Hi. I hope somebody can offer me some advice. I am now getting back into a workout routine after a long absence. What I need to know is if I can work my calves and abs everyday. I know there is a lot of discussion/controversy on this. I gather that there are many people on this message board with substantial experience and knowledge and am hoping somebody might be willing to offer me good concrete advice. Given that I am starting from scratch, if anyone can also suggest any good ab and calf routines for a beginner, I’d be very grateful. Thank you to anybody who is willing to take the time to respond. With appreciation. Sincerely, Lorne
It depends. Some people are able to train smaller muscle groups every day, while others have to split them up like everything else. I would start out with a regular split, and monitor your progress closely. Slowly begin increasing the frequency of your ab and calf workouts, and keep track of how your body responds. I would do no more than is necessary for your goals.
I believe abs should be exercised with heavy resistance like any other muscle group and as such wouldn’t hit the abs with resistance more than 2-3 times a week. The only difference I make with abs is higher number of reps to failure. I use resistance to accomadate reps in the range of 10-20 quality reps to failure. You’ll have much better results doing heavy, weighted, relativly low volume reps than the 100’s of crunches some do. Doing only crunches is like doing only pushups in place of heavy benching.
I pretty much agree w/ Heb in the ab training department. I like to use 8-15 reps when I work mine, and generally work them as frequently as I would other muscle groups. I tend to use 6-8 sets per workout, going to failure on the later sets. I recommend using pelvic tilt exercises in addition to cruch type exercises as well.
Regarding calf training, I like to train them slightly more frequently, and with a larger range of reps. I train my calves 3 times a week, and vary the reps from 10-25 reps per set. I will use a higher volume of training (10 or so sets, plus or minus a few depending on reps per set) with shorter rest intervals because my calves tend to recuperate between sets fairly rapidly, and I like to keep the difficulty level high.
You COULD train your calves and abs every day - but why?