Calf training program for the genetically non-gifted

Either you were born with calves or you have none at all. Unless you are genetically gifted like others, chances are you will never grow your calves. This is the kind of talk I’ve heard all these years trying to train my calves.

I’ll never forget the painful words of my friend who knew nothing about bodybuilding: “Why are your calves so skinny compared to the rest of your body?”

I’m sure words like these don’t sound good to an insecure bodybuilder. Even though this man was as involved in bodybuilding as Paris Hilton is in banking, his words inspired me to begin a painful and difficult calf workout.

Growth formula

7 years ago, before I even worked out, I was always a skinny guy with thin calves and ankles that were better suited to women’s high heels than sneakers. But after studying the art of bodybuilding for a long time and bringing together all the principles of training in one place, I finally found a way to grow calves.

Symmetry has always been one of the main goals of my training and I honestly focus on my weak points at the beginning of training, when I have the most strength. I did all this to develop a perfect physical condition.

I have been a bodybuilding judge for three years, so I knew that an experienced and impartial judge should always focus not on a bodybuilder’s strengths, but on his weaknesses.

I soon noticed that my calves were as stubborn as those of a problem child. With that in mind, I killed my calves all sorts of ways: supersets, high-rep sets, low-rep sets, and so on. I trained them once a week, I trained them every day. I’ve tried everything but to no avail. I was condemned to have dummy calves.

James “Flex” Lewis

Suddenly, holding on to my dream and not wanting to wear long pants for the rest of my life, I discovered a great victory: the example of James Lewis (“Flex”).

After studying old photos of James, I noticed that a few years ago he had average sized calves compared to the ones he has today. With this in mind, I studied his training rituals for those stubborn muscles, the calves.

I noticed something he always did that I had never done. This is a set of calf pumps with your own weight to failure after each regular weight set. After a series of seated calf exercises, standing exercises, crunches, or any other calf movement, Flex immediately continues the same movements, but this time using only his own body weight, until he can no longer complete a single repetition. This process is aimed at filling the entire calf with blood, which after such a shock absorbs all the nutrients much easier. This process also stretches the connective tissue membrane, giving the muscle more room to grow.

A remarkable reaction

After 6 weeks of performing this routine 2 times a week, my calves began to noticeably respond to this type of torture. Before his eyes began to grow, I noticed increased vascularity. Before starting this routine, my calves were not fully muscled, even during the pre-competition diet. The cause of the bleeding was the increased blood flow caused by the series of pumps. Nutrients began to be absorbed into the calves much faster and better so that the muscle could recover. All this allows the calves to grow.

After a few months the calves began to grow at such a speed that there was no longer any need to emphasize them and consider them a weak point. This is what I have failed to do in the last 7 years of training. Now I get a lot of compliments on my rapidly changing calves.

Recommendations

1) Slowly and thoughtfully When performing any calf movement, try to do so slowly and deliberately to avoid any strain or overuse of the tendon. The Achilles tendon, which runs from the back of the ankle, is strong enough to absorb all the pressure if the movement is performed too quickly. In this case, the muscle may tear.

It is enough to go down for 2 seconds (for negative movement) and 1-2 seconds to go up (for positive movement).

2) pump it After the traditional standing leg press, continue the series of pump-ups on the floor until you can’t do it anymore. After the seated calf press, return to the floor, bend your knees as if you were doing the same press on the machine, find something to hold on to, and continue doing pump-up reps.

3) Center of gravity Try to concentrate the weight so that it goes directly into your calf muscles. Turn your toes outward if you want to emphasize the inside of your calf. To emphasize the outer side of the calf, you need to turn your toes inward.

Legs workout routine

Calves should be trained 2 times a week

First training:
– Standing calf press 4×12-16 (up to disability)
Strength reps after each set (until failure)
– Seated calf press 4×20-25 (until incapacity)
Strength reps after each set (until failure)

Second workout:
– Calf press in the leg press machine 4×12-16 (until impossible)
Strength reps after each set (until failure)
– “Donkeys” 4×20-25 (until the impossible)
Strength reps after each set (until failure)

* It is recommended to warm up for 5-10 minutes before calf training.
** You must complete at least 2 warm-up sets before starting the heavy sets.