Calves(the muscle, not the young animal)
March 17th 2007 13:23
Get in touch with your inner ass to build your calves!
The farther a muscle group is from the body's core the denser it is. The forearms and the calves are at the body's extremities and they are designed to endure the almost constant work that hands and feet impose on them. For someone who wants to build either it is necessary to be aware that they heavily participate in the work of the larger muscle groups -quads and upper arms- that lie closer to the body's core. For a new trainer adding a load of work to these muscles on top of their supporting role in the work of others may be overkill. As training progresses,however, it becomes advisable to focus on these smaller, dense muscles. They will be able to take the work.
The calves are the beast of burden of the body, functioning in omnipresent acts like standing and walking. They also are a part of jumping and explosive movements. They are in the spotlight, of course, when the body is raised on the toes. This last movement is the key to training the calves. Training calves is essentially using nuanced movements to enhance the ability of the calves to raise the body on its toes.
Full calf training involves both of the the muscles in that area-the soleus and the gastrocnemius. The soleus runs along the bone and the gastrocnemius sits upon it. When you change the position of the heels from inside to outside you are likely shifting the burden from one to the other. Training is thus an organized attack on both with each getting its own isolation attention.
A simple calf exercise is the calf raise. Most gyms have a machine with a stack on it with arms that sit on the shoulders and a raised podium where the user stands with the balls of the feet on the podium and the heels off. When the user does a toe raise against stack resistance he is working the calf and in my opinion the gactrocnemius in particular. It is intuitive to stand on the machine with feet facing straight forward. However, by rotating the heels in and out emphasis can be shifted to the two different muscles. Careful experiment should yield a combination which works both. Letting the heels descend as far below the level of the balls of the feet is crucial, since stretch is a vital part of calf growth.
The seated calf machine is in my opinion a neglected,but important machine. With the feet straight it is a good soleus muscle trainer. By turning the heels out the machine become a super soleus trainer. I alternate it with the various stand up versions in the gym.
seated calf machine
My joy was considerable when my gym added a donkey calf machine to its arsenal. The donkey calf raise is one in which weight is targeted on the back portion of the hips while the user is bent at the waist with the balls of the feet on a podium and heels off. The weight is thus direct upon the calves as they do their raises and not mediated by the spine. The name comes from the old method of doing this one. You took a training partner and you were the donkey and he/she the rider,who sat on your back as far to the rear as possible. The machine,of course, has all kinds of advantages. You don't have to look for a rider!It is a good calf blaster.
Calf training is simple. Get some standing machine that you like-upright or donkey- and combine it with a seated machine. Learn to position your feet at different angles and concentrate on "hitting" both the muscles. Stretch at the bottom of the raise and push up as hard as you can at the top. Don't be afraid to pile on the weight and the sets. However, trying to walk with very sore calves will require a new skill. Your servant, as always.
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