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How to change calf muscle?

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ellasmoth

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I like abdominal muscle very much,but I don't like calf muscle. I am worried about that and I want to improve this situation. I exercise a lot but the outcome is not so satisfying. What should i do?Can you give me some suggestions? Thanks!
 
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Fozz

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I'd recommend heavy weight calf raises. You're not alone, calves are the hardest muscle to grow for many people.
 
KingArcher

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Hitting calves every other workout seems to do it quite well. Neglecting them and only working them out once a week won't show decent enough results but once you actually pay attention to them they can grow. Also, bodyweight calf raises are quite nice as well if you do 100 of them at once.
 
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xenochristramu

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You really can't change the shape of your calves, if that is what you meant. Sadly, like everything else in bodybuilding, calves are largely genetic. The look of the calf depends a lot on where the muscle heads attach on your leg.
What you CAN do is try to increase the size of the muscle by training in an optimum way.

This is the routine that Lyle McDonald recommends and seems to be working fine for me:

A straight legged calf exercise: 5 sets of 5 done in the following fashion. From a dead 2 second pause, explode up, squeeze for 1 second at the top, 3 second eccentric (for tempo freaks, this would be written X/1/3/2: explosive concentric, 1 second squeeze at the top, 3 second negative, 2 second pause at the bottom). Take 3 minutes between sets and GO HEAVY. When you get all 5 sets of 5, add weight at the next workout. The gastroc is fast twitch, it responds to heavy loads. The explosive concentric out of the pause will maximize tension, the squeeze makes sure that you’re controlling the weight, the slow eccentric is critical for growth. Note: be careful on the pause, don’t overstretch the calves or you can give yourself plantar fascitis. But don’t cut range of motion either. You want some stretch on the calves, don’t try to drop your heels as far as possible.

Follow that up with: A bent-knee calf raise: 3-4 sets of 8-10 done in the following fashion. From a 2 second pause, take 2 seconds to squeeze the weight up, brief pause at the top, 2 second eccentric (so 2/1/2/2). 60-90 seconds rest and use as much weight as you can in good form, you may have to drop weight after each set due to fatigue. Being slow-twitch, the soleus will respond to longer sets and more of a fatigue stimulus. This should hurt like hell.

Been doing this for 16 weeks now and there have been significant changes. Other than that, you could always just get fat and lose weight. Curious to see what others do for their calves too.
 
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coolyfrost

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I think that calf raises are the best workout in order to increase calves. I know a lot of people that have very small calves and I was fortunate enough to have been born with very big ones. Unfortunately, I know that this is not the case for everyone and that makes it hard for some people as calves are truly some of the hardest muscles to gain mass with.
 
Lewriter

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Hitting calves every other workout seems to do it quite well. Neglecting them and only working them out once a week won't show decent enough results but once you actually pay attention to them they can grow.

Totally agree. Once a week is nothing for the calves.

I would not say once every other day in a fixed form. I'm more inclined to give the muscle time to recover, but never more than what it needs (or it becomes lazy)

In my case, I like to keep a tight control regarding specific days for large muscle groups. My exception are the calves and abdominals. When it comes to these two, my rule is working them out as many times a week as possible, always while respecting their recovery time.


...If the muscle does not hurt, it is scheduled for training today! :)
 
Folk Artist

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Genetics do play a big role in calf developement, but you can still increase the size of your calves, but it will just take more work to do this. My favorite is the standing calf raise on a elevated surface - this is a great exercise to stretch and strengthen the calves through a full range of motion(this is done by holding a dumbell in your hand and working one calf at a time.)
 
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DeathDefier

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One legged raises I agree will add size
 
Alexandoy

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I agree with the comments above that genetics dictate the shape and built of the calf. My genetics is "deer" because of my slender calves that can make me run fast for a dash although my aspiration was to be a marathoner. Anyway, if you have a big calf and you don't want it then all you can do is to build up your abs so people will be looking at your middle and would not notice the lower part.
 
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FitMDCoach

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Calves right alongside our abdominals typically do respond best to high intensity training, however, I’ve noticed calf development in my show prep clients best with a heavy progressive overload approach implementing 1 set of DC Rest Pause training for a total of 11-15 reps. Sometimes, I’ll bump that to a 15-20 rep range. I also make sure to never neglect Seated Calf Presses. This is one of the best ways to target the soleus muscle tissue and implement full shortening and lengthening. But with abdominals I’ll typically have my clients stick to 2 sets (sometimes 3 depending on the person) of an 8-12 range AND a 15-30 range this way we stimulate growth via Progressive overload and cellular swelling mechanisms. These approaches have brought some good calves to the stage with my clients :)
 

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I don't really understand what exactly you want to accomplish or achieve with your calf muscles. Do you want it bigger or smaller?

Make this specific, so that I can know exactly what to suggest or recommend for you.

Thanks.
 

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