Researched
and Composed by
Jacob Wilson, BSc. (Hons), MSc. CSCS
Introduction
So you want huge
calves huh? The question is are you
willing to sell out to get them? Remember,
our goal is to train as heavy as
possible within the constraints of
proper form. You guys out there that
feel it's necessary to do the sloppy,
partial reps so you can load the calf raise
machine with tons of weight should just
stop reading now. Maybe we'll do
an article for you guys next month,
"How to effectively train your
ego". I know the rest of us are
ready to grow.
The following
workout will hit your calves so hard
that they are going to do everything
they can to keep up with your ferocious
pace! What does this translate
too? Growth, and lots of
it!!! Lets begin shall we...
Firstly, if you
have not read, The fundamentals of Calf
Training Yet then I suggest you do this
first before reading
my workout. You can do so by clicking
here
Workout I
Your first Calves workout will consist
of:
Standing
Calf Raises
and
Reverse
Calf Raises
Warm up:
Come to the gym mentally prepared to
" go to war " against your
calf muscles. Because if you don't
you are going to get beat, I guarantee it. Now before
you begin you should warm up extremely
well. I usually do a light set of
20 on the standing calf raise machine and two sets of 10
pyramiding up as I go. This will
help you to focus not only physically,
but mentally as well.
First set:
I want you to pick
a weight in which you can strictly get
8-10 repetitions on the standing calf
raise machine. Let me explain what
I mean when I say strict. It
should take one second to reach the top
of the motion, then you
should squeeze as hard as you can at the
top and then take 1 to two seconds to
lower the weight. As
stated previously focus on transferring
all your weight onto the ball of your
big toe for a complete peak
contraction. Now when you reach
complete failure I want you to rack out
as many partial repetitions as you can
for approximately 30 seconds. This is the
only time where you will be allowed to
utilize sloppy reps. These reps
are to be performed quickly to intensify
the blood pump. It shouldn't take
more than a second to rack out a partial
repetition. But I don't want you
to count the partials. I want you
to count the seconds. So while you
are performing partial reps you will be counting to 30 seconds in your head.
By the end of the 30 seconds you
might only be able to move your calves a
millimeter.
Rest exactly one
minute, no more and no less.
Second Set:
You will stick
with the same weight this time and go to
complete failure. When you cannot
squeeze
out another rep to save your life you
need to again rack out 30 seconds of
partial repetitions. However
in order to throw the intensity of this
set up a notch I will utilize what I
call the, " Stretch shocking
method. "
Its not complicated at all. As
soon as you have completed your partials
you will keep your calves in a complete
stretched out position for a total of 30
seconds. This will intensify the
blood pump like nothing on earth!
And
as I have stated in earlier issues, a
sustained pump is absolutely vital for
optimal growth!
At this point your calves will be on
fire! Unfortunately you have just begun!
Third Set:
This set should be
the same as your first set but you will
pyramid down to a lighter weight in
which you can
again perform 8-10 strict repetitions.
Fourth Set:
Again, stay at the
same weight and mimic the second set
exactly down to the T!
You have
successfully made it through half of the
workout! Give yourself a two
minute breather and then
get started with your 5th and 6th
set.
5th-6th
set:
As before you need
to follow the same reoccurring patter
that you used with the first two sets.
7th-8th set:
In these sets you
will again follow the same reoccurring
pattern. However I want you to pyramid down in
weight quite a bit more than your
previous 2 drops. Preferably
doubling the drop in weight. For
example,
lets assume that you have stripped 30
pounds of weight per drop. You
will now drop a total of 60 pounds.
The reason for this has to do with the
muscle's peak. In order for you to
get a complete diamond shape you must
concentrate on peaking the muscle to a
complete and total
contraction. With a lighter than
normal
weight your will be able to accomplish
this important aspect of your calves development.
These repetitions
should be performed even stricter than
all of the previous sets.
Important
Note: If
you are not used to this kind of
intensity then I would recommend starting out with
just 6 sets and working your way up to
8. Also if you have not trained
your calves at all, it would be
advisable to start with just 4 sets and
again work your way up.
Next is
reverse calf raises. Now this is an
extremely vital exercise that I rarely
see used. It not only
contributes to the overall size of your
calf muscles but also is responsible for
making your calves
look huge from the front!
However if you do not perform these in a
correct manner you will not benefit
from them, at least not
optimally. There are different
ways of achieving success with this
exercise, below is one of my favorites!
Set one:
First you need to
perform 10 very succinct and extremely
strict repetitions. Hold a peak
contraction at the top of the movement
and then lower your feet slowly. It
should take about 2 seconds to lower
your feet to the bottom of the movement,
a second to perform the positive portion
of the rep and then a one second peak
contraction.
Its after you have
performed these 10 reps that the fun
actually begins! I now want you to rack out
extremely fast repetitions. As quickly
as possible! Similar to the reps
you performed after you reached failure
on the standing calf raises. When
you feel that your tibia( front of your
calf ) is pumped full of Blood then
count to 30 while continuing your quick
reps. Do not begin the count until you
Feel a deep burning sensation!
Why? Simply because it is after this
phase of the lift where growth is
achieved.
Set Two:
Same as above
Set Three:
Same as above
That's it for your
first workout. Absolutely
brutal! Now limp to your car and
get home or drive to a juice bar as
quickly as possible, because you need to
slam a massive post workout shake
immediately, if not sooner!
Workout II
Your first Calves workout will consist
of:
Seated
Calf Raises
and
Reverse
Calf Raises
Well
you made it through your first workout,
now you get to see what I have in store
for workout number
two!
This session will be as quick as
it is brutal!
The pain will be tremendous, but
your growth will be equally as
impressive.
Here we go!
Warm
up
Get
to the gym and perform three light sets
of 14, 12, 10.
By the time you get to 10 you
should be about 20 pounds below your
starting weight.
Stretch your calves out and
prepare yourself mentally for an all out
war against your calves!!!!
First
set:
I
want you to pick a weight in which you
can get 10 strict reps on the standing
calf raise machine.
Lets say for example that that is
300 pounds.
Perform these 10 reps extremely
strictly to complete failure.
Now
I want you or your partner to Strip
weight immediately off the machine so
that you can continue your set.
To be more specific, I’d like
you to strip off exactly 25 percent of
the weight you were using.
So if you were lifting 300 pounds
you should immediately strip down to 225
pounds.
As before you need to drive your
calves to complete failure!
Half way through this second set
your mind will want fail before your
calves do.
Prepare yourself for this
beforehand.
Tell your mind no,
and continue the set till true
muscular failure with the target weight.
When you cannot muster another
rep I want you to perform partial
repetitions for a total of 30 seconds.
Just as with workout one do not
count reps, count seconds at this point.
Thought
you were done?
Sorry, you still have to drop the
weight once more!
Taking into consideration the weakened
state of your calves I want you to take
off at least 40 percent of the weight
currently on the stack. So if you were doing
225 then you should strip it all the way
down to 135.
It
is this last drop set that separates the
men from the boys.
It is now where you must use the
gladiators mentality and fight as if
this there were no tomorrow!
As with your previous set you
need to push yourself to complete
failure!
The pain will be numbing at this
stage but you must muster up your last
bit of strength and give me another set
of partial repetitions for a time span
of 30 seconds!
Now
rest for 3-5 minutes
Set
2:
Repeat
set one
You
have now made it!
Like a warrior you have won the
battle.
But similarly you will have to
concentrate on healing your wounds over
the next few days.
That means lots of protein!
To the tune of 1.5 to 2 grams per
pound of bodyweight a day!
Workout
3
Ok
workout 3 is actually the exact same as
workout one except instead of using the
standing calf raise to execute it, you
will be utilizing the seated calf raise
machine.
Workout
4
Again
you will use the seated calf raise
machine and perform the same workout as
I outlined in workout number 2.
Repeat
weeks 1-4.
That
my friends is “ 8 weeks to Bigger
Calves”
As an important note, I would like
you to measure your calves before the 8
weeks and then after.
This is by far the best way to
measure growth!
So do yourself a big favor and
get a measurement so you know for sure
how much you have progressed!
If you have any questions about
the workout I’d be glad to answer them
in our forums or at my email address,
jwilson@abcbodybuilding.com
Thank you and good luck!
Sincerely
Jacob
Wilson
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