Men,
boys, winners, losers; what creates the
vast delta that separates the two
categories? In bodybuilding the
separation between winners and losers is
often found in the neglected area of
calf development. Mike Mentzer, Tom
Platz and Arnold Schwarzenegger
distinguished themselves as elite
bodybuilders by developing symmetry in
their legs with diamond shaped calves.
Many argue that
genetics hold them back from developing
enviable calves. Do not use genetics as
an excuse to neglect this important area
of overall development. Problems with
poor calf development goes far beyond
genetics. Lack of diamond shaped calves
can be attributed to overtraining,
improper form, treating calves as an
afterthought in the overall training
program, too little weight, too many
reps and lack of mental intensity.
So, what's the
calf challenge? Rather than focus on
your lack of muscle below the knee, your
biggest challenge should be how to get
the machines to hold enough weight to
keep up with your bulging, wide,
diamond-shaped muscles.
Overtraining of
calf muscles is an easy trap, one that
catches even the most seasoned of
bodybuilders. How many times have you
heard this phrase? "Calf muscles are
endurance muscles." By falling victim to
the notion that endurance muscles need
extra work, many then go and overwork
this muscle group. Calf muscles like all
other muscle groups need adequate
recovery times. Work this muscle group,
overload it to stimulate growth and then
let it recover. Once per week in an
intensive program, with acute mental
focus, is all that is needed to build
competitive level calves.
Improper form
will not only create an environment
where calves will not develop properly,
it is also dangerous. Both experienced
and inexperienced lifters will often
perform calf exercises too quickly while
also limiting the range of motion. This
translates into lack of potential
development. How often do you look over
to the calf section of the gym and see
bouncing? As you lower you heel towards
the floor, there is a great deal of
force placed on the Achilles tendon. It
is critical that bouncing be avoided and
control executed on the negative portion
of the lift to avoid potential injury to
the Achilles tendon.
Many
experienced weightlifters will never
reach their true potential in the area
of calf development because they simply
do not use enough weight. Mental
toughness, focus, intensity and desire
are needed to
overload the weight to the necessary
degree for awesome development. It's
easy to step up to a standing calf
machine and move a pin in the stack, but
taking it to the next level requires
getting through the stack. And what
degree of toughness is required to climb
to the top of the machine to stack extra
plates on top? Do you have that level of
mental toughness? If you want those
developed wide calf muscles, you're
going to need that level of intensity.
Now, back to
our challenge. How to stack enough
weight on the machine? Piling those 45
pounders one on top of the other makes
it nearly impossible to grip the plates,
so be sure to stack 25 pound plates
in-between the larger plates. Once
you've maxed out the top pin for
additional poundage using the 45s, it's
time to move on to one-legged calf
raises.
Developing
bulging calves, requires the careful
development of a training program that
gives priority to this often neglected
muscle group. Separate calves from quads
and hamstrings on training days so they
are no longer an afterthought. Be
mentally prepared to challenge yourself
to a new level of intensity and focus
when training calves. This preparation
assumes a high quality diet, adequate
amounts of sleep and a week of recovery
time between training sessions of this
muscle group.
Begin a calf
training session with four warm-up sets
consisting of increasing weight levels
and decreasing reps. In other words,
your fourth warm-up set should consist
of two or three reps that are viewed as
weight acclimation reps rather than
fatiguing in nature.
Be sure to work
both the gastrocnemius (straight legged
exercises) and the soleus (seated calf
exercises), muscles in each training
session. While much has been written
regarding the direction of the toes when
performing calf exercises, keep your
toes facing straight ahead in order to
achieve maximum overload. Always use a
full range of motion with the heaviest
weight you can handle. But, never
sacrifice range of motion for a heavier
load. Be sure to squeeze at the top of
the contraction and fully extend and
stretch at the bottom.
Due to the high
intensity of this training protocol it
is imperative to stretch between each
set. Standing 2 1/2 to 3 feet from a
wall, keep your legs straight, heels on
the ground and lean into the wall. Hold
the stretch for 20 seconds, then repeat
standing further away from the wall.
With each stretch, step further away
from the wall while maintaining your
heels on the ground.
Sample training
programs:
Program A:
Standing Calf Raises 3 x 12-15,
(following 4 warm-up sets)
Donkey Calf Raises 3 x 12-15
Seated Calf Raises 3 x 12-15
Program B:
Seated Calf Raises 3 x 8-12,
(following 4 warm-up sets)
Calf Presses 3 x 8-12
Donkey Calf Raises 3 x 8-12
Program C:
Calf Presses 3 x 6-8 (following
4 warm-up sets)
Standing Calf Raises 3 x 6-8
Seated Calf Raises 3 x 6-8
Programs A, B
and C should be rotated using one
program each week. By varying the number
of reps, periodization training is built
into this calf training program. All
sets are expected to be completed using
a full range of motion, avoiding a
bounce, control of the negative portion
of the lift, and a squeeze at the top.
All worksets require the mental
intensity to be taken to failure to
complete the planned rep range. Keep
meticulous training journal notes and
make weekly adjustments accordingly.
Diane
Fields is an ISSA Certified Fitness
Trainer and in the process of completing
a certification in Performance
Nutrition. At 5 feet tall and 120
pounds, Ms. Fields is currently lifting
815 lbs on the standing calf machine,
and is training to reach a goal of 1000
pounds by year end.
In addition to
personal training, Ms. Fields is a
weight loss consultant and member of
Legendary Fitness, LLC, a health and
fitness company geared towards the
special exercise and nutritional needs
of babyboomers.
Additional
articles written by Ms. Fields may be
viewed at the following websites,
www.getbig.com, www.protraineronline.com
and www.atozfitness.com.