Why Train Calves?

Training Bodybuilding
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[quote]forlife wrote:
No pics dude. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Instead, I’ll just ask:

If you were able to do seated calf raises at 275 for 13 reps, would you continue training your calves weekly, instead of using that time to bring a weaker muscle into better proportion?

Your answer may be different than mine, and that’s fine too.[/quote]

[quote]forlife wrote:
No pics dude. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Instead, I’ll just ask:

If you were able to do seated calf raises at 275 for 13 reps, would you continue training your calves weekly, instead of using that time to bring a weaker muscle into better proportion?

Your answer may be different than mine, and that’s fine too.[/quote]

I do circuit training with litle to no rest periods for over an hour every day. I strive to train everything. I train calves 3-4 times a week. No, I would not stop at that weight because I’m trying to get as large as possible.

Since you refuse to post your calves i will post mine and say that today I did seated with 105 for 3x12 reps with a max of 13 reps.

On this before photo I did 75 for 3x12

sure I gained a little fat but they went from 16" to 17" in about 2 months. Never trained them directly before on a bulk. Should I have just accepted that they were genetically small and not do a damn thing? What kind of loser mentality is that?

Fuck that. I did them 3-4 times a week and guess what? I got stronger and they grew. Its not fucking hard to believe.

Its pretty sad that you made this topic and when directly asked to post a picture of your calves that are sooo good and strong that you post nothing of substance because you have “nothing to prove”.

pathetic

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I gotta agree with forlife here.

Unless you plan on stepping on a bodybuilding stage (assuming you respond next to nothing with calves) what’s the point?

Calves get involvement with other compound movements.

I look at calves like forearms. Some need to train them directly, others don’t.

I am aware this is not a popular thought in the BB world.

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[quote]celtics2022 wrote:

[quote]forlife wrote:
No pics dude. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Instead, I’ll just ask:

If you were able to do seated calf raises at 275 for 13 reps, would you continue training your calves weekly, instead of using that time to bring a weaker muscle into better proportion?

Your answer may be different than mine, and that’s fine too.[/quote]

[quote]forlife wrote:
No pics dude. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Instead, I’ll just ask:

If you were able to do seated calf raises at 275 for 13 reps, would you continue training your calves weekly, instead of using that time to bring a weaker muscle into better proportion?

Your answer may be different than mine, and that’s fine too.[/quote]

I do circuit training with litle to no rest periods for over an hour every day. I strive to train everything. I train calves 3-4 times a week. No, I would not stop at that weight because I’m trying to get as large as possible.

Since you refuse to post your calves i will post mine and say that today I did seated with 105 for 3x12 reps with a max of 13 reps.

On this before photo I did 75 for 3x12

sure I gained a little fat but they went from 16" to 17" in about 2 months. Never trained them directly before on a bulk. Should I have just accepted that they were genetically small and not do a damn thing? What kind of loser mentality is that?

Fuck that. I did them 3-4 times a week and guess what? I got stronger and they grew. Its not fucking hard to believe.

Its pretty sad that you made this topic and when directly asked to post a picture of your calves that are sooo good and strong that you post nothing of substance because you have “nothing to prove”.

pathetic

[/quote]

On an unrelated note, do you own any other pairs of boxers? :wink:

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[quote]celtics2022 wrote:
Its pretty sad that you made this topic and when directly asked to post a picture of your calves that are sooo good and strong that you post nothing of substance because you have “nothing to prove”.
[/quote]

Why are you making this personal? The point of this thread has nothing to do with how much weight I can personally press with my calves. I couldn’t care less what your opinion is of my calves.

Again, I’m asking people why they bother training calves IF they are not seeing significant progress DESPITE training with proper technique and intensity.

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Why not?

Is it really that hard to devote a few sets and exercises for calves?

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[quote]forlife wrote:

[quote]celtics2022 wrote:
Its pretty sad that you made this topic and when directly asked to post a picture of your calves that are sooo good and strong that you post nothing of substance because you have “nothing to prove”.
[/quote]

Why are you making this personal? The point of this thread has nothing to do with how much weight I can personally press with my calves. I couldn’t care less what your opinion is of my calves.

Again, I’m asking people why they bother training calves IF they are not seeing significant progress DESPITE training with proper technique and intensity.[/quote]

You are a total joke, dude. I’m trying to help you wake up but apparently you are just going to keep trolling.

Bye.

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[quote]celtics2022 wrote:

[quote]forlife wrote:

[quote]celtics2022 wrote:
Its pretty sad that you made this topic and when directly asked to post a picture of your calves that are sooo good and strong that you post nothing of substance because you have “nothing to prove”.
[/quote]

Why are you making this personal? The point of this thread has nothing to do with how much weight I can personally press with my calves. I couldn’t care less what your opinion is of my calves.

Again, I’m asking people why they bother training calves IF they are not seeing significant progress DESPITE training with proper technique and intensity.[/quote]

You are a total joke, dude. I’m trying to help you wake up but apparently you are just going to keep trolling.

Bye.
[/quote]

Bye!! Finally! I really don’t get why you’re so indignant…

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[quote]celtics2022 wrote:
You are a total joke, dude. I’m trying to help you wake up but apparently you are just going to keep trolling.
[/quote]

I know what I can lift in the gym. Your opinion of what I can or can’t do means nothing to me, nor does it have anything to do with this thread. Feel free to comment on the actual topic, though.

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Forlife, I honestly don’t think you’re going to convince somebody on this board to stop training their calves if they have bad calf genetics. That’s all the point of this thread is.
If you don’t want to train your calves, then don’t. But seriously, judging from all of the responses so far, you’re not changing anybody’s mind.

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I never said people shouldn’t train their calves if they have bad calf genetics.

I asked that if people aren’t seeing progress over time despite training with correct technique and intensity, what is the point?

Again, if you’re actually seeing progress, this thread has nothing to do with you.

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[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
I gotta agree with forlife here.

Unless you plan on stepping on a bodybuilding stage (assuming you respond next to nothing with calves) what’s the point?

Calves get involvement with other compound movements.

I look at calves like forearms. Some need to train them directly, others don’t.

I am aware this is not a popular thought in the BB world. [/quote]

but dude, why bother training your chest? you either have it, or you don’t, right?

thats a bs attitude. Even if your not competing, you may as well train calves. Even if they don’t grow they should get stronger. If not, keep trying stuff to get better. Aesthetics is not under selective contract with bodybuilding

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[quote]forlife wrote:
I never said people shouldn’t train their calves if they have bad calf genetics.

I asked that if people aren’t seeing progress over time despite training with correct technique and intensity, what is the point?

Again, if you’re actually seeing progress, this thread has nothing to do with you.[/quote]
I think you would hard pressed to find somebody who had been training calves multiple times a week for an extended period of time while gaining weight and making progress on their selected exercises who hadn’t seen improvement in their calves. Or any stubborn muscle group for that matter.
There might be a few exceptions to this, but I still feel like there would be something they’re doing wrong.
So the answer to your questions is: “because I will see progress eventually.”
Bearing all that in mind, this thread seems like nothing more than an attempt to convince someone to stop training their calves. Which is why I responded like I did.

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[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
Bearing all that in mind, this thread seems like nothing more than an attempt to convince someone to stop training their calves. Which is why I responded like I did.[/quote]

As I said earlier:

I have no idea what these people are actually doing. It’s very possible they’re not training correctly, or intensely enough, or for a long enough period of time. If so, they need to fix the issue in order to see progress on their calves.

If not, and they are in fact doing everything possible to get bigger/stronger calves without seeing any progress, how is it sane for them to continue doing it?

[quote]Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

  • Albert Einstein[/quote]
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[quote]forlife wrote:

[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
Bearing all that in mind, this thread seems like nothing more than an attempt to convince someone to stop training their calves. Which is why I responded like I did.[/quote]

As I said earlier:

I have no idea what these people are actually doing. It’s very possible they’re not training correctly, or intensely enough, or for a long enough period of time. If so, they need to fix the issue in order to see progress on their calves.

If not, and they are in fact doing everything possible to get bigger/stronger calves without seeing any progress, how is it sane for them to continue doing it?

[quote]Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

  • Albert Einstein[/quote][/quote]
    If a person isn’t seeing progress I have a hard time believing they’re doing “everything possible.”
    Either that or their genetic predisposition goes further than bad calves.
    That is my opinion.
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Why train at all? Everything is genetic at some extent…

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[quote]Berserkergang wrote:
Why train at all? Everything is genetic at some extent…

[/quote]
Screw genetics! I wish I had an awesome chinstrap…

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Calves- To make your calves really stand out, you must know that there are several muscles there, 1 exercise will not do it. The Grastrocnemius lays on top of the soleus, and both are hit differently during seated or standing calf raises, so do them both. “When doing calves, if it doesnt feel like you’re dying, you arent doing them right.” You did _ lbs for 10+ reps. Well, up the weight, go for 8 reps. Also, stop at the bottom of the movement. Momentum removes a lot of the force that you need to apply. Do a “Double Pop.”

For example standing calf raise- allow your heels to fall below the platform, perform the movement of a calf raise, then at the top of movement, step up a little higher and pinch the calf.
Executing my calf movements with the double pop and with the constant theory that if it isnt hurting, it isnt heavy enough has helped me develop my calves. If some of this information is new to you, utilize it and see what happens to your calves. If you know it, disregard what im saying and dont train your calves.

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I’ve been around the Bodybuilding /Fitness industry over 20 yrs I can without a doubt say that most people have lousy calves because 1. They don’t train them never have. 2. Every other body part gets 15 sets calves are trained with 3 sets of standing calf raises. 3. People load the calf machine on every set with either hardly anything at all or way to much and bounce like they are on a pogo stick. couple all that with a myriad of variable genetics, bad nutritional support, poor recovery etc.

And hey youve got a recipe for excuse evryone has poor calf developement because of mother nature blah blah blah rant rave blah blah shut the fuck up! You have poor calves more often than not because compareed to everything else you don’t even train them by the way most of the “I have poor gentics for calves” guys seem to always some how have either unbalanced physiques in general or just overall lousy physiques as a whole.

Cause here is a news flash look at any Pro BBr who is maybe lacking in calf size comparatively to the rest of his physiques then put your 3 set pencils next to his lowers u start to realize that even the guys who might actually have certain genetic limitations have more going on than you thought its just because the rest of them is so big but in reality they have calves. Perspective is everything.

And 3 sets will always just be 3 sets and over a life time of living in the shadow of chest and bis for endless hrs and sets. 3 sets is just as good as saying I’m to big of a dumbass or puss to actually train my calves so please listen while I drone on about my poor gentics and never own up to I just don’t put the work in.

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[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
Calves- To make your calves really stand out, you must know that there are several muscles there, 1 exercise will not do it. The Grastrocnemius lays on top of the soleus, and both are hit differently during seated or standing calf raises, so do them both. “When doing calves, if it doesnt feel like you’re dying, you arent doing them right.” You did _ lbs for 10+ reps. Well, up the weight, go for 8 reps. Also, stop at the bottom of the movement. Momentum removes a lot of the force that you need to apply. Do a “Double Pop.”

For example standing calf raise- allow your heels to fall below the platform, perform the movement of a calf raise, then at the top of movement, step up a little higher and pinch the calf.
Executing my calf movements with the double pop and with the constant theory that if it isnt hurting, it isnt heavy enough has helped me develop my calves. If some of this information is new to you, utilize it and see what happens to your calves. If you know it, disregard what im saying and dont train your calves.[/quote]

Yeah I have real high insertions , think Johnnie Jackson. Calves and forearms are never going to be my “stand out parts”. Yet I’m still going to pound the fuck out of them. Cause it just makes sense to hit them as frequently as possible and I always try to do calves before any training of other parts as to not forget them or half ass them after being real exhausted from other work.

Yet if more people listened to your advice while improving in overall bodyweight, I can’t see how they wouldn’t see “some” improvement. Which is better than “thinking” you’re doing all you can and just accepting it and not doing nothing, which is a crock of shit if you ask me:). Where’s prof x? He had shitty calves (high insertions from a pic I’ve seen, it’s a black thing ha) but managed to get them up to 18 inches if I remember correctly… That’s not too bad if you ask me:).

Yeah I’m never going to compete, will I ever have monstrous Yates or Cutler sized calves, nope. Yet I wouldn’t mind having some “decent” sized calves showing anytime I wear shorts. I think this attainable after some much needed work and it’s achievable by most. Just have to pay your dues in the gym like any other stubborn muscle.

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I get what you’re saying OP. I say train 'em.