The Old-School Calf Blast:
6 Workouts in 2 Weeks
by Ellington Darden, Ph.D.
Chris Dickerson, who won the 1970 AAU Mr. America and the 1982 Mr. Olympia, had the best calves I've ever seen on a bodybuilder. Much of Dickerson's calf WIDTH was a result of the inherited LENGTH he possessed in his gastrocnemius
and soleus muscles.
Editor's note: Ellington is back! This time it's a routine for lagging lower legs. Believe me, these workouts — in a similar fashion to those involved in his bigger-arms challenge — are going to get your attention.
Ellington tells me that over the last 50 years, he's collected scores of unique, result-producing cycles for every body part. Hey, if he's got the inclination, we've got the time, right? Let's continue to give him our best effort, combined with meaningful feedback.
Forget the typical 3 sets of 12 reps on the standing calf raise.
Forget the seated heel raise. Forget the donkey calf exercise. Forget anything STANDARD you've heard about working your calves.
Think unique. Think dynamic. Think old school.
Get ready to learn about the most productive calf routine that I've ever applied. Most of this old-school cycle was the creation of Jim McLellan of Denver, Colorado . . . and it was published in IronMan magazine in September, 1971.
I used McLellan's routine multiple times in the 1970s and eventually added a few revisions of my own. The end result is a cycle that combines some of the techniques of super sets, rest-pause, burns, and the negative-accentuated style.
If you have stubborn calves, calves that refuse to grow . . . then, you're at the right station. This two-week routine penetrates to your deepest contractile tissues, engorges, inflames, stimulates, and generates overcompensation and greater size.
Soreness? Yeah . . . deep, as well as surface . . . especially during the first week. But the soreness dissipates during Week 2.
Equipment: A standing calf-raise machine, or something similar, such as a barbell inside a power rack. If the calf machine or power-rack assembly doesn't incorporate a high ledge to stand on to perform the calf raises, you'll need a 4-inch block of wood secured to a larger board to prevent it from tipping or turning, along with rubber-soled shoes.
Trying to rig up something with a barbell, dumbbell, and a thick phone book or a 2 x 6-inch board to stand on WON'T WORK. You must be able to balance yourself securely during the many phases of this extended calf set. You absolutely must have access to a standing calf raise machine, or a power rack combined with a barbell and a stable block of wood.
Below is a description of the movements that make up Weeks 1 and 2. The directions may seem complex. Read them several times carefully until you understand the details.
WEEK 1
The first seven guidelines relate to ONE extended set of calf raises. Once you start the extended set, you remain in the machine for 3-4 minutes.
• Select a resistance that permits 15 full-range repetitions on the standing calf raise. (I suggest that you select approximately 20-percent less resistance than you normally use.) Position your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other. Do your repetitions in very strict form: up on your toes as high as possible — until the muscle almost cramps — then down slowly into a deep stretch. Keep your knees stiff, but not locked. Do not hurry these movements
. . . focus intensely on each one.
• Stand on one foot, while still in the machine, and lift the other foot and shake it to help relax the calf. Do the same for the other foot. Then, back to the first, and back to the second. The rest-relax cycle involves two quick shakes for each calf, and once you get the hang of it, all the shakes should take only 6 seconds.
• Stand again on both feet and do 8 more repetitions of the calf raise; then another round of rest-relax shakes just like before.
• Do 8 more repetitions and the same shakes.
• Do a final set of 8 repetitions, but NO shakes. Immediately, with no rest, go into the "burns" stage.
• Perform short-range movements, burns, in the contracted position for as long as you can stand it . . . usually 15 to 20 seconds. Then, there's a last phase.
• Go up on both calves and while in the top position, take one foot off the block and slowly lower with the other foot/calf only. This style, up with two limbs and down with one, is called negative-accentuated. Continue for 5 to 10 repetitions of each leg, depending on what you can tolerate. This concludes one extended set, so you can ease out of the machine.
• Sit and massage your extremely pumped calves for exactly 2 minutes. (I've never, in my 50 years of bodybuilding, experienced a pump like this extended set produces.)
• Stand, step up on the stable block of wood, and do the one-legged calf raise in the following manner: Work your smaller calf first. Balance yourself on 1 leg with no resistance other than your body weight. Raise your heel as high as possible. Attempt to go higher by standing on your big toe. Lower your heel slowly to the stretched position. Try to go lower by extending and spreading your toes. Continue for 15 slow, smooth repetitions. Do the same number of repetitions for the other calf.
• Repeat for three, non-consecutive days for Week 1.
REVIEW: The calf cycle consists of 15 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, no shakes; immediately into short-range burns for 15-20 seconds; followed by negative-accentuated, 2-up/1-down for 5-10 reps. Rest and massage calves for 2 minutes. Do the 1-legged calf raise for each leg for 15 reps.
WEEK 2
During Week 2, you'll drop the 1-legged calf raise and add a second set of the 15-8-8-8-burns-negative-accentuated routine. Here are the instructions for Week 2:
• Add 5 percent more resistance to the calf raise machine.
• Stand and do 15 strict reps in the calf raise. Then perform the 2 shakes and 8 reps three times, followed by burns, and negative-accentuated reps.
• Rest and massage your calves for exactly 2 minutes.
• Stand and do the calf cycle a second time, from beginning to end, with the same resistance. It's okay to move a little faster during the second cycle.
• Repeat for three, non-consecutive days for Weeks 2.
Those are the exercise directions for Weeks 1 and 2. Here's what you need to do to sign up for the plan, which begins on June 12th and ends on June 26th. First, however, please read the sidebar below.
Genetics Alert!
Most bodybuilders neglect their calves. By neglect, I mean compared to the intensity, duration, and frequency by which they work their arms, chest, back, midsection, and thighs.
I believe most of this neglect relates back to genetics. People, who are born with long gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, develop large shapely calves just from normal childhood walking and running. On the other hand, people who inherit short gastrocnemius and soleus muscles have skinny lower legs . . . regardless of their exercise habits. Of course, most folks have neither long nor short muscles, but medium or average length contractile tissues.
Now, here's the fascinating connection.
We've all seen in the gym, or in various sports or physical activities, those guys who have huge calves — and never work them. And we've seen those middle-of-the-road bodybuilders, who have descent physiques combined with short muscles in their calves. Try, try, and try . . . such bodybuilders can't get their calves to match their other body parts in size.
Few if any of the people on either end of this scale, nor those observing, recognize the strong genetic connection. Instead, they give credit to a favorite sport, activity, or exercise.
Steve Reeves, 1947 AAU Mr. America, and possessor of some of the best calves ever, stated that his great lower legs were directly related to his preteen and teenage years when his favorite activity was riding his bicycle for miles and miles each day. Bicycling riding, according to Reeves, was the best way to build your calves.
I rode my bicycle almost every day from the third grade through the ninth grade and my calves remained average. They certainly didn't resemble Reeves' calves at age 16. But if you possess long calf muscles, similar to Reeves, bicycling will contribute to building them.
Interestingly, I have a 4-year-old son, Tyler, who has a great set of calves . . . because of long muscles. Tyler inherited them, not from me, but from his mom who has the same type of calves as he does. Larah, our 8-month-old daughter also has the same length to her calves as Tyler. In fact, I could tell that both of them had this characteristic when they were approximately 1-month old.
A visual comparison of SHORT and LONG calf muscles: The gastronemius muscle on the right is 50-percent longer than the one on the left. As a result of the 50-percent greater length, the muscle on the right is more than three times the volume of the muscle on the left.
Understanding genetics and the length of your muscles forces you to be realistic about your expectations.
But realistic or not, you can still increase the size of whatever length of muscles you have in your calves . . . with the Old-School Calf Blast.
MAKE A COMMITMENT
I believe you'll find most of the participants in the Bigger-Arms Challenge, which finished on May 22nd, profited by progressing through the two-week plan in unison. Generally, the participants trained on the same days and were able to motivate and help one another. I'm asking T-Nation members, who want to go through the Calf Blast, to do the same by taking the following steps:
1. Post a message at the end of this article and state your intention. Also, let me know your age, height, and weight.
2. Agree to train your calves, according to the outlined instructions, six times (MWF/MWF) over two weeks.
3. Take a careful set of BEFORE measurements on your calves, in the following manner: Locate a thin plastic tape. Do the measurements before your workout, with your calves normal and unpumped. Stand, bend over, and wrap the tape around the largest part of your left calf. Keep your calf relaxed. Do not contract the muscle. Make sure the tape is parallel with the floor and pull the tape taut. Record the measurement to the nearest one-sixteenth of an inch. Measure the right calf in the same way.
4. Note: It's NOT a requirement to take BEFORE and AFTER photos of your calves. If you decide to, however, here's the method to apply: It's difficult to snap meaningful pictures of your own calves. Have a friend with a digital camera take the shots for you. A low camera position is best. Have your friend lie face down on the floor with the camera about 6 inches off the floor. Stand 10 feet in front of the camera and have the friend fill the viewfinder, from your knees to your toes, with your calves: first from the front and then from the back. Your feet should be parallel to each other, about 6 inches apart, and your lower legs relaxed.
5. Begin your initial workout on Monday, June 12, 2006. You could also start on the next day. Train three, non-consecutive days over Week 1 and three, non-consecutive days during Week 2.
6. IMPORTANT: Add six non-calf exercises after the calf cycle to complete a whole-body routine. I suggest one thigh exercise (squat, leg press, leg extension, or leg curl) and five upper-body exercises, such as the overhead press, bent-over rowing, bench press, curl, and trunk curl. Perform one set of 8-12 reps and increase the resistance when you can achieve 12 or more repetitions on any of these six movements.
7. Understand that, for the first week, this Calf Blast cycle is going to make your calves very sore. Stretch your lower legs slowly on your off days, stay well hydrated, and work through it.
8. Avoid taking anti-inflammatory medications (such as aspirin, Advil, and Aleve) to relieve some of your calf soreness. The soreness is a necessary part of the muscular-growth process. Welcome it as vital.
9. Limit your strenuous activity on your off-days. Also, get more rest and sleep, if possible.
10. Eat nutritiously and don't skimp on calories
11. Use creatine monohydrate (I like Biotest's micronized version combined with Surge) according to directions on the label for two weeks.
12. Complete your sixth and last calf-training session on June 23rd. Rest over the next two days. On the morning of June 26th, re-measure your relaxed right and left calves and record each one to the nearest one-sixteenth of an inch.
13. Post your BEFORE and AFTER measurements in the appropriate thread at T-Nation.
At 21 years of age and a body weight of 203 pounds, Steve Reeves won the 1947 Mr. America. His calves, upper arms, and neck all measured 17-1/4 inches — which in the Golden Age was considered ideal symmetry. Reeves was one of the few Mr. Americas, who had calves the same size as the upper arms. Hey, that's a pretty-good goal for most of us — right?
AFTER TWO WEEKS: WHAT TO EXPECT
I'm not making any Ellington-to-Arnold promises on the Calf Blast as I did on the previous Bigger-Arms Challenge. But I will tell you that I've trained quite a few guys who added from 1/4-1/2 inch on each calf, as a result of six brief workouts in two weeks.
If you work hard, I believe you'll be pleased with the results.
Also, I'll be putting my Jackson, Tennessee, trainee — Gregg Downing — through the Calf-Blast cycles, and I'll let you know about his progress.
Welcome to the Old-School Calf Blast. The class is about to begin
6 Workouts in 2 Weeks
by Ellington Darden, Ph.D.
Chris Dickerson, who won the 1970 AAU Mr. America and the 1982 Mr. Olympia, had the best calves I've ever seen on a bodybuilder. Much of Dickerson's calf WIDTH was a result of the inherited LENGTH he possessed in his gastrocnemius
and soleus muscles.
Editor's note: Ellington is back! This time it's a routine for lagging lower legs. Believe me, these workouts — in a similar fashion to those involved in his bigger-arms challenge — are going to get your attention.
Ellington tells me that over the last 50 years, he's collected scores of unique, result-producing cycles for every body part. Hey, if he's got the inclination, we've got the time, right? Let's continue to give him our best effort, combined with meaningful feedback.
Forget the typical 3 sets of 12 reps on the standing calf raise.
Forget the seated heel raise. Forget the donkey calf exercise. Forget anything STANDARD you've heard about working your calves.
Think unique. Think dynamic. Think old school.
Get ready to learn about the most productive calf routine that I've ever applied. Most of this old-school cycle was the creation of Jim McLellan of Denver, Colorado . . . and it was published in IronMan magazine in September, 1971.
I used McLellan's routine multiple times in the 1970s and eventually added a few revisions of my own. The end result is a cycle that combines some of the techniques of super sets, rest-pause, burns, and the negative-accentuated style.
If you have stubborn calves, calves that refuse to grow . . . then, you're at the right station. This two-week routine penetrates to your deepest contractile tissues, engorges, inflames, stimulates, and generates overcompensation and greater size.
Soreness? Yeah . . . deep, as well as surface . . . especially during the first week. But the soreness dissipates during Week 2.
Equipment: A standing calf-raise machine, or something similar, such as a barbell inside a power rack. If the calf machine or power-rack assembly doesn't incorporate a high ledge to stand on to perform the calf raises, you'll need a 4-inch block of wood secured to a larger board to prevent it from tipping or turning, along with rubber-soled shoes.
Trying to rig up something with a barbell, dumbbell, and a thick phone book or a 2 x 6-inch board to stand on WON'T WORK. You must be able to balance yourself securely during the many phases of this extended calf set. You absolutely must have access to a standing calf raise machine, or a power rack combined with a barbell and a stable block of wood.
Below is a description of the movements that make up Weeks 1 and 2. The directions may seem complex. Read them several times carefully until you understand the details.
WEEK 1
The first seven guidelines relate to ONE extended set of calf raises. Once you start the extended set, you remain in the machine for 3-4 minutes.
• Select a resistance that permits 15 full-range repetitions on the standing calf raise. (I suggest that you select approximately 20-percent less resistance than you normally use.) Position your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other. Do your repetitions in very strict form: up on your toes as high as possible — until the muscle almost cramps — then down slowly into a deep stretch. Keep your knees stiff, but not locked. Do not hurry these movements
. . . focus intensely on each one.
• Stand on one foot, while still in the machine, and lift the other foot and shake it to help relax the calf. Do the same for the other foot. Then, back to the first, and back to the second. The rest-relax cycle involves two quick shakes for each calf, and once you get the hang of it, all the shakes should take only 6 seconds.
• Stand again on both feet and do 8 more repetitions of the calf raise; then another round of rest-relax shakes just like before.
• Do 8 more repetitions and the same shakes.
• Do a final set of 8 repetitions, but NO shakes. Immediately, with no rest, go into the "burns" stage.
• Perform short-range movements, burns, in the contracted position for as long as you can stand it . . . usually 15 to 20 seconds. Then, there's a last phase.
• Go up on both calves and while in the top position, take one foot off the block and slowly lower with the other foot/calf only. This style, up with two limbs and down with one, is called negative-accentuated. Continue for 5 to 10 repetitions of each leg, depending on what you can tolerate. This concludes one extended set, so you can ease out of the machine.
• Sit and massage your extremely pumped calves for exactly 2 minutes. (I've never, in my 50 years of bodybuilding, experienced a pump like this extended set produces.)
• Stand, step up on the stable block of wood, and do the one-legged calf raise in the following manner: Work your smaller calf first. Balance yourself on 1 leg with no resistance other than your body weight. Raise your heel as high as possible. Attempt to go higher by standing on your big toe. Lower your heel slowly to the stretched position. Try to go lower by extending and spreading your toes. Continue for 15 slow, smooth repetitions. Do the same number of repetitions for the other calf.
• Repeat for three, non-consecutive days for Week 1.
REVIEW: The calf cycle consists of 15 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, 2 shakes; 8 reps, no shakes; immediately into short-range burns for 15-20 seconds; followed by negative-accentuated, 2-up/1-down for 5-10 reps. Rest and massage calves for 2 minutes. Do the 1-legged calf raise for each leg for 15 reps.
WEEK 2
During Week 2, you'll drop the 1-legged calf raise and add a second set of the 15-8-8-8-burns-negative-accentuated routine. Here are the instructions for Week 2:
• Add 5 percent more resistance to the calf raise machine.
• Stand and do 15 strict reps in the calf raise. Then perform the 2 shakes and 8 reps three times, followed by burns, and negative-accentuated reps.
• Rest and massage your calves for exactly 2 minutes.
• Stand and do the calf cycle a second time, from beginning to end, with the same resistance. It's okay to move a little faster during the second cycle.
• Repeat for three, non-consecutive days for Weeks 2.
Those are the exercise directions for Weeks 1 and 2. Here's what you need to do to sign up for the plan, which begins on June 12th and ends on June 26th. First, however, please read the sidebar below.
Genetics Alert!
Most bodybuilders neglect their calves. By neglect, I mean compared to the intensity, duration, and frequency by which they work their arms, chest, back, midsection, and thighs.
I believe most of this neglect relates back to genetics. People, who are born with long gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, develop large shapely calves just from normal childhood walking and running. On the other hand, people who inherit short gastrocnemius and soleus muscles have skinny lower legs . . . regardless of their exercise habits. Of course, most folks have neither long nor short muscles, but medium or average length contractile tissues.
Now, here's the fascinating connection.
We've all seen in the gym, or in various sports or physical activities, those guys who have huge calves — and never work them. And we've seen those middle-of-the-road bodybuilders, who have descent physiques combined with short muscles in their calves. Try, try, and try . . . such bodybuilders can't get their calves to match their other body parts in size.
Few if any of the people on either end of this scale, nor those observing, recognize the strong genetic connection. Instead, they give credit to a favorite sport, activity, or exercise.
Steve Reeves, 1947 AAU Mr. America, and possessor of some of the best calves ever, stated that his great lower legs were directly related to his preteen and teenage years when his favorite activity was riding his bicycle for miles and miles each day. Bicycling riding, according to Reeves, was the best way to build your calves.
I rode my bicycle almost every day from the third grade through the ninth grade and my calves remained average. They certainly didn't resemble Reeves' calves at age 16. But if you possess long calf muscles, similar to Reeves, bicycling will contribute to building them.
Interestingly, I have a 4-year-old son, Tyler, who has a great set of calves . . . because of long muscles. Tyler inherited them, not from me, but from his mom who has the same type of calves as he does. Larah, our 8-month-old daughter also has the same length to her calves as Tyler. In fact, I could tell that both of them had this characteristic when they were approximately 1-month old.
A visual comparison of SHORT and LONG calf muscles: The gastronemius muscle on the right is 50-percent longer than the one on the left. As a result of the 50-percent greater length, the muscle on the right is more than three times the volume of the muscle on the left.
Understanding genetics and the length of your muscles forces you to be realistic about your expectations.
But realistic or not, you can still increase the size of whatever length of muscles you have in your calves . . . with the Old-School Calf Blast.
MAKE A COMMITMENT
I believe you'll find most of the participants in the Bigger-Arms Challenge, which finished on May 22nd, profited by progressing through the two-week plan in unison. Generally, the participants trained on the same days and were able to motivate and help one another. I'm asking T-Nation members, who want to go through the Calf Blast, to do the same by taking the following steps:
1. Post a message at the end of this article and state your intention. Also, let me know your age, height, and weight.
2. Agree to train your calves, according to the outlined instructions, six times (MWF/MWF) over two weeks.
3. Take a careful set of BEFORE measurements on your calves, in the following manner: Locate a thin plastic tape. Do the measurements before your workout, with your calves normal and unpumped. Stand, bend over, and wrap the tape around the largest part of your left calf. Keep your calf relaxed. Do not contract the muscle. Make sure the tape is parallel with the floor and pull the tape taut. Record the measurement to the nearest one-sixteenth of an inch. Measure the right calf in the same way.
4. Note: It's NOT a requirement to take BEFORE and AFTER photos of your calves. If you decide to, however, here's the method to apply: It's difficult to snap meaningful pictures of your own calves. Have a friend with a digital camera take the shots for you. A low camera position is best. Have your friend lie face down on the floor with the camera about 6 inches off the floor. Stand 10 feet in front of the camera and have the friend fill the viewfinder, from your knees to your toes, with your calves: first from the front and then from the back. Your feet should be parallel to each other, about 6 inches apart, and your lower legs relaxed.
5. Begin your initial workout on Monday, June 12, 2006. You could also start on the next day. Train three, non-consecutive days over Week 1 and three, non-consecutive days during Week 2.
6. IMPORTANT: Add six non-calf exercises after the calf cycle to complete a whole-body routine. I suggest one thigh exercise (squat, leg press, leg extension, or leg curl) and five upper-body exercises, such as the overhead press, bent-over rowing, bench press, curl, and trunk curl. Perform one set of 8-12 reps and increase the resistance when you can achieve 12 or more repetitions on any of these six movements.
7. Understand that, for the first week, this Calf Blast cycle is going to make your calves very sore. Stretch your lower legs slowly on your off days, stay well hydrated, and work through it.
8. Avoid taking anti-inflammatory medications (such as aspirin, Advil, and Aleve) to relieve some of your calf soreness. The soreness is a necessary part of the muscular-growth process. Welcome it as vital.
9. Limit your strenuous activity on your off-days. Also, get more rest and sleep, if possible.
10. Eat nutritiously and don't skimp on calories
11. Use creatine monohydrate (I like Biotest's micronized version combined with Surge) according to directions on the label for two weeks.
12. Complete your sixth and last calf-training session on June 23rd. Rest over the next two days. On the morning of June 26th, re-measure your relaxed right and left calves and record each one to the nearest one-sixteenth of an inch.
13. Post your BEFORE and AFTER measurements in the appropriate thread at T-Nation.
At 21 years of age and a body weight of 203 pounds, Steve Reeves won the 1947 Mr. America. His calves, upper arms, and neck all measured 17-1/4 inches — which in the Golden Age was considered ideal symmetry. Reeves was one of the few Mr. Americas, who had calves the same size as the upper arms. Hey, that's a pretty-good goal for most of us — right?
AFTER TWO WEEKS: WHAT TO EXPECT
I'm not making any Ellington-to-Arnold promises on the Calf Blast as I did on the previous Bigger-Arms Challenge. But I will tell you that I've trained quite a few guys who added from 1/4-1/2 inch on each calf, as a result of six brief workouts in two weeks.
If you work hard, I believe you'll be pleased with the results.
Also, I'll be putting my Jackson, Tennessee, trainee — Gregg Downing — through the Calf-Blast cycles, and I'll let you know about his progress.
Welcome to the Old-School Calf Blast. The class is about to begin
