Post: #1

I've been lifting for many years. My calves have always lagged behind my biceps around an inch. I tried everything, from different routines, heavy weights, high reps, you name it. 6 days a week of calves gets brutal after awhile. Arnold says in his encyclopedia that you need to commit at least 3 years of consistent training to this muscle to bring it up. Well I did a hell of alot more than 3 years training calves consistently.

Anyhow, here's the program I followed for over a year that actually pushed my calves past my biceps for size. One day I look in the mirror and say to myself hot damn. So without further ado, I give to you the program with full credit to Dante from Dog Crap Training:

Boy you guys are in trouble because Ill probably just use this thread to ramble on and jump from one topic to another.

Ok lets see here....

Calves: I wasnt ever going to put this on the net because its very hard to describe and I usually only used it with people in person (and i would say about 4-5 trainees online)....but what the hell....lets try it.

You got weak calves....they suck....you know it, your girlfriend knows it, Jill Pettengill that hot blonde in high school you had the fever for knew it, and your lifting partner that you blow away in spades on all bodyparts except calves knows it (thats why he wears shorts 24/7 around you.)

Hmmmmmm lets think it out.....who has good calves?

a) genetically gifted people who have no idea where they came from, never had to bust their ass for them but love to give calf training advice to everyone who will listen....even though it wont do jack crap for you.

b) fat people (almost universally) and I surmise you would too if you had to one leg calf raise a great deal of bodyweight all the time when walking (remember this concept for below though)

c) geeks - guys who walk up on their toes since kindergarten, yes they look a little light in their loafers and like they just came from a starring role in Peter Pan but no doubt.....those geeky toewalkers got some gastrocs and soleus's to be proud of. (remember this concept for below though also)

So what does the above (a b c) do for you?

Dante wants you to do cardio on your days off training correct? You have to do it anyway AND YOUR CALVES SUCK! Hmmmmm....

So Im going to show you a way to get those babies up bigtime and kill 2 birds with one stone.

****Please be very hydrated and take some Taurine before you do this ok---there is a very good chance you will cramp if you dont (Trust me on this as someone who has been doing this for years.....learn this lesson from someone its happened to...me...taurine + water especially if you are using creatine)

Allright you now do your cardio like this if you have suckass calves ok

We are going to start out so you dont kill yourself

Incline at 15 (yes the highest it will go), MPH at 3.0......I want semi-long strides and a slightly concious effort to push with your big toe during these long strides ok......and here is the key below--this is what must be done and the problem of why i never have described this on the net (and i still dont know if you guys are going to get it)

Lean forward so you are leaning over the (push button display board)...in fact you know what i would like you to do if possible so you are positioned just right? Bring your arms up on the display board and i want them straight out in front of you all the way to the crook of the elbow hanging off the top of the display board ok?

Grasp your thumb with your other hand if you have to...whatever feels right.

So stand up straight from the computer right now--and then put your arms straight out in front of you----see the crook of your elbow (where bicep and forearm meet)----that is going to be where the top of the treadmill display board is--at that crook--you probably are going to have to put a towel up there because you are going to be huffing and puffing and sweating. To accomplish that you are going to have to lean forward a little bit but i dont want you resting totally on the display board--i just want to put you in a mechanical position for your calves on the highest incline using one calf at a time ("oh dante i see what you are doing you freaking **&%$&^ slavedriver!")

So we are in position now....ready?

6 minutes at 15 incline and 3.0mph
4 minutes at 15 incline and 2.5mph
3 minutes at 15 incline and 2.0mph
2 minutes at 15 incline and 1.5mph

and you might think those slower mph is going to make it much much easier---oh it is on your breathing but not on your calves.

So 15 minutes is what you will start out with and lets see who has balls or not....and then with time you could work your way up to whatever you wanted to do....but remember your going to be expending alot of energy in this 15 minutes so i would never be doing 45 minutes cardio like this.

i honestly think you could get great benefit sticking at 20 minutes with this and do a

10 minutes / 15 / 3.5mph
5 minutes / 15 / 2.5 mph
5 minutes / 15 / 1.5mph

or if absolutely topped out (and i dont think this is neccessary but for someone who does alot of cardio or needs alot of cardio and also needs some calves you could try this)

10 minutes / 15 / 3.5mph
10 minutes / 15 / 2.5 mph
10 minutes / 15 / 1.5mph

Id be personally destroyed with that at 275lbs bodyweight - but hey it really is up to you guys here on the timing you want to do---i just want the mechanics of it done right.

Try the 15 minutes first on your next cardio day and tell me how it goes--you are probably going to be pretty darn spent.

This is my promise to you---I promise you bigger calves with this in a short timespan if you do it mechanically correct---I PROMISE YOU THAT---actually I absolutely guarentee that.

And as you get larger and weigh more and keep doing this they are going to keep getting larger if you keep doing it.

Once again (water and taurine).....this would be the time to put some glycerol in your daily water intake if you are going to do these things.

again in my personal opinion 20 minutes tops would probably be all that is needed here but Ill let you guys do your thing and decide how you want to do it timing wise....just promise me you do it as I described above.

out...

PS: no you dont have to wear a Peter Pan outfit during it....and Jill Pettengill isnt that hot anymore so stop sweating her.

Post: #2

What a badly written piece. I couldn't get through it. May I have the training schedule without the wall of incoherent text surrounding it?

Post: #3

6 minutes at 15 incline and 3.0mph
4 minutes at 15 incline and 2.5mph
3 minutes at 15 incline and 2.0mph
2 minutes at 15 incline and 1.5mph

Post: #4

I will give a go!

Thanks

Post: #5

(11-11-2017 01:50 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  I will give a go!

Thanks

Take measurements before you start the program. You can do this 6 days a week, as you know the calves adapt pretty quick. Once it gets easier, up the intensity. Let us know where you're at after 3 months of consistency. Good luck brother!

Post: #6

OP you didn't write this

https://forums.t-nation.com/t/incline-tr...ise/144202

Post: #7

^
He could've put it in quote boxes but he did mention "with full credit to..."

OP, this is good info, but use the quote box and provide a link for anything that's not your writing going forward.

Post: #8

I am not doubting that this works, I'm sure it does.
Another route to build large calves:
Monday: 1 set Barbell Calve Raise to Failure, Light Weight
Wednesday: 3 sets of 20 reps Barbell Calve Raise, Medium Weight
Friday: 3 sets of 10 reps Barbell Calve Raise, Heavy Weight
then 2 sets of 5 reps Barbell Calve Raise, Very Heavy Weight

9 sets a week, attacking a variety of muscle fibers with recovery time inbetween.
Run this program until the calves stop growing.
If you make sure to honestly goto Failure on Monday's
and do the appropriate amount of Weight on Wednesday's/Friday's
- then I believe this program will take your Calve size to their genetic limit.

Post: #9

Uphill sand dune runs, or 5 mile beach runs.

You are welcome.

Post: #10

I've been using the this workout as a my warm up for about 2 months now, and am reporting back.

1) It works. My calves have gained some serious definition if not size. When I flex them they really pop. Also making sure you try pressing down with your big toe as you step, that is what really works the calve muscle.

2) You will sweat hard in these 15 minutes, when I get off the treadmill the track is covered in sweat and I have to wipe down the entire machine front.

3) I found that putting my elbows in the crook of the face and holding the top is the (where most people put their phones) is the best position to get long deep stretch that work the calf the most.

4) My left calve is slightly more defined than my right one, even though when I do the exercise I have trouble getting the same burn in my left side compared to the right.

Overall it's a good program and is a solid warm up, might be worth doing for a cool down on leg day (I still warm up with it) since your legs are going to be decently tired going in and that could impact you lifts, but it's good for leg recovery after.

Post: #11

A couple of old school tips for you. Use blocks, so that you have a much bigger range of movement, and use higher reps than normal (@20) in order to get a better burn.

Post: #12

One word: prancercise.

Post: #13

Jump rope.
3 minutes exercise. 1 minute rest. repeat how many times you wish.

You will get your cardio and your calves will grow.

Post: #14

I got the biggest growth in my calves from drugs.
And believe me, i've tryed everything, almost everything mentioned in this post. But nothing compares to stabbing those babies with bio-identical peg-mgf followed by bio-identical igf-1a. I got a solid 2-3 inches in a couple months. The key is timing your peg-mgf and igf-1a. What the hell, if I get enough pm's i'll right a guide.

Post: #15

I weighted beach runs barefoot have to cause calf hypertrophy.....

Maybe hill sprints will produce similar effects?

Good thread op

Post: #16

Non-drugged Black people can't have big calves (usually). Former/currently fat white people easily get the cows. That is my conclusion after weeks of non-substantial growth despite so much exercices.

Post: #17

Three sets of fifty calf raises, Tom Platz approved.

Post: #18

I've tried everything and my calves will just not grow.

Post: #19

I've been training my calves about 20 minutes every time I go the gym (4-5 days a week) as well as doing 30 minutes on the treadmill on max incline. After doing this for only a couple weeks I feel like I've been making some gains. I already have above average calves, even compared to bigger guys than me at the gym but I'd like them to be big.

Post: #20

(08-11-2018 02:43 PM)outlinechalkem Wrote:  I've tried everything and my calves will just not grow.

Have you tried this program and been consistent? Give us some detail on that please

Post: #21

(07-26-2018 12:06 PM)S3K2 Wrote:  I got the biggest growth in my calves from drugs.
And believe me, i've tryed everything, almost everything mentioned in this post. But nothing compares to stabbing those babies with bio-identical peg-mgf followed by bio-identical igf-1a. I got a solid 2-3 inches in a couple months. The key is timing your peg-mgf and igf-1a. What the hell, if I get enough pm's i'll right a guide.

I would love to see you do a post on this. Datbetrue wrote an article how nonpegylated mgf would help with this but unfortunately his forum was nuked and the info was no longer available.
Were you using both compounds froma reputable research supplier, or were you using legit increlex?

Post: #22

Jump rope works really well. I do one-legged calf raises with a 55 pound kettlebell. This works as well.

Post: #23

1. Stand barefoot in front of a wall
2. SLOWLY get on the front "ball" of your feet, below the toes
3. Hang in there tight a moment
4. SLOWLY go down
5. Repeat 100 times
6. Add sets

I've been doing this for about 8 months and they have grown considerably.
The feet (yes) and the front muscles of the lower leg grew inmensely, too.