[quote]ESX wrote:
IMO if you don’t have decent calves before you start training then you probably never will. Not many guys go from having 14" calves to 18"+, not naturally any way! Even with help most will still have crap lower legs.
Every guy i know with massive calves had a decent amount muscle there before even picking up a weight.
[/quote]
Yes, genetics have a lot to do with your ultimate development. But you can’t post numbers like that with any prediction of accuracy. Many guys with calves like twigs ended up naturally building large calves (Samir Bannout is a ready example).
Hereditary indicators aren’t often present pre-training. That’s why it’s called potential. You often won’t know what you possess until you put in all the necessary work.
I like how he mentions in there about what a gift it is to exercise. That there are people who cannot use their bodies as those of us that are lucky enough to be fit enough to can. It also shows how tanning helps you look better, as he’s pasty white in the video and it’s hard to see just how good his calves are.
[quote]ESX wrote:
IMO if you don’t have decent calves before you start training then you probably never will. Not many guys go from having 14" calves to 18"+, not naturally any way! Even with help most will still have crap lower legs.
Every guy i know with massive calves had a decent amount muscle there before even picking up a weight.
[/quote]
Yuppers. I’m not a bodybuilder, though I do train. I’ve never trained my calves, but they are not small. Only thing I do is walk alot (15 miles a week or so) in minimalist shoes which work the calves alot more than shoes with raised heals. Gonna go measure, brb.
Just shy of 17" (not that I’m being specific) cold and standing. Never worked 'em a day in my life.
[quote]ESX wrote:
IMO if you don’t have decent calves before you start training then you probably never will. Not many guys go from having 14" calves to 18"+, not naturally any way! Even with help most will still have crap lower legs.
Every guy i know with massive calves had a decent amount muscle there before even picking up a weight.
[/quote]
Yes, genetics have a lot to do with your ultimate development. But you can’t post numbers like that with any prediction of accuracy. Many guys with calves like twigs ended up naturally building large calves (Samir Bannout is a ready example).
Hereditary indicators aren’t often present pre-training. That’s why it’s called potential. You often won’t know what you possess until you put in all the necessary work. [/quote]
Guys who have skinny lower legs (by this i mean there is next to no “bulge” from the calve) will never have calves that will be freaky! May be 1% might go on to grow something decent. Johnny O for example. Monster everywhere else but Shitty calves. Now as a Pro you would expect him to develop some thing decent if it was at all possible? Yates had massive calves, and only did 4 sets a week at the end of training legs.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t do the best you can to change what you have as you might just be able to make great gains.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Without a calf station or a leg press, what’s a good way to train calves?
For standing calf raises: Rack the bar like a back squat? Deadlift?
For seated: Sit on a bench, and rest the bar on your knees?[/quote]
Single-leg work is great. [/quote]
Yep.
For limited-equipment home setups, standing 1-leg raises on a step, standing barbell raises on the floor, kneeling 1-leg calf raises, and 1-leg toe raises are tops.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Without a calf station or a leg press, what’s a good way to train calves?
For standing calf raises: Rack the bar like a back squat? Deadlift?
For seated: Sit on a bench, and rest the bar on your knees?[/quote]
Single-leg work is great. [/quote]
Yep.
For limited-equipment home setups, standing 1-leg raises on a step, standing barbell raises on the floor, kneeling 1-leg calf raises, and 1-leg toe raises are tops.
[/quote]
Lol, thanks guys. And it makes me laugh every time you do a “hey, how about reading the article I wrote about that”.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
And it makes me laugh every time you do a “hey, how about reading the article I wrote about that”.[/quote]
Ha, yeah, I just hope it doesn’t come off as douchey. I know some guys, for whatever reason, don’t read the articles here regularly, so there are times when I think it’s worth mentioning. I’m also kinda glad that (hopefully) some of the stuff I write ends up actually being useful or relevant.
Related note: I just replied to the DB pullover thread without actually linking to my article. I mentioned it, but didn’t link it. Ha.
If you don’t have the genetics, or aren’t willing to become morbidly obese for about a decade, you should probably accept you’ll never have really fucking AWESOME looking calves.
I believe jumping rope helps a lot. What i don’t believe is when people say calves are 80% genetic. If you have small arms you will work them until they’re big, right? Same thing with calves, in my opinion
I also have shitty calves, however I have NEVER really trained them with any consistency. I have committed to doing 2, 20minute sessions/week on just calves for the next 8 weeks. see if calves will be shitty forever of if i have a chance
[quote]tork94 wrote:
I also have shitty calves, however I have NEVER really trained them with any consistency. I have committed to doing 2, 20minute sessions/week on just calves for the next 8 weeks. see if calves will be shitty forever of if i have a chance
[/quote]
My calves are finally showing more and that just came from constantly training them.
I don’t always do much, but they are often what I do first in a workout just to get my mind right.
[quote]Martimroll94 wrote:
I believe jumping rope helps a lot. What i don’t believe is when people say calves are 80% genetic. If you have small arms you will work them until they’re big, right? Same thing with calves, in my opinion[/quote]
Not sure, my calves were 16 inches even when the rest of me was like spaghetti
