Basic Guidelines for Calf Workouts

The calves are perhaps the muscles that are most difficult to develop. Much of your success can depend on the length of your calves because there are just some people who were naturally born with small calves. Nevertheless, there are ways for you to develop even the smallest of calf muscles. You just have to be prepared to do a lot of intense calf workouts in order to achieve your exercise goals.

The reason why calf workouts have to be really intense is that your calves are constantly in use. In fact, every time you are on your feet, whether you're running or simply standing still, you are still using your calf muscles. These muscles are therefore used to stress and pressure, so if you want to develop them further, you'll have to subject them to the kind of work that they haven't yet adapted to.

The good thing is that calf muscles recover from intense exercises very quickly, which means that you can do your workouts more often than other types of routine. Performing the workouts more often will help ensure that you get the results you expect. There are several ways to develop your calves, and you can choose to perform light, medium, or heavy calf workouts depending on your preference or your exercise goals.

Example Workouts

Light workouts may involve two sets each of standing calf raises, seated calf raises, and toes raises. Each exercise set should be done in 25 repetitions. Medium routines include three sets each of standing and seated calf raises as well as two sets of toes raises. These exercises should also be done in 25 repetitions. Heavy sessions require four sets each of standing and seated calf raises as well as three sets of toes raises. The exercises in this case should be done in 15 repetitions.

The workout sets outlined above are best done right after doing your quads and hamstrings workouts. The value of doing both standing and seated calf raises lies in the fact that it is essential to work both the outer and inner part of your calves in order to develop them fully. The toes raises will help you avoid shin splints because it helps strengthen the muscles on the front part of your lower legs.

Whereas other workout routines require low-intensity, high-rep sets or vice versa, calf workouts require you to perform high-intensity, high-rep exercise sets as much as possible. Proper stretching techniques are also very important in performing them. Stretching helps lengthen your calves, thus promoting more muscle growth. In performing your exercises, be careful to contract your muscles hard at the top of each repetition and then stretch equally hard at the bottom.

Because your calves recover quickly from these intense exercises, you may also do extra workouts on days when you are scheduled to have your regular weight training routine. You could also building them by incorporating some sprinting or running into your regular cardio workout. And don't get frustrated if your calves don't develop as quickly as you expect; just keep working on those muscles and you will soon reap the benefits of your hard work.


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