When beginner bodybuilders enter the gym, their mental training map usually starts with the bench press. After that, it's straight to the dumbbell rack for biceps curls. From there, they may emulate the training of others in the gym, or bounce around machines looking for something that tickles their fancy. The more they read muscle magazines and check out the bodybuilding message boards, the more aware they become of the importance of other movements. They start to add exercises for back, shoulders, thighs, and eventually calves. However, the calves remain one of the least trained body parts for most beginner and intermediate bodybuilders.

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We all want great calf muscles, but nature if very often kinder to some of us than others, right? Many times we have seen athletes at the top level of professional bodybuilding, with contest-ready 22-inch biceps and thighs that make the ground shake when they walk – all stacked upon a pair of funny looking twig calves which are dwarfed by the untrained calves of those in the audience. It’s a cruel irony of life that the athletes blessed with the best muscle building genetics and widest frames on earth also suffer from mortal sub-par calves much of the time, particularly among African-American bodybuilders.

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The calves are loaded with each slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are stimulated by means of using high-repetition, low-weight teaching. Till you obtain previous the 12th repetition, these fibers stay dormant, untrained, and for that reason incapable of development. Fast-twitch fibers (these most educated by bodybuilders and powerlifters) are utilised in the course of extremely major sets (80% or previously mentioned 1-rep highest) are educated mostly in the course of low-rep sets. In the event you train employing below ten repetitions, you might be hitting the fast-twitch fibers. Should you train utilizing above ten reps, you might be hitting the slow-twitch fibers. Each varieties of instruction are necessary to simulate each varieties of muscle fibers, and produce essentially the most prospective for development within the muscle group.

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The calves are loaded with each slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are stimulated by means of using high-repetition, low-weight training. Until you obtain previous the 12th repetition, these fibers remain dormant, untrained, and consequently incapable of development. Fast-twitch fibers (these most trained by bodybuilders and powerlifters) are used in the course of very major sets (80% or over 1-rep optimum) are skilled largely throughout low-rep sets. In case you train using underneath 10 repetitions, you are hitting the fast-twitch fibers. Should you train using more than 10 reps, you're hitting the slow-twitch fibers. Both kinds of coaching are needed to simulate each kinds of muscle fibers, and generate essentially the most possible for growth in the muscle group.

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Calf training is tough, no doubt about it. Compare it to training you utilize for body parts such as chest or biceps. When it comes to those areas, you can clearly see the muscle group being stimulated. Motivation is always there because people who take interest in your training or physique will often ask to see these body parts. And since they’re visible in just about any mirror you walk past or photograph you take, you are constantly reminded of them.

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For some body parts, improvements come easy. You can train the neck for a month with simple hand exercises and add an inch to its girth. If you’ve never squatted before, doing so for six weeks will add 10 pounds to your frame, without blinking. Calves, on the other hand, are another story. You can push them as much as you want, as frequently as you wish, and they still might not grow. It takes a special combination of heavy weights and high repetitions to make the calves grow.

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Calves are one of those body parts that just seem to refuse to grow for some bodybuilders. Perhaps genetics is the cause. Maybe the muscle group didn’t receive enough training attention during our formative growing years in the gym. Nothing is more effective for long-term muscle size than those first few years of beginners’ gains. Perhaps we possess a tendency to rush through our calf training and never give them the devotion (translation: number of sets) that they require for growth. Whatever the reason, that is in the past. It’s ancient history. From this point forward, we’re going to interject a new training method into our calf training which just may kick our growth into gear. This method, of course, is called high frequency calf training.

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Every bodybuilder worth his salt has a decently developed set of calves. Even those bodybuilder who began their careers with genetically poor calf development – such as IFBB Professionals Ronnie Coleman and Dexter Jackson – managed to rise to the top of their sport and win Mr. Olympia titles though years of heavy and intelligent calf training. The sad truth is that many of the bodybuilders you encounter in the gym won’t have underdeveloped calves because of their genetics. More times than not, it’s because they don’t dedicate the time required to actually grow them. They will opt for four quick sets of calf raises at the conclusion of their quadriceps/hamstrings workout, and then call it a day. It’s a habit shared by millions of bodybuilders around the country, and it hurts them in several ways. First and most obviously, if and when they ever choose to grace a bodybuilding stage, the calves will be an area they will have to hide from the judges. Second, and more likely as 99% of bodybuilder will never grace a stage, is the possibility that they will look less than they could look in normal street clothes, since the calves are one area which is displayed just about any time they wear shorts.

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Let’s face it, the calves are some of the hardest body parts to develop. We try everything – bulking, leaning, cardio, heavy weights, light weights, stretching, and just about every other trick in the book. The result is that we are able to add a quarter inch to our lower legs each year, if we are lucky. Calves are a painful body part to train due to quick lactic acid buildup, and they never respond like other body parts. What are the calves so tough to grow? What is the trick?

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Have you been cursed with genetically poor calves? Or, do you have the stomach to admit that you didn’t train them with the utmost intensity and attention during your earlier training days? Whatever the reason, today your calves are nothing to be proud of. You’ve developed a nice upper body, a set of washboard abdominals, and some thighs that really do chafe when you walk. However, after the hundreds or even thousands of times you have stepped foot in the gym, your calves still look untrained.

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