It’s time to train calves! This has been a fun area for me because when I started training four years ago, I had very little development in my calves. Now, I get excited because when posing I can actually see my gastrocnemius from the front. I still train my calves two to three days a week because I still would like to see them with a little more size!
Calf development is important to bring overall balance to your legs. You can train calves on quad day, with hamstrings or even train them solo. I add them into my leg training days. I like supersetting my calves to really get a good pump and definitely feel the burn. For a lot of people, this is a very hard muscle group to develop. I have actually had trainers tell me it isn’t possible to make your calves grow. This is a big myth! I am living proof that with consistency and hard training, you can grow and develop your calves! Here’s my routine, try it out!
HEATHER’S CALF WORKOUT
Standing Calf Raises:
4 sets/reps 20, 18, 15, 20
- Keep feet parallel
- Extend up onto the ball of your foot keeping your knees slightly bent
- Do not bend, straighten legs, hold form under control
SUPERSET with
Seated Calf Raises:
4 sets/reps 15, 12, 10, 15
- Slight bend in the knee
- Slow reps
- 2 counts up, 3 counts down
- Don’t turn this into a quad workout, feel your calves burn
Seated Calf Press:
4 sets/reps 15, 12, 10, 15
- Seated with knees bent at 90 degrees
- Slowly raise up onto big toes, lower weight getting full extension of ankle
- 2 counts up, 3 counts down
