The Small Calf Solution
A Routine for Calves That Hate Growing
by Tim Henriques


For most of us in the gym, training calves is a bitch, plain and
simple. If you weren't genetically blessed with good calves, you've
got to suffer long and hard to make any improvements in the
lower legs. But even the guys with good genetics often have to work
pretty hard to take their calves up to the next
level.


Good genetics



Not-so-good genetics
I'm part of the not-genetically gifted lifters. A college
strength coach once called me De-calf-inated, and it pissed me off,
but he was right. At close to 200 pounds, I had 14-inch calves,
they weren't well-defined, and they were weak.

The Cure for Little Lower Legs
Since my calves don't respond to just anything, I've had
to work that much harder to make progress. I wish I could say that
they're spectacular now, but I can't. They're significantly better than before, but not spectacular by any means. However,
because my gains come slowly, if certain programs can work for me,
they can pretty much work for anybody.
I've found two calf programs to be most useful. The first was
Charles Poliquin's routine, "Turn Those Calves into Cows," from his
book The Poliquin Principles. My calves got much stronger
and noticeably bigger from that routine, which I followed for about
18 months.
After that, I tried every variation from super high-rep programs
to heavy weight routines, and nothing made much of a difference,
until I realized that if I wanted something done right, I had to
plan it myself. This routine, which has worked very well, is pretty
simple. But I think simple is good for the smaller
muscles.


Of course, the whole idea is to make the term "smaller
muscle" inaccurate.

The Plan

• Train your calves on three non-consecutive days each
week.

• Use just one exercise each day.

• Do three heavy sets, with the same weight, and one
back-down set per exercise (except for the third workout. It has a
special set/rep system.)

• Increase the weight or reps each week.

• Do an extreme calf stretch after the
workout.

• Take two full weeks off after every six to eight weeks of
serious calf training.




Workout One

Here are the specifics of what I did, you may want to
adjust the details to better suit your gym or needs. I trained
calves on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but you can do whichever
non-consecutive days work for your schedule.
My three exercises were Smith machine calf raises on Monday,
seated calf raises on Wednesday, and the standing calf raise
machine on Friday.


Chalk up another legit use for the Smith
machine.
For the Smith machine calf raise, you want to go pretty heavy
and still have a decent range of motion (ROM). I think most
men should be able to start off with two plates on each side, or
three plates if you've been training your calves regularly. You may
eventually be able to work up to four or five plates per
side.
It's three sets of the same weight, with a minimum of 15
reps per set (shoot for 20 or more, all the way up to 50). Go until
failure, or until your ROM significantly shortens. Rest time is two
to three minutes between sets. I often get 25 reps on my first set,
20-22 on my second, and 18-20 on my third. Maintain good form, try
to squeeze at the top, and get a good stretch at the
bottom.
After those three sets, cut the weight almost in half (remove
one or two plates from each side) and do one more set with a slow
tempo. Again, use a full ROM, squeeze hard at the top for a
2-count, and pause for a 2-count at the bottom in a deep
stretch.


A good block for calf raises allows a complete stretch at the
bottom.
You'll probably get close to the same number of reps on this set
as the others; even though the weight is much lighter, you are
already tired. The slower tempo and emphasized squeezing makes it
even harder.
When you've finished those killer sets, you're going to do an
extreme calf stretch, "DC-style." I like to use the leg press (in
calf raise position) with around 180 pounds, the super squat
machine, or a basic seated position with the toes
elevated.
Hold the stretch for 45-60 seconds, but the last 30 seconds
should be pretty painful. There's a lot of tendinous tissue in the
calf area, and I believe that it's possible that the surrounding
connective tissue could hold back the overall size of the calf. We
want to stretch that out as much as possible.

Workout Two
On Wednesday, it's the seated calf raise for a bit more emphasis
on the soleus. I know the soleus is more slow twitch and the
gastroc is more fast twitch, but I think you need to hammer both of
them with pretty high reps and a good amount of
weight.
Most people use about half of their Smith machine weight on the
seated calf raise, but choose a weight that's good for you, it
might be less if you don't do seated raises very
often.
The sets and reps are the same as in Workout One: three sets
with the same weight, going heavy but still getting the full ROM,
followed by one back-down set with about the half the original
weight. Go slow with a pause at the top and bottom, and really
squeeze it. Finish with another 45-60 second extreme
stretch.


Getting to know your posterior lower leg.



Workout Three

On Friday, it's a little different. If you thought the first two
days were tough, you're going to love this... and by love, I mean
hate, fear, and cry afterwards. I call this exercise Carl's calf
raise because that's the name of the guy who showed it to me (and
he's got those spectacular calves I'm looking for).
We'll use the standing calf machine. Start off lighter than
normal, with 50-75% of what you'd use for a standard set of 15. The
plan is to do one rep with a squeeze at the top, and then get into
the bottom position, still supporting the weight, and stretch for
about 10 seconds. Then do another rep, and repeat the stretch, for
12-15 reps total.
One trick I use to make it a bit easier is to look at a
clock with a second hand during my set. Just as the second hand is
on the 12, I do one rep and then get into the bottom position.
Every time the second hand completes 10 seconds (on the 2, the 4,
the 6, etc.), I do another rep.
A single set lasts two minutes long, but that last minute is a
bitch. Just to be clear you're "resting" in the bottom position,
but the weight is still fully supported by you, not the machine.
You're under continuous tension for two minutes.
Do this for two or three sets. There is no back-down set on this
exercise. The exercise itself incorporates an extreme stretch, but
follow it up with the usual intense stretch at the end, just like
the other workouts.


Standing calf raise, near bottom



Standing calf raise, on the way up.

Charting Your Progress
Each week, you need to make the workouts harder, with the possible exception of Carl's calf raises, which can be
bumped up every other week or every month. For the Smith machine
calf raise, increase the weight by 5-10 pounds per week, every
week. With the seated calf raise, increase the weight 2.5-5 pounds
per week. And on Carl's calf raise, go up one machine plate, or
about 10-20 pounds, every two to four weeks.
Try not to skip a workout during this program. If you do, add
the exercise you missed to your next workout. So if you punked out
of training on Monday, it's Smith machine raises and seated
raises on Wednesday. After you've finished six to eight weeks of
this plan, take two full weeks off.
When you come back, use the same weight you were using on your
last week of the program. Occasionally, you can intentionally detrain the calves and this forces them to
respond again, and yields better overall results.
The first week back will be hard and you may get sore, but
that's good, we want to fatigue the muscle. Go through it
for another six or eight weeks, and then take time off again.
You'll get better results with the time off, rather than staying on
the program without any time off.
You might notice that there are no specific tibialis anterior
exercises. I see that muscle as separate from the calf, and I'm
thinking plantar flexors when I hear that term. But I have no
problem with you training the tibialis, if you want to. The same
ideas of using higher reps, and gradually increasing the weight,
can work there as well.


Wrap-up
There's not much variety in this program, but that's okay. I
believe that the more distal muscles (forearms and calves) really
don't need much variety, just consistent training and progressive
overload. If you vary things too much, it becomes difficult to use
comparable loads. Remember: variation, while it can be good, is the
enemy of progressive overload.
I suggest you measure your calves at the beginning of this
program, and then every month (or even every week). Measure them
both standing and seated to see any changes. Don't expect miracles,
but 1/8 of an inch here and 1/8 there will add up over time. I've
added 3/4 of an inch on my calves, in both measurements, in three
months of training.
Give it a solid two or three months and watch what happens. Make
sure you post your results, good or bad. Hopefully, one day we'll
know what the absolute, perfect calf routine is. Until then, give
this one a try.

About the Author

Tim Henriques is the Director of the National Personal Training
Institute of VA. NPTI is a 500-hour, 6-12 month long school for
personal trainers. He has been devoted to fitness for the past 15
years. In college, he was a collegiate All-American Powerlifter, he
has competed in several local strongman and arm wrestling events,
and he currently holds the USAPL VA state record for the deadlift
of 700 lbs at 198.

He attended James Madison University where he got his degree in
Kinesiology with minors in psychology and coaching. He is lifetime
drug free. He can be reached via email: NPTITim@aol.com.



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