Fastest way to build calf muscles?

[Howard]

All I have access to right now is free weights. And please, no chicken sacrifices.

 

[SweetTooth]

Eat a calf?

 

[palad]

If you can teach a calf to use free weights, I'd love to see a picture.

 

[Valhalla1]

hold as much weight as you can in your hands (helps build forearms and grip at the same time).

step up onto a ledge a few inches tall.. let the back half of your feet hang off the edge, and then let your weight push you down, stretching your calves (but dont let your heels hit the ground). then stand up on your toes as high as you can, clenching your calves.. repeat, up and down, but slowly, don't "bounce". feeeeeel the burn (and you will) :Q

 

[Howard]

Forgot about that. I remember... Feel the burn!

 

[Yzzim]

make sure you do a good stretch first
I remember not stretching once....OMG, talk about never forgetting to do that again :Q

 

[Valhalla1]

the ledge part is important.. just standing up on your toes then back down flat on the ground doesnt work your calves nearly as much as if you let your heel fall below the level of your toes and then lift yourself back up with your calves
be sure to increase the weight and reps over time or they'll never get bigger, only leaner

 

[sd]

calfs are all genetic, ya either have em or ya don't. sounds like ya don't.

 

[Howard]

I do have calves, but I want them bigger. I already have a very low body fat % so I'm not worried about getting cut/ripped/whatever.

Thanks for responses all.

 

[Rudee]

Throw about 600lbs on the calf raise machine and lower with a count of 5, pause, then raise with a count of 3. Repeat for 8-12 reps for 5 sets. Concentrate on the stretch.

EDIT: Oops, I missed that he only has free weights. In that case I'd recommend one legged calf raises off a high block with a dumbell held in one hand. Doing them off the floor won't work well enough because you need to stretch the calf muscle on the way down and you need to go well below parallel. Do these very SLOWLY. 4 seconds down, 3 seconds up. Let them burn.

 

[Valhalla1]

<< Throw about 600lbs on the calf raise machine and lower with a count of 5, pause, then raise with a count of 3. Repeat for 8-12 reps for 5 sets. Concentrate on the stretch >>



I agree, thats what I would do.. but he said he only has free weights, so my suggestion would work for him

 

[glen]

roids

 

[pen^2]

hey rudee, i am sure some of other fellow ATers wanna have big guns like yours too any suggestions on forearm/biceps/triceps workouts?
when i used to workout, i used to do dumbell curls, dumbell benches, dips and concentration curls

 

If you have stairs in your house.
Go up them.
On eat step, hang on the edge of the stair and slowly lift your self up and down 10 times, or how ever many reps you want.
Then go tothe next step with the other leg. Continue to the top .
Worked well for building calf muscles when I had no equipment.

 

[Dee67]

the calf is a strong muscle so load up as much weight as you can handle - 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps with massive weight..

 

[Rudee]

<< hey rudee, i am sure some of other fellow ATers wanna have big guns like yours too any suggestions on forearm/biceps/triceps workouts? >>



Brotherman Send me a Private Message with your height, weight and age and I'd be better able to recommend a nice routine for ya.

 

[SuperGroove]

I run up and down stairs a lot.

Some say doing your extracurricular activies on your toes, helps too.


Not that I wouldn't know or anything...

 

[HomerSapien]

Move to the hills.

 

[yakko]

<< roids >>

Hem?

 

[SendTrash]

play basketball and use the stairs instead of the elevator

 

[teckmaster]

I used to do a lot of mountain biking and that had gotten my calf muscles huge in only a matter of weeks

 

[Rudee]

Calf muscles are one of the most stubborn muscles to build on the body. You basically either got them, or you don't. This is where genetics plays a big factor.

I have yet to see anyone go from skinny calf's to football sized bulls in a matter of a few months, or even a few years. It literally takes years to build them to a decent size. Because you walk on them every day of your life, your body is accustomed to the stress on the muscles and you really need to shock them with heavy heavy weight for a set after set.

You also need to put on bodyweight. don't expect football sized calf muscles when you are 140lbs soaking wet. You're going to need to put on lots of bodyweight first. I'd recommend concentrating on increasing you overall bodyweight and the calf muscles will increase naturally, but don't expect a huge growth increase.

In my observations, Calf muscles and forearms are the most difficult muscles for many individuals to build if you don't have good genetics for them to begin with. Stick with it though, and dont' give up!

 

[cyclistca]

Buy a bike . I've been riding for 17 year and I have well defined calf muscles. Now my upper body well that's a completely different situation .

 

[StageLeft]

Calves are not _all_ genetics but are quite a bit...a bike won't do a great job if your genetics suck. My brothers and I all have extremely pathetic calves...my older brother bikes like a maniac and his are smaller than mine. Mine are only as big as they are (which means they are puny as opposed to microscopic) from working out. They are stubborn as hell but just hit weights hard and consistently and they will slowly grow. I worked mine 5 days ago (first time in months) so hard that 2 days ago I had to stretch for 10 minutes before being able to stand properly. THey still hurt like hell Just hit weights hard and keep at it - these little bastards grow very slowly.

Oh and by the way I weigh around 190 and have for the last several years (I'm 23) and they still suck...my dad has very large calves but he's been overweight for years (I guess carrying around that extra weight!).

 

[Moonbeam]

Bovine growth hormone will turn calf muscle into bull muscle as fast as possible, but some extra time will do the same thing cheeper.