How are your calves looking? If they are average, then you’re going to score average in shows. If they are good, then it’s very likely you’ll score great in bodybuilding competition. Calves are one of those muscle groups that are hard to develop, but very rewarding once you discover the key to doing so. While great arms and backs come and go in this sport, it is the men with great calves – the Mike Matarazzos and Chris Dickersons of the world – that are referenced decades after their retirement from the bodybuilding stage. Large and well-developed calves are very tough to develop. If you can do it, however, you’ll place yourself among the unique company of individuals who have managed to stand apart from their peers.

Developing calves isn’t rocket science. You have to train hard, and you have to use a lot of sets and weight. That’s nothing new. However, many bodybuilders don’t have a proper mindset as to what hard training or lots of sets and weight actually mean. Let’s check out some keys to calf training success.

You have to train hard. This is rule #1 for good reason. No matter how much weight you’re using for any number of sets, if it is not hard work, then you are not challenging your muscles to work to their potential. Without training to their potential and hitting that failure point, they are not going to grow. After all, they will only grow as big as required to meet the workload they are given. If your calf training is easy, you aren’t going to grow. Tough training means you should be breaking a sweat, and continue sweating, the entire set. You should be exhausted following your set. You should be very sore for 2 to 4 days following your calf workouts. It should be tough to walk. You should feel nauseous during your routine from time to time. At the end of the day, you should fall asleep very quickly; exhausted from the calf workout you just had to endure.

Using a lot of sets means exactly that. You might be used to tacking on four sets of calves to the tail end of your quadriceps and hamstring workout. This is not enough – not even close! You should be training calves alone on their own day, or first on a day with a non-leg muscle group such as shoulders or biceps. You should be using a minimum of 3 exercises for 3 sets, with 4-5 exercises of 4 sets being preferable. In other words, you should be using 15 to 20 sets. This will take about 45 minutes. If you are able to complete your calf training in 15 minutes, you’re shorting yourself about 30 minutes, and about 2 inches of calf mass. Don’t cheat yourself. Give calves their due focus, and train them with a lot of sets.

Finally, you need to train calves very heavily. They are used to carrying your body weight all day, every day. After all, they have been doing this your entire life. With each step you take, each calf moves your entire body weight. You should be moving 200 to 500 pounds with every repetition of every calf movement you undertake.

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