Bigger Calves Now!

Slow to develop and respond to stimulus the calf muscles are challenging for many fitness enthusiasts. The development of these muscles are important for bodybuilding, as they are essential to a well rounded and aesthetic looking physique. Though some people are born with them, good calves are not exclusive to the genetically gifted. With creative and strategic training anyone can build a pair of full and strong calf muscles. Don't blame genetics, remember this is just a muscle group like any other in the body. Provided effective stimulus the calves will respond and grow like all muscles. Incorporate these training techniques into your routine and you will finally start to see some growth in the lower legs.

This article will focus on creating some better familiarity with the calf muscles and introduce some exercises that do not use weight machines.

It is always good to understand the breakdown of a muscle to develop it better, especially one that presents unique challenges like this one. Here is an anatomy of the calf muscles.
Gastrocnemius Muscle

The gastrocnemius is the visible muscle. A two-headed muscles that looks like a split salmon fillet on the back of the leg. It attaches to the heel with the Achilles tendon and originates behind the knee on the femur. Its job is to elevate the heel, a movement called plantar flexion. It’s composed of two sections—one on the inside of your leg, the other on the outside. These sections start just above your knee and come together at your Achilles tendon, which attaches to the back of your heel.

Origin: femur (medial and lateral head of the femoral condyles), capsule of the knee joint.
Insertion: calcaneus (posterior tuberosity)
Main functions: flexion of the sole of the foot (especially when the knee is extended), flexion of the knee and supination of the foot, with the foot fixed in position, works with the hamstring muscles in extending the knee.
Soleus Muscle

The soleus lies underneath the gastrocnemius on the rear of the lower leg. It starts just below your knee and joins up with the gastrocnemius at your Achilles tendon.

When you watch someone with well-developed calf muscles doing a heel-raise exercise, you can see the soleus from either the side or back. From the side it’s one of the thin strips of muscle between the gastrocnemius and the lower-leg bones. (The other strip is the peroneus longus, which has a small role in raising your heels.) From the back, it’s the strip of muscle on either side of the Achilles tendon, beneath the gastrocnemius.

It does the same job as the gastrocnemius: raising the heel. The only difference is that it works in a different position, when your knee is bent.

Origin: fibula (head and superior and dorsal ends), tibia (soleal line) and tendinous arch of the soleus (between the fibular head and the tibia).
Insertion: calcaneus (posterior tuberosity)
Main functions: flexion of the sole of the foot (more isolated when the knee is flexed), flexion of the knee and supination of the foot.

The majority of the superficial muscle mass that develops in the calf appears in the gastrocnemius. The soleus though is the larger more supportive muscle of the two. It is always active during all calf exercises. Remember a well developed soleus will lead to better overall well developed calf muscles.

The keys to building the calves is prioritization and high rep workouts. The calves are easy to overlook when weight training because they are a small muscle group and can be challenging to work on. Many people have the bad habit of putting the calves at the end of their workout when they are prepared to finish training for the day. Consider this, calf muscles are tasked with supporting nearly the full weight of the human body with every step taken every day. This is a muscle that is highly resilient and conditioned to constant steady stimulus, so those calf extensions tossed at the end of a full body workout will not be enough. To that end when doing calf specific exercises they require high amount of repetitions in the range of 20-40.

Start by getting familiar with how this muscle group feels when it is activated and contracts. This way we can recognize when it is working. This process can begin by opening up the muscles with myofascial release using a rolling tool. This will reduce tightness improve blood circulation helping these muscles respond better to stimulus from exercise. This also facilitates improved flexibility which is highly beneficial to muscle building.

Training the calf muscles is completely dependent on the flexion of the foot. Consider training with the infamous finger shoes. These shoes are good for training legs in general because they are likely the closest thing to training barefoot. Proper engagement of the heel and ball of the foot make calf training more effective. Liberated and fully mobile feet allow for improved range of motion and better calf muscle activation.

One great thing about the calf muscles is that they can be worked very effectively at home. This makes it more convenient to fit in a calf workout. Try doing some standing leg raises at home on an aerobic step or with a couple of yoga blocks. Use the wall to lean against for balance and knock out 20-40 standing calf extensions. If feeling confident with balance add some weight either by holding a barbell across the shoulders or holding dumbbell or ketlle-bell weights in each hand. Move through the full exercise slowly to get the most out of it and work one leg at a time. Though the elasticity of the Achilles tendon makes it easy to bounce through the movement avoid bouncing. Using that bounce momentum will take a lot of the stress off of the calves and reduce muscle stimulus.

Another great technique is the inclusion of resistance bands with calf training. Resistance bands provide constant tension through all stages of an exercise so putting them against the calf muscles will help stimulate and confuse those muscles and help them grow. Try sitting on the floor and do a toe extension. With the ends of the resistance band in each hand cross the center of the band across the ball of the foot. With a single leg fully extended flex the foot up and down slowly and feel the calf muscle contraction. Repeat for 20-40 repetitions.

Remembering that the calves are highly resilient and an unconventional approach stimulates these muscles in an unexpected way. Have a look at this video from Jeff Cavaliere of Athlean-X where he demonstrates an unlikely exercise that combines full body leverage against gravity for a surprising and powerful calf exercise.



When working out in the gym with weight machines many of the same principles will still apply. Use slow full range of motion movements in the exercises, try to work on a single leg at a time, use high repetition ranges and consider wearing finger shoes to accommodate better foot mobility. Most importantly use a weight that will allow for a full range of motion.

Consider placing these calf machine workouts in different places in the training split. Maybe do them first on a leg day to create a pre-exhustion effect and do a leg press exercise later on. The over worked calves will have to struggle to play their part in supporting the movement through the exercise. This will activate them in a new way, stimulating growth.

At the end of a workout finish off with 10-15 minutes on the treadmill at a high incline or on the stair-machine. This will totally max out those muscles allowing them to breakdown and rebuild in time for another workout. As always the best way to know if a muscle has been efficiently worked is if it is tender, and a calf workout followed by some time on a stair-machine should make the calves good and sore.

Follow these workout methods diligently and you are sure to enhance the size and shape of the calves.

*The material on this website is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not intended for diagnosis or treatment.

http://bit.ly/calf-train