The calves are a difficult muscle to bulk up. No one is really sure why, but there are a lot of techniques that are often overlooked that can help you build them up. If you're having trouble building up your calves then read on.
The first thing you should know about your calves is that they're always under strain. They are constantly used to balance your body and are used to being put under a lot of force and working hard. This is, generally, why normal exercise techniques don't work on them. This means you'll need to do high volume workouts to make them bigger. Another thing to note is that there are actually three muscles groups in your calves and you'll need to work all three of them to see maximum results.
By high volume I mean you should work your calves out every day that you go to the gym and that you should use 3-5 sets consisting of 10-15 reps. This seems excessively high, but you have to realize that your calves have amazing muscular endurance and that it'll be very difficult to work them otherwise.
For the main part of your calf, I recommend calf extensions. You can do them on a machine - just google the exercise. The main problem with this exercise, at least on some machines, is that some give room to bend your knees. You need to make sure your knee is very close to being locked [although not actually locked] when you do these exercises. Only move your feet - do not move your entire leg.
There is another part of your calf called the soleus. This is the part on on the side. Building up this muscle will help you make your calves appear wider and larger overall. There's only one exercise that I can recommend for this grip and that's the seated calf raise.
The other part of the calf isn't as important for appearances and it is actually situated in front of your leg, to the side of the shin bone. You can do the same exercises as you normally would, except you push out with your heel instead of your toes. I recommend doing all three of these exercises each time you work out so you can maximize the gains. Good luck!
The first thing you should know about your calves is that they're always under strain. They are constantly used to balance your body and are used to being put under a lot of force and working hard. This is, generally, why normal exercise techniques don't work on them. This means you'll need to do high volume workouts to make them bigger. Another thing to note is that there are actually three muscles groups in your calves and you'll need to work all three of them to see maximum results.
By high volume I mean you should work your calves out every day that you go to the gym and that you should use 3-5 sets consisting of 10-15 reps. This seems excessively high, but you have to realize that your calves have amazing muscular endurance and that it'll be very difficult to work them otherwise.
For the main part of your calf, I recommend calf extensions. You can do them on a machine - just google the exercise. The main problem with this exercise, at least on some machines, is that some give room to bend your knees. You need to make sure your knee is very close to being locked [although not actually locked] when you do these exercises. Only move your feet - do not move your entire leg.
There is another part of your calf called the soleus. This is the part on on the side. Building up this muscle will help you make your calves appear wider and larger overall. There's only one exercise that I can recommend for this grip and that's the seated calf raise.
The other part of the calf isn't as important for appearances and it is actually situated in front of your leg, to the side of the shin bone. You can do the same exercises as you normally would, except you push out with your heel instead of your toes. I recommend doing all three of these exercises each time you work out so you can maximize the gains. Good luck!
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