Calf Training: The Right Way

How many YouTube videos do you think there are discussing
how to train calves? There is always at least one of them in my suggestion box
each time I watch a video.

This must mean that people are looking to gain size and/or
strength in their calves.

Why should you train you calves?

1. Can help improve vertical jump height
2. Can assist in sprinting speed
3. Provide stability to knee and ankle
4. Prevents injury throughout the leg

Many people are interested in making their calves strong and
functional for a sport or for general health. Others are seeking a more
aesthetic look to their calves.

There are ways to do drill both of these goals, which we
will be discussing further into this post.

Before that we have a few topics to cover.

Reasons people THINK they don’t have muscular calves

1. Genetics–
   98% of people that ask me about calf training say that they cannot build their
   calves due to genetics. There is some truth about genetics and their effects on
   muscles development. The area of insertion to particular muscles, the length of
   the muscle belly, and your body’s genetic response to muscle building. Now on
   this topic genetics are not the REASON you don’t have muscular calves. People
   with poor genetics can still build impressive looking and performing calf
   muscles, but they will not look like an IFBB Pro’s calves, but neither will any
   other part of your body.
2. They
   don’t train them- the other 2% of the population realize they do not train
   their calves and that’s the reason they do not have developed muscles in that
   area.

How you can build stronger/more muscular calves

1. Train them through FULL RANGE OF MOTION– get the balls of your full fully onto the pad
   or block. Force your calves to stretch at the bottom and drive them up into a
   full contraction at the top. Take a 1 second pause on both ends to ensure you
   are not bouncing during the movement.
2. Strength
   training your calves is a huge part people are missing with calf work. How
   many times in your life have you brought your calves into a strength phase of
   4-8 reps. Not too many, it is a muscle and needs new stimulus to grow like the
   other muscles.
3. Add more
   frequency to your calf training. Start building up your capacity to be able
   to train your calves on a more frequent basis. Do not hop into 4-5 times a week
   of calf training. Take it slow, get stronger, and add more frequency in at
   appropriate times.
4. Programming
   your calf training is something I do not see very often but is another
   great way to stay on track with adding frequency. Being able to put it in as
   one of your actual lifts on a particular day will force you to train that
   muscle like any other muscle. Prioritize the things you want to get done!
5. Switch up
   your exercises- you do not always have to do one traditional calf exercise.
   Pick 3-4 just as you would any other muscle and make sure you get good at those
   movements to be able to increase your volume over time with each particular
   exercise.

Think back to when you started exercising and what your
routines may have looked like.

How many hours in the gym were spent developing other parts
of your body while neglecting the calf muscles?

In many cases it is a good amount.

That adds up to many hours of your body building and getting
stronger while your calves are staying the same.

So now add up all that time and think how much work must be
done to build up that muscle group just like all the others.

In many cases the calves may not be the centerpiece of your body from an aesthetic or a strength point of view but there is no time like the present to start working them like every other muscle on your body.

JNHealthandFitness@aol.com