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re: Calf mass advice
Posted on 4/15/24 at 4:18 pm to lsupride87
Posted on 4/15/24 at 4:18 pm to lsupride87
Yes, this is true, Joe Defranco talks about it all the time. And aesthetically, I think the thin ankle is the key, it makes it easier to just get good definition in your calf and it looks better. It's like having a thin vs thick waist. Thicker the waist or ankle, harder it is to get a tapered look.
I just don't know anyone who was able to build any noticeable bulk on their calves, but I've seen people go from having kind of a shapeless formless blob of a lower leg when they were more sedentary to a more muscular and athletic looking lower leg after they started to lift, run, and just be more active in general. I think a "fit" calf looks best, not necessarily a big calf muscle.
I just don't know anyone who was able to build any noticeable bulk on their calves, but I've seen people go from having kind of a shapeless formless blob of a lower leg when they were more sedentary to a more muscular and athletic looking lower leg after they started to lift, run, and just be more active in general. I think a "fit" calf looks best, not necessarily a big calf muscle.
1
Posted on 4/15/24 at 4:19 pm to bayouvette
If jumping built calves, I literally would have bodybuilder calves since jumping rope is kinda a fetish as I grew up boxing and even though I pretty much exclusively train BJJ now will do a boxing routine 3 times a week every morning that includes 10 rounds with 3 rounds of rope. It’s really my only cardio other my jits stuff and doing farmers on a couple of those non boxing days. I mean it’s not like they are toothpicks, it’s just nowhere near my upper leg development and I actually try to train them religiously.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 4:40 pm to DrDenim
quote:
I think a "fit" calf looks best, not necessarily a big calf muscle.
Agree. Tough to beat a nice hard diamond shaped calf. I’d rather have 16” diamond shaped calf than 20” ‘big’ calf. There’s no comparison to the aesthetics’s between the two.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 9:29 pm to MWP
If you jump rope constantly with the same effort / pace /weight they are use to it. I'd bet if you add weighted vest they would grow. But that's also back to genetics and how much abuse the calve can take.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 7:53 am to ronricks
Aesthetically, your calves should be close to the same circumference as your arms, even an inch less
Posted on 4/16/24 at 1:34 pm to NewOrleansBlend
quote:
Right. I see most people bouncing a light weight around on the calf raise machine to nowhere near failure. Of course they don’t see results
This is my #1 with calves. You have to slow down and actually contract the muscle.
Your achilles is so big and powerful, it takes a ton of load off the muscle in explosive calf work. What's productive for me is 3 second negative, pause at the bottom, then squeeze the muscle up. So many people just pogo around off the stretch reflex from the achilles.
And yeah, calves have a significant genetic component, more than most muscles. The best way to maximizing what you've got is rep quality, where each rep is actually using the calf muscle.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 1:55 pm to Geert
quote:
Anyone ever had success adding significant calf thickness? What triggered the growth? Does doing tib work help?
get fat then do a shite ton of cycling and jump rope. Lose weight and you'll have jacked calves
This post was edited on 4/16/24 at 2:00 pm
Posted on 4/16/24 at 2:49 pm to whiskey over ice
quote:
Aesthetically, your calves should be close to the same circumference as your arms, even an inch less
Yes if you compete. Otherwise it doesn't matter I will take aesthetics over size any day. I'd much rather look like Frank Zane than Nasser El Sonbaty or Nick Walker.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 7:55 pm to whiskey over ice
quote:
get fat then do a shite ton of cycling and jump rope. Lose weight and you'll have jacked calves
Okay, I've done Steps #1 & #2:
#1 - get fat
#2 - do a shite ton of cycling and jump rope
But I don't wanna do step #3, that step sucks
quote:
Aesthetically, your calves should be close to the same circumference as your arms, even an inch less
I feel attacked, you saying I got funny proportions? My biceps(relaxed) are 16" and an eighth, forearms(relaxed) are 14", my calves are 19.5"???
It's probably because I also did step #2b, I stopped growing at 5'6" and for 35 years I've had to get up on my tippy toes to reach anything, got my calves all jacked up. Am I doing it wrong?
Posted on 4/16/24 at 8:36 pm to DrDenim
For anyone that doesn’t think you can add mass, do 8 weeks of BFR then 8 weeks of dc training, all 3x per week and get back to me. It’s 4 months and nothing to lose
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:14 pm to Geert
Skipping rope and heavy calf raises (1.5+ x your body weight).
Posted on 4/17/24 at 8:17 am to VictoryHill
quote:
Skipping rope and heavy calf raises (1.5+ x your body weight).
Dumb question, but I'm dumb about this stuff. Say I weigh 175. I should include my own body's weight in that, correct? So If I do calf raises with a 45 lb dumbbell in each hand, that should cover me, right? I don't need 1.5x my body weight in weights plus my own body weight? Like yesterday, I did 3x40 calf raises with 200 lbs of weight plus my body weight. By the end, my calves are jello, and the arches of my feet are on fire (I'm not sure if the arches thing is supposed to happen). Do I need to be targeting 260 lbs worth of weight plus my body weight?
FTR, I've been gradually building this up over the past few months. I started with no weights. I have not noticed too much size increase, but I have noticed a much more toned look. I have bird wrists and ankles, so I'm not sure how big my forearms and calves can get.
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