should i focus on high reps to grow my calf muscle?

[Jibran]

i was reading about how high reps make the forearms grow because its a small muscle, since the calves are also small, does it work in the same way? and what about the biceps?

[Mavrick]

umm...how are your calves small... mine are bigger than both of my bicpes combined i have big calves. everyone on our team does.. just do stadium drills ok heres a good way to do it, run up stadiums only letting a little bit of your foot hit, (only ur toes) so it uses alot more of ur calf then quads n (!@#$%^&*) then run to other side of feild and do the same then run back and over and over so you get a 60 yard dash/spirnt and staidums all in one go, it really builds ur legs with using no weights but gives bad shinsplints...so dont worry about using weights to build them

[wordlife]

^^^ Yeah what he said, my calf is unbelievably big, although i didn't work on it as much. Just focus on using it for a lot of sprinting (use your mind-muscle connection there) and they will grow, you can read about this non-lifting technique to bring the calves in jacob's articles "muscle fibers" in the anatomy section.(i think part 2 is what you need)


Anyway to answer your question, go to the anatomy section and you will find your answer there. You will read the three parts article "muscle fibers" from which you will know that slow twitch fibers is excellent in the range of 20-25 reps. Then when you proceed to the muscle fibers and ratios of the calves you will know that the gastromecnues is 50% slow and 50% fast twitch, while the solues is 90& slow twitch. So the answer to your question is YES. High reps, short rest, a weight that allows you to fail within the 20-25 rep range and the superset of standing and seated calf raises is the key to freaky calves. Also, try the calves routine in the workout section.

Again, there is a percentage of the calves which is fast twitch, don't forget to work it within the 6-12 range. One idea is that since you have two types of fibers in such a small group, try shocking methods to work all types of fibers in one full swoop.


btw, your right about the forearms, they are worked with higher ranges, but not because they are small or big. Its because we use them too much on daily basis, such as moving the fingers or even drinking water. Too much activity will turn this muscle to a slow twitch dominant (tonic) muscle. Same goes for the calves and the neck because we use them atleast to maintain posture. Thats why the same doesn't follow on your bi's, its a small muscle tho. (you will learn this when you read the articles i told you about)



Hope I helped ^_^

[Mavrick]

WHOA! some one finnaly halfway aggreed with me!!!!!*faints*

[Chiron]

[ QUOTE ]
You will read the three parts article "muscle fibers" from which you will know that slow twitch fibers is excellent in the range of 20-25 reps. Then when you proceed to the muscle fibers and ratios of the calves you will know that the gastromecnues is 50% slow and 50% fast twitch, while the solues is 90& slow twitch. So the answer to your question is YES. High reps, short rest, a weight that allows you to fail within the 20-25 rep range and the superset of standing and seated calf raises is the key to freaky calves. Also, try the calves routine in the workout section.

Again, there is a percentage of the calves which is fast twitch, don't forget to work it within the 6-12 range. One idea is that since you have two types of fibers in such a small group, try shocking methods to work all types of fibers in one full swoop.




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Nice post wordlife.Wasnt too clear on the fast, slow twitch muscles myself. When I do calves supersetting is a must i.e. seated calf raises [4-10reps depending on how heavy] and standing calf raises[20reps+]. Pain is beautiful and the results I got from supersetting are enormous and Im still getting results. There are numerous ways not only supersetting, it just works well for me. All in all you should use high and low reps as wordlife described.

[Coz]

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so dont worry about using weights to build them

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This is a bodybuilding board...the whole point is to use resistance exercises to stimulate hypertrophy.

To add to what wordlife said about the muscle fiber ratios, you should use higher reps but not exclusively. Even though a muscle may be more slow twitch fiber you should still vary the rep ranges. A good way to go about this is to use periodization. So I suggest you do higher reps most of the time but you should also include medium and low rep ranges at least some of the time.

Also, train the gastrocnemius, the soleus AND the highly neglected tibialis anterior (the muscle on your shin). Use different angles by varying toe position.

[Jedi]

Calf size and shape is genetic, just because you have big calves and dont have to train them doesnt mean others have. I have to go through hell to make them grow and I love it [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].

[Sherman Tank]

[ QUOTE ]

This is a bodybuilding board...the whole point is to use resistance exercises to stimulate hypertrophy.


[/ QUOTE ]
I see what your saying but i would have to disagree. from what i understand you are saying that the person should only use traditional resistance training to build up his calves, i.e. weights. But bodybuilding is about building up the body, it doesnt matter what path you take to get there. As Arnold said, weights are just a means to an end. That is bodybuilding isnt about lifting the weights, lifting the weights is just a pathway allowing you to build up your body. So i feel that if an individual finds that doing sprints and stair climbs builds up their calves more effectively then by using weights, that they should continue to do this, and that this style of training would apply to this board just as much as any other style of training would so long that it induced the same results.

[Coz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

This is a bodybuilding board...the whole point is to use resistance exercises to stimulate hypertrophy.


[/ QUOTE ]
I see what your saying but i would have to disagree. from what i understand you are saying that the person should only use traditional resistance training to build up his calves, i.e. weights. But bodybuilding is about building up the body, it doesnt matter what path you take to get there. As Arnold said, weights are just a means to an end. That is bodybuilding isnt about lifting the weights, lifting the weights is just a pathway allowing you to build up your body. So i feel that if an individual finds that doing sprints and stair climbs builds up their calves more effectively then by using weights, that they should continue to do this, and that this style of training would apply to this board just as much as any other style of training would so long that it induced the same results.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes this is a bodybuilding board and we are interested in achieving maximal hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia and you will not achieve your potential hypertrophy without the use of some type of resistance...period.

Stair climbs and sprints are fine but to effectively bodybuild you absolutely need additional resistance no doubt about it. There isn't a single "bodybuilder" in this world who does not utilize some type of weight.

[littleamazon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

This is a bodybuilding board...the whole point is to use resistance exercises to stimulate hypertrophy.


[/ QUOTE ]
I see what your saying but i would have to disagree. from what i understand you are saying that the person should only use traditional resistance training to build up his calves, i.e. weights. But bodybuilding is about building up the body, it doesnt matter what path you take to get there. As Arnold said, weights are just a means to an end. That is bodybuilding isnt about lifting the weights, lifting the weights is just a pathway allowing you to build up your body. So i feel that if an individual finds that doing sprints and stair climbs builds up their calves more effectively then by using weights, that they should continue to do this, and that this style of training would apply to this board just as much as any other style of training would so long that it induced the same results.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes this is a bodybuilding board and we are interested in achieving maximal hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia and you will not achieve your potential hypertrophy without the use of some type of resistance...period.

Stair climbs and sprints are fine but to effectively bodybuild you absolutely need additional resistance no doubt about it. There isn't a single "bodybuilder" in this world who does not utilize some type of weight.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with Coz on everything! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Amazon