Valentin Bosioc
When it comes to building calves, every lifter heard that one saying: if you don’t have genetics for them, you can’t build them. Either you have them or not!
Well, I beg to differ. I’m convinced that there is a very big amount of bodybuilders who just don’t train the calf muscles as they should. There are a lot of mistakes when it comes to working out the calves, the main reason why I wrote this post is to bring up a top 10 mistakes that are keeping your calves small.
Every trainee I know wants a set of nicely developed calves. There is often a disconnect, however, between wanting good calves and actually sporting them. If you are one of the individuals that have been blessed with great lower leg genetics than heed the following mistake prevention tips closely for optimal calves.
Very few muscle groups can be as stubborn to grow as your calves, and a constant lack of progress might compel you to stop training your lower legs entirely and put your own calves out to pasture. However, before you throw in the towel, you should know that your calf-to-cow trouble could be the result of some easily fixed calf-training mistakes.
READ ALSO: Bigger Calves With 3 Simple Moves
Here is a list of top 10 mistakes that are keeping your calves small:
1.) Doing Calf Exercises At The End Of Your Leg Workout
Much like the rear delts on shoulder day, calves are often neglected—or saved for the last part of a leg workout, when you’re tired and barely able to muster up the energy for a couple of half-assed sets. As you probably already know, muscles can’t grow if they receive subpar training. If you really want to make your calves stand-out, you must start training them the way you train your back or chest: fresh, from every angle, and to complete exhaustion.
If you can start your leg training with calves—and train them with the same intensity as you do your quads and hamstrings—do it. If you’re trying to hit your upper legs super-hard and just don’t have the energy to do the same to your calves on leg day, add an extra calf day into your split or add the work to a different workout. Whatever you choose, the point is to ensure that your calves don’t suffer from lack of attention.
MUST SEE: 3 Exercises Better Than Squats For Your Quads
2.) Training Calves Once a Week.
You often hear about popular training routine splits that have one leg day involving calves a week. This will get uyou no where with calve training and is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Even if you only want to keep one major leg day a week (quads, hamstring, calves) , try adding calves onto other workouts throughout the week so your training calves 2-3 times a week.
3.) Sticking to the 10-15 Rep Range
While this rep range might be effective for most other parts of your body, calves are a bit different. When it comes to training calves you need to look at doing 20+ reps preferably closer to 30. This works for a number of reasons. First, it forces you to use a lighter weight which in turn means better form.
