posted July 09, 2000 12:26 PM            

Since I don't have that problem, I'll share what works for me. I do mostly standing calf raises or I do extensions on an inclined leg press machine. I'll do 3-5 "work" sets for between 6-12 reps, max, plus I'll bounce on my toes a few times at the end of a set to really get them burning (OUCH!). Range of motion is from fully stretched to as high on my toes as I can get, plus I hold for at least a second, then resist the whole way down. I don't worry about weight, it's all feel. Explode up and go really slow down. And really stretch them between sets. I think this makes a big difference for all your muscles. Just a few sets and my calves are toast. I don't bother with seated raises because I don't want my calves to look like a "teardrop" from the front from the the soleus getting too wide. If you work seated, go higher reps because the soleus responds better to higher (10-20) reps. Also, when I do cardio, I use a treadmill, but I put it on the steepest incline. I don't do it for my calves, but they've gotten sore from this, also. If you're calves are gonna grow, just about anything will work. Hope this helps at least a little.

The Doctor

posted July 09, 2000 01:36 PM         

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legend

posted July 09, 2000 02:37 PM            

The Luke Sauder Calf Routine

Day 1: High-Volume

Exercise A: Calf Superset*

A1) Seated Calf Raises
3 x 10-5-5 (one set of 10 reps, followed by two of 5 reps) at a 101 tempo (1 second to lower the weight, no pause, and 1 second to raise the weight)

A2) Donkey Calf Raises
3 x 30-50 at a 101 tempo

*After finishing a set of the A1 exercise, proceed immediately to exercise A2. Then rest two minutes before repeating the super set.

Exercise B: Standing Calf Raises

B1) Standing Calf Raises
10 x 10-30 at a 111 tempo, ten seconds**

**In other words, you'll be doing one, long, extended set, resting ten seconds between each mini-set and lowering the weight in between.

After day one, you'll probably have to call the fire department to extinguish the fire in your calves. You may also find that you have the same walk as Homer Simpson's 80-year-old father.

Day 2: Low-Volume (to be done 48 hours after Day 1)

Exercise A: Triple Drop Standing Calf Raises

A1) Triple Drop Standing Calf Raises
3 x 10-10-10 (in other words, three drop sets) at a 121 tempo,*** resting 90 seconds between sets.

***The pause is taken in the bottom stretch position, and be sure to take the full two seconds.

This routine provides freaky size increases. As you can see, it uses a great number of total reps. I've found that in order to build calves, you need some frequency of training and some volume, but you can't have both high volume and high frequency. Therefore, I advise training them twice over a five-day cycle, one workout being very high sets (16) and high total reps (250-510 reps); and the other being low sets (3) for a low amount of total reps (90). I've known people to gain in between 5/8ths of an inch to a full inch with this routine in as little as 30 days.