2 Quick Calf Training Tips

By David Barr

I loathe calf training. It's just terrible. Now it's not that the loads used are too high, or I have to put "too much effort" into doing them, and it's not even the shoulder bruising that occurs from using the standing machine. I wish it were all of those. But the real reason I despise working the lower leg is because I just don't feel anything. I happen to do one-leg standing calf raises next to a mirror (purely by coincidence… and to surreptitiously "observe" the local Asian fitness model) and I don't even see anything happening! Granted I can see that my ankle is plantar flexing, and my body is moving up as a result, but in terms of any semblance of actual muscle contraction, there is none. Even the burn that I used to get as a 160lb teenager is gone. From a feeling standpoint I'd probably have a better experience watching someone do them.

Feeling That Feeling

This mind muscle connection (aka neural connection) is critical for any kind of muscle adaptation, and is usually the first thing to occur when you begin training. But for some reason, after a decade and a half, my calves seem to have actually become "dumber". They just don't know how to contract.

If you recall from the Death Of The Bent Over Row, article, there's something called the bilateral deficit. This deficit means that we'll have a better contraction/muscle activation when using unilateral work. The problem is that it doesn't work for calves. I'd love to say that this applies universally, but I'm sure that it's an isolated (ha ha) issue. Hell, I've thrown all of my applied anatomy, physiology, biochemistry etc. at them, but my calves simply laugh (and it's a very small laugh indeed).

At this point I'm about ready to forgo science and try faith-based training (although I can't quite imagine what that would entail).

1) What To Do When Told To Bend Over II

But a couple of weeks ago something strange happened. A friend urged me to use the donkey calf machine. Although I had used donkey calf raises by having someone sit on my back (yeah I know it's lame today, but Arnold used to do it and that was enough for me), I admittedly hadn't used this machine. Considering the ridiculous variations in weight, exercise, foot positions, tempo, range of motion etc., I had tried without any modicum of success, it was quite surprising when I hopped on the machine and felt something strange… I felt a muscle contraction in my calves!

It was so exciting that I promptly did 5 sets, which is nearly double what I'd do on any given exercise -and far too many for the first time attempting a novel movement. But there it was, the muscle contraction I had been seeking for years.

Why Here? Why Now?

This begs the question of why this exercise, above all others, induces a contraction in the superficial muscles of the lower leg (called the gastrocnemius). The answer is simply due to a stretch in the hamstrings, which carries over to the calves. As both "muscles" (for the sake of simplicity) are biarticular (that is, they cross two joints) the hip flexion will put the gastrocs in an optimal position to contract. It's not unlike the strong contraction induced by performing incline biceps curls.

2) The "Other" Movement

Another problem with my calf work is that I have only been training them across one joint. Again, the gastrocs cross two joints, and have slightly different contractility for each. The issue is that even when I would do my leg curls (which is the other movement we should be concerned with), I would point my toes down (ie plantar flex) essentially taking them out of the movement.

Now if you ever see people do this exercise, they'll invariably do them with the toes pointed up toward the shin. This is because it allows full activation of the gastrocs, thus making the exercise easier. I thought I was doing myself a service by plantar flexing and focusing on my hamstrings. But it turns out that I've been missing a tremendous opportunity.

Try going through a full calf training session and then doing some heavy leg curls while pointing the toes toward you shins, as most people do anyway. You'll notice a difference compared to doing this without the calf pre-fatigue. To mix it up, do the initial sets with a short range of motion at the peak contracted phase, followed by later partial sets at the fully extended range.

Conclusions

These tips are for anyone who has a hard time developing calves. Most people don't need to worry about working both joints, but if you're a freak like me you'll find stretched hamstrings, and then leg curls, to be incredibly helpful.

For diet and supplementation tips on how to improve your calves (and every other body part for that matter) check out The Anabolic Index!

Raise your expectations. Raise The Barr!

About The Author

Click here to post your comments on this article in our Team Staley Forums!

	Click here to return to David's Article Index