the seated toe raisers (along with standing) for 6 months. I rotated three different routines during that time:

*5 sets of 8 reps; weight was racked to achieve muscle failure by the last set
*3 sets of 12-15 high speed reps with 75% of max weight
*4 sets of 10 reps slow, deliberate motions, pausing at the top of each rep using
80% max weight

Typically I was doing calves once a week at the end of my leg day. I was stretching between each set, doing full range of motion, toe position was pointed in, lined up straight and pointed out. For the first 3 months I noticed a slow increase in the size, but after that my growth stopped. I figured it was a plateau and I could push myself through it. Another 3 months later nothing had changed except my strength (which I couldn't complain about) and I lost the motivation to pursue my calves. That's when I decided to switch to exercises I could do away from the gym. I'm mentally ready to go after them again so we'll see how well they respond this time around. I'm not trying for monster calves. I would just like them to look like they belong attached to my thighs.

 

[RottenWillow]

*5 sets of 8 reps; weight was racked to achieve muscle failure by the last set
*3 sets of 12-15 high speed reps with 75% of max weight
*4 sets of 10 reps slow, deliberate motions, pausing at the top of each rep using
80% max weight

Ok there's the problem, your reps are way too low. Calves, like forearm, are the type of muscle that is designed for very high endurance. Remember you have to exceed a muscle's capacity before you'll encourage even a tiny bit of muscle growth. The fat person example someone used earlier is an example of this, they do literally thousands of reps a week, and their calves responded.

As for exact rep range, I'd say 20-30 to complete failure. If your calves are scrawny you're going to have to be willing to do a very high volume of exericise to force them to grow.