my calves suck

oldschool67

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ok brothers, a few eons back, my calves were vascular, well shaped, but never grew much, shock training, oldschool donkey calves(2 people sitting on my back)..never really grew, but i could raise the whole rack on standing calf raises. genetic? most likely.
 

oldschool67

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footnote- they got very little, if any, training on my ol'reliable 5x5..ran that for quite a while now. opened up my horizons to 5-3-1 currently.
 

Hurt

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Do you have high insertions? If so that is just genetics...but otherwise those suckers CAN grow!

I found that the key to making mine grow was not surprisingly to train them as much if not more than everything else. Many guys say they do, but really they don't...I would do 3 exercises for biceps, 4 exercises for triceps, and then like 4 sets of calf raises - one exercise! ...and I wondered why they wouldn't grow!

Now my calf routine consists of standing raises, donkey raises, raises on the hack sled, and seated raises all for 4-5 working sets each. Sometimes I'll also throw in calf extensions on the leg press machine (usually done as a strip set going to failure each time I drop a plate).

Once I started training like this consistently they grew a lot! Hope this helps!
 

oldschool67

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thank you AA! (and you too pob!) insertions appear 'standard'..maybe some variety and priority training is what the doctor ordered.
 

Spongy

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one of the most overlooked aspects of trying to grow calves is diet. Remember, calves are a muscle just like any other... They require a calorie surplus to grow. I hear people complain about small calves all the time, then when you look at their diet it is apparent that they are not eating to grow. Not saying this is the case with you, just something to keep in mind.
 

DarksideSix

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I think it's partialy genetics too.

I've done martial arts for 28 yrs and all that bouncing around and sparring has my calves on point!
 

oldschool67

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one of the most overlooked aspects of trying to grow calves is diet. Remember, calves are a muscle just like any other... They require a calorie surplus to grow. I hear people complain about small calves all the time, then when you look at their diet it is apparent that they are not eating to grow. Not saying this is the case with you, just something to keep in mind.

i have been, on and off, a gomad freak!(not gonad pob)
 

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