Building the calves is a scary task for many people. If you have small calves and are looking to build them strong, here are all the important tips and tricks to start now the smart way.
Calf exercises are the body building exercises that many people tend to throw in at the end of a workout or do the exercise once in a while which indeed is incorrect. The calf muscles need proper exercises performed in the right manner to develop. Your calf muscles are no different than any other part of your physique which need proper attention. There is undeniably lot that you can do with various calf exercises and improve them.
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Time required: 30 – 45 minutes
Instructions:
Create a schedule:
The very first thing one needs to keep in mind while starting with the calf exercises is you need to create the schedule. Without proper schedule in mind and strong determination you can’t succeed in doing the calf exercises the proper way.
Stretch:
The most important step involved here is the resistance training workout with adequate stretching of the muscles. This directly helps prevent injury and prepare the calf muscles for intense blood flow. Periodically stretch between sets of exercises to maintain elasticity and train muscles for further exercises. Stand about a foot away from a wall and extend one leg behind, keep both feet flat on the ground, then lean forward to the wall stretching the calf on the extended leg. Also, you can sit with your legs straight out in front and hold the arches of your feet.
Warm up with the body weight:
After stretching, the calf muscles can be stimulated by standing on the toes repeatedly to the maximum height. Doing this on the edge of a stair/step can help increase the possible range of motion on the lower end, this would be a good warm-up.
Standing calf raises with weight:
Keeping the knees slightly bent and feet shoulder width apart, hold the barbell/dumbbells to carry weight on the shoulders. Do as many as 100 calf raises, with periodical breaks in between (not long ones) in case there is intense pain.
Increase weight:
Once the calf muscle are stimulated and pumped, you can start with lifting the heavy weights. After doing 100 reps at a relatively light weight, rest for several minutes and then repeat the standing/sitting calf raises with a weight heavy enough that you can only barely do 15 repetitions.
Donkey calf raises:
Between the sets, take a few minutes rest. You can alternatively do donkey calf raises which is an exercise performed by wearing a medicine ball or other weight on the buttocks. Raise the calf while leaning the upper body on a wall or other support with relatively less weight and more repetitions helps complete the exercise the right way.
Quick tips:
• Exhale on each weightlifting exertion to help prevent strain and continue exhaling for the full range of motion.
• Use as much weight as possible for the stimulation of calf muscle growth.
• Experienced weight trainers can go up to a weight that produces failure at six reps.
• Calf muscles probably won’t grow unless they’re trained intensely over a period of weeks.
• Muscle soreness is probably inevitable and this can make walking painful or awkward during these periods. While soreness is normal, muscle tears and strains are not. Consult a doctor if leg functionality is impaired or stabbing pain persists.
Things to watch out for:
• Go for a slow tempo, heavy weights, lower repetitions and hold the position for longer period of time.
• Full range of motion is important while performing the stretching exercises for calves
• Do not bend your knees while performing the straight calf exercises
• Keep breathing-in slowly while holding a position and breath-out slowly while coming back to the starting position
• While stretching, keep breathing slowly and focus on relaxing.