Calves and forearms- want bigger

[Roush]

I wanna get huge gnarly ripped and veiny calves and fore arms..

Here's what I've got now

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Any suggestions for adding two inches on my calves and 3/4-1 inch on my forearms ?

Thinking of hitting calves three times a week and not just on leg day

 

[tbonexl]

That's all diet/genetic dependant...

 

[halfwit]

You picked two slow twitch muscle groups to improve. I foresee lots of high rep/high volume training in your future if you want them to grow. Being slow twitch also means that they're also the most resistant to hypertrophy.

I do my compound lifts followed by high rep sets to finish these off personally. As tbone mentioned though, a lot of it will be determined by genetics.

 

[Roush]

Yeah I figured as much. .. Calves are probably the most worked muscle in the body,, since starting walking at age 1.. I'm guessing growth will be slow and over a very long time,, lots of volume, also why I'm thinking 3 days a week.

As for forearms,, I've never trained them, maybe they will respond well being I never have..
I don't have good grip strength though due to blown tendons in my right hand , and I have to always use grips when training on all pull exercises ..
I'll have to find some Ben Pakulski fore arm training vids I suppose

 

[anzel]

Its hard to exactly tell in the pics but it appears you have some exceptional growth on those calves for having a small frame ie your ankles look skinny. But like I said, may just be how the pic is.
I have been training my calves 3-4 days a week and only lay off when they feel tired or tendons get sore and I have very little growth for after a whole year of training like this. My calves are my nemesis.

 

[Roush]

Its hard to exactly tell in the pics but it appears you have some exceptional growth on those calves for having a small frame ie your ankles look skinny. But like I said, may just be how the pic is.
I have been training my calves 3-4 days a week and only lay off when they feel tired or tendons get sore and I have very little growth for after a whole year of training like this. My calves are my nemesis.

I'm a small boned ectomorph .. 29 inch waste, small wrists and ankles.. I was a runner and cyclist so maybe the apparent size was from that.. But I wanna add mass and more thickness to them,, training like a body builder, not a skinny endurance guy like I did before..

My calves have stayed similar in size since starting gear .. Yet. My delts and traps and lats have grown (heck even my ass)... But my calves, though decent, don't seem to respond to gear like other muscles.
I wanna add thick mass, not just aesthetics.


But it's prob cause what halfwhit said

 

[Roush]

Just measured just now for grins --
Calves are 16"
My ankles are 8.25"
My wrists are 7.25"

Again I'm small boned

Yet my neck is 17"

I'm a smaller guy.. Figure that one out.. Have a neck like a big guy and bones like a little guy,, guess that helps make my calves look bigger then they are,, still want to bulk them up though

 

[Southernfish]

Just measured just now for grins --
Calves are 16"
My ankles are 8.25"
My wrists are 7.25"

Again I'm small boned

Yet my neck is 17"

I'm a smaller guy.. Figure that one out.. Have a neck like a big guy and bones like a little guy,, guess that helps make my calves look bigger then they are,, still want to bulk them up though

Other than wrist curls (which I find wreak havoc on the wrists themselves) the other other thing is to train without ever using straps and build them up that way. That has draw backs too though such as , on back day for example, using too much grip strength to pull weight instead of the back muscles themselves.

For calves. Id train them more, once a week isnt enough. EOD is a great way to shock some new growth. And of course always switching up whats your doing. What if find for me at least the best thing to make them grow is to make them burn. Make those lil fuckers burn Roush!!

Seeing as though we were talking about Pakulski the other day he has a ridiculous calve workout that IMO is the most brutal thing ive ever done for calves. Pick a machine, prefferably one where you are seated. Pick a weight (it will most likely be fairly light) Do 10 reps rest 10 secs, do 20 reps rest 20 secs, 30 reps 30 secs, 40 reps. That is it. Do that 3 times the first week. The second week start at 20 reps and work your way up in the same fashion and the third week start at 30 reps and same thing again. That is some serious shit.

 

[Southernfish]

For me man its all high reps with low to no weight (bodyweight). I like to look at it this way and call it bro science or whatever you want but aside from bodybuilders who has the biggest calves? Cyclists....runners.....soccer players etc etc. And what are they doing? Working them over and over and over day in and day out with literally no weight other than their bodyweight. Of course these athletes weight train but Im sure you get what im tryin to say.

And btw you have some pretty gnarly looking forearms and calves as it is.

 

[Roush]

Thanks shredder - all good info there.. Watched a B Pak video on calves,, he was having a guy do weighted calf raises,, then rest for 15 seconds, but the rest wasn't really a rest, he was having him do body weight calf raises.,, doing multiple sets like that, you could tell the guy was really struggling and feeling the burn.. Also pointed out to do a full range of motion with a strong SQUEEZE at the top,, too many guys just pop off a bunch of reps with no squeeze

I think you right about lots and lots of volume and repetitive training to get them stimulated. . Sprinters who run day in and day out have some pretty decent wheels... I think I'll shoot for three days a week and go from there



As for the forearms,, training with a strong grip would be ideal,, but I have flexor tendons blown out on my right hand ,, so I can't make a full fist or grip well,, I have to use grips/straps on every pull exercise I do, , doesn't help with forearms but does help isolate the back.. I think that's prob why I don't have a lot of size on the forearm is because I always use straps

 

[Southernfish]

Thanks shredder - all good info there.. Watched a B Pak video on calves,, he was having a guy do weighted calf raises,, then rest for 15 seconds, but the rest wasn't really a rest, he was having him do body weight calf raises.,, doing multiple sets like that, you could tell the guy was really struggling and feeling the burn.. Also pointed out to do a full range of motion with a strong SQUEEZE at the top,, too many guys just pop off a bunch of reps with no squeeze

I think you right about lots and lots of volume and repetitive training to get them stimulated. . Sprinters who run day in and day out have some pretty decent wheels... I think I'll shoot for three days a week and go from there



As for the forearms,, training with a strong grip would be ideal,, but I have flexor tendons blown out on my right hand ,, so I can't make a full fist or grip well,, I have to use grips/straps on every pull exercise I do, , doesn't help with forearms but does help isolate the back.. I think that's prob why I don't have a lot of size on the forearm is because I always use straps

Ya ive seen that video as well and have actually done that and it works man. Along with the burn I agree 100% anout the squeeze at the top. You want to hit that '2nd stage' of the rep and really squeeze those things. Not many people do that they just bounce up and down with a full stack and get absolutely nowhere.

Ive tried something lately that has worked great for calves, actually its worked great for everything. Do three sets. First set normal with a medium to slow speed. Next set same speed but hold at the top for 2 seconds. Next set same speed but hold at bottom for 2 seconds. This will give you a nice shock. Having the reps start at different points all the time.

Ya im the same as you with back as well. Straps all the time no matter what. Ive still build pretty good forearms though. Genetics maybe? I dont know. Try some hammer curls man thatll add some meat to them for sure!!! Cant believe I forgot that one.

 

[bigben66]

The one tip that's worked a treat for me when training calves, is before I start my set, tilt my ankles inwards. Then when I do my reps, keep this tilt angle and push up through the ball of the big toe, ensuring the foot doesn't lean outwards...

I had to drop my weight considerably at first, but I stuck with it and made small progressive increases using this stricter technique, and I've seen good results in overall mass gain.

Hope this helps!

 

[anzel]

I'm a small boned ectomorph .. 29 inch waste, small wrists and ankles.. I was a runner and cyclist so maybe the apparent size was from that.. But I wanna add mass and more thickness to them,, training like a body builder, not a skinny endurance guy like I did before..

My calves have stayed similar in size since starting gear .. Yet. My delts and traps and lats have grown (heck even my ass)... But my calves, though decent, don't seem to respond to gear like other muscles.
I wanna add thick mass, not just aesthetics.


But it's prob cause what halfwhit said

Same story here. I have small bones and used to do alot of endurance. I used to climb hills on bike like it was a fix I needed, Calves just didnt grow. I have been training calves , like I said already, 3-4 times a week for a little over a year now and I can finally say I see some growth. But very little. Most stubborn SOB's I ever seen.

 

[Roush]

thanks Ben. .. I just picked up this info online as well in regards to pushing up through the ball of the big toe.. Today was arm day but decided to try a few techniques out with calves after the arm workout,, getting up higher up towards that big toe takes a lot less weight to get a burn.!

Using that technique with the pause and hold for seconds and squeeze like shredder mentioned,, there prob no way I'm fully loading up the over head press machine with 14 plates for calf raises next leg day..

Good stuff guys, thanks,, I'm just now into my current cycle and will concentrate and implement these things for calves hoping to stimulate some growth..

I'll post some update pics mid cycle , see if things are working.


As for forearms.. Being I've never trained them,, I'm hoping just by starting to train them I'll at least get some results

 

[Roush]

Same story here. I have small bones and used to do alot of endurance. I used to climb hills on bike like it was a fix I needed, Calves just didnt grow. I have been training calves , like I said already, 3-4 times a week for a little over a year now and I can finally say I see some growth. But very little. Most stubborn SOB's I ever seen.

I think my calves are decent because I developed them at a young age,, running track and being a state champion mountain bike racer (in the most competitive state for mountain biking, CO)..
Riding a bike up,the side of a ski slope for hours on end takes it's toll and calves are definitely needed to push through the bottom of the pedal stroke..

But yeah, like you I'm struggling a bit with the body building aspect of calves.. Gained 40 lbs since starting to run gear,, traps pop out running gear, lats, delts, etc.. All muscle I've never had,, but calves just don't respond to training and gear like other body parts do.. Slow twitch fibers

My goal is to get them to grow on this cycle one way or another

 

[Southernfish]

The one tip that's worked a treat for me when training calves, is before I start my set, tilt my ankles inwards. Then when I do my reps, keep this tilt angle and push up through the ball of the big toe, ensuring the foot doesn't lean outwards...

I had to drop my weight considerably at first, but I stuck with it and made small progressive increases using this stricter technique, and I've seen good results in overall mass gain.

Hope this helps!

Great advice Ben.

 

[bigben66]

I think my calves are decent because I developed them at a young age,, running track and being a state champion mountain bike racer (in the most competitive state for mountain biking, CO)..
Riding a bike up,the side of a ski slope for hours on end takes it's toll and calves are definitely needed to push through the bottom of the pedal stroke..

But yeah, like you I'm struggling a bit with the body building aspect of calves.. Gained 40 lbs since starting to run gear,, traps pop out running gear, lats, delts, etc.. All muscle I've never had,, but calves just don't respond to training and gear like other body parts do.. Slow twitch fibers

My goal is to get them to grow on this cycle one way or another

Just keep it strict, make them f*ckers burn, rest briefly and work 'em again...
Short recovery times and high intensity will result in post-calf DOMS for sure....

Then three days later, smash 'em again!

 

[anzel]

I think my calves are decent because I developed them at a young age,, running track and being a state champion mountain bike racer (in the most competitive state for mountain biking, CO)..
Riding a bike up,the side of a ski slope for hours on end takes it's toll and calves are definitely needed to push through the bottom of the pedal stroke..

But yeah, like you I'm struggling a bit with the body building aspect of calves.. Gained 40 lbs since starting to run gear,, traps pop out running gear, lats, delts, etc.. All muscle I've never had,, but calves just don't respond to training and gear like other body parts do.. Slow twitch fibers

My goal is to get them to grow on this cycle one way or another

I almost moved to CO primarily cause of the great MTB! I just couldn't walk away from my career prospects though so I abandoned that dream...

Im gonna listen to the advice Ben and Shredder gave too and put my best effort forward to get my calves bigger. Im gonna train them at least 3 days a week.

 

[Roush]

Just keep it strict, make them f*ckers burn, rest briefly and work 'em again...
Short recovery times and high intensity will result in post-calf DOMS for sure....

Then three days later, smash 'em again!

You were right on with the DOMS bro.. Holy shit, squeezing hard,, just adding some calves to arm day the other day ,, man .. This is sweet (and painful)

 

[newbull8769]

Those are huge veins.