Many exercise enthusiasts might ignore training calves to put more time and energy into training arms, chest or quads. The calves are comprised of two muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus. The soleus muscle lies underneath the gastrocnemius and is design for long-distance training and exercise. The gastrocnemius is the larger of the two muscles and the one seen when you walk.
Step 1
Place the balls of your feet on a platform or block, and lower your heel off the edge to perform standing calf raises. Keep your feet together, or stand with your feet hip width apart. With a weight load resting on your shoulders or holding dumbbells, raise your heels up and stand on the balls of your feet, flexing your calves.
Step 2
Slide your hips and lower back underneath the pad of the donkey calf machine. Use your forearms for support on the front pad or handles. With your heels hanging off the platform, raise yourself on the balls of your feet. Keep your legs straight with a very slight bend in your knees to maximize contraction at the top of the movement. The donkey calf raise machine places the weight load directly on your calves by placing the weight on your hips.
Step 3
Sit on the seated calf raise apparatus with with your knees under the knee pad, and place the balls of your feet on the platform. Release the weight by raising your heels up and pushing the weight upward. Lower your heels to the starting position, and lift your heels upward again. Seated calf raises train the muscle underneath your gastrocnemius called the soleus. Your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, which takes out the performance of your gastrocnemius muscle and stresses your soleus.
Step 4
Point your toes in and out with each exercise. There is debate about whether this is an effective method of calf training. According to www.exrx.net, the toes-in position seems to activate both heads of the gastrocnemius. This puts more emphasis on developing the muscles than keeping toes pointed straight ahead. Toes pointing outward seems to limit activation of muscle fibers to only the inside head of the gastrocnemius.
Step 5
Exercise your calves using 20-second Tabata intervals. This training method originated from Dr. Izmui Tabata. In his study on high-intensity training intervals, Tabata found that anaerobic and aerobic training systems improved because this style of training taxed both energy systems. A Tabata consists of 20-second intervals of exercise with a 10-second rest period for eight rounds. Your effort level needs to be 100 percent to be truly effective. Because of the high-intensity nature of this training method, don’t perform Tabata intervals for calves more than twice per week.
Tips and Warnings
- Calves are a small muscle group and can easily become over-trained. For people with stubborn calves, you still need rest days. Train your calves no more than twice per week to maximize your gains. Use a weight you can handle for 12 repetitions during the 20-second Tabata intervals. The first time you use this training method, your reps might decrease with each interval. Lower the weight to maintain 12 repetitions.
References
- ExRx.net: Exercise Prescription
- Tabata: Tabata Protocol
- "Effects of moderate-intensity endurance"; I. Tabata et al.; Med Sci Sports Exerc; Oct 1996
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