Ah, the bane of a mans pursuit towards a flawless physique..The calves!
It
would seem that this muscle resists growth unlike any other. I want to
be the first to point out that my calves are not epic, I was not blessed
with these by default.Ive had to work very hard to pack on every
precarious inch.
But, I would rather take advice from
someone who has worked hard to get something than someone who always had
it and took it for granted. Thus having no knowledge of how to attain it
from scratch. And believe me,once upon a time..I had scratch!
I have learned that the major issue with calves is a lack of understanding of the underlying anatomy.
Similarly
to the forearm, the calves are composed of various relatively small
muscles that must be trained individually in order for the calf to
flourish as a whole. It is important to target the calves from every
single angle!
I will be focusing this article on the major muscles you should train for mass in the lower leg.
Furthermore muscle fibre types need to be accounted for and therefore training repetitions should be adjusted accordingly.
Now I'm going to outline a training program that will F*** your shit up unlike any other.
ANATOMY:
(In case you are a bit retarded: )
Type I: slow twitch, predominantly fueled aerobically .(high reps)
Type IIa: Can utilize both anaerobic and aerobic pathways (med reps)
Type IIb: Anaerobic metabolism is primary fuel source (low reps)
STRATEGY:
The muscles of the lower leg are
composed to a great extent of Type I fibres. You also must not neglect
fast twitch fibres who also have room for growth. It is a must to train
in the different rep ranges according to fibre typing of the target
muscle.In this case the lower leg is mostly slow twitch, thus requires a
different strategy than upper body training.
Some of the best results Ive gotten with calves is training at
ridiculously high volume. (seriously 2000 reps-with breaks at failure
:/ )
Train your calves with your feet pointed out at different angles spaced in different stances.
With calf training id like you to emphasize deep stretching at the
negative phase of the rep. Utilize full range of motion for all the
exercises. Go through the entire motion slowly and do not bounce
whatsoever, contract at the end of the rep.
ANTERIOR CALVES:
The
largest muscle of the anterior calf is the tibialis. Training this
muscle will really make a difference in the look of your front lower
leg. It is composed approximately of 73% type I fibres.
Shin curl
Reverse calf raises
The peroneus longus is synergistic with the tibialis posterior, that extends the foot. The
peroneus longus is used extensively in foot placement as it helps to stabilize the leg.
The principal function of the peroneus brevis is to aid with plantar flexion and assist with evertion of the foot and ankle.
A
great exercise for this,especially for those equipment challenged, is to
place a towel around the ball of your foot and use the resistance from
your arms to extend the foot. Cross your legs so your knee is bent to
maximize the isolation of this exercise.
POSTERIOR CALVES:
Gastrocnemius:
The
gastroc is the largest muscle of the lower leg.It is what gives that
classic diamond shape.Interestingly this muscle has a very equal ratio
of slow and fast twitch fibres: the lateral and medial head contain 50.5%
and 43.5% slow twitch fibres respectively. I hypothesize that this
muscle varies more in fibre composition than others,but i digress..
The gastroc is arguably the only muscle in the lower leg to which high weights and low reps will offer some benefit.
I would advise trying unilateral (one legged) calf raises. The second you reach failure you should superset with bilateral raises immediately.
This is fantastic because not only does it make you almost pass out if done correctly;
it also induces awesome growth.
Standing calf raises
Donkey calf raises
Barbell/ dumbbell calf raises
Glute hamstring raise
Soleus:
The
soleus is the second largest calf muscle and adds tremendous mass! The soleus if trained properly will add a great thickness to the lower leg. It
is located below the gastrocnemius.The soleus functions as a plantar
flexor of the foot and ankle. It moves the toes and top of the foot away
from the body. It is the primary dorsi flexor when there is flexion in
the knee joint (knees bent) It is composed of 87.7% slow twitch type I
fibres!
Thus it goes without saying high reps are its bread and butter peeps.
Seated calf raise (and any other variation dumbbells, barbells etc)
Standing calf raises with kness bent
The key to activating the soleus is raising the heel with the knees bent.
On
a final note,id like to address a final problem with the
calves.
Prioritization! If a body part is lagging behind in its
development it is important that you to train these more often and with
more passion than other body parts.
Sucks, but that's just life.Man up,bitch. :)
