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If your existing calf routine has "run out of gas" and your calf growth has stopped, then you may need to "kick start" your training to stimulate calf muscle growth. Your calves become used to the same routine over time and will not respond with new muscle growth. This is why you must change things up and give your calves a reason to respond to a new training stimulus. To do this, you need to "kick start" your calf routine by applying these two techniques:
1. Shock your muscles - You need to "shock your muscles" with High Intensity Training techniques such as rest-pause, drop sets, add sets and high repetition sets. The conventional straight sets of 8-20 reps will only take you so far in terms of calf muscle growth. High Intensity Training techniques will completely exhaust both the Type I and Type II muscle fibers in your calves to stimulate new muscle growth.
Don't worry about overtraining your calves by using High Intensity Techniques. Your calves are extremely durable, tough and resilient. They recover very quickly and are hard to overtrain.
High Intensity Training works because the loads and volumes from this type of training apply stresses above what the calves have been accustomed to in the past.
2. Shake Things Up - In addition to applying High Intensity Training techniques to your calf routine, you need to "shake things up" by using different calf raise exercises in your workouts. Many bodybuilders get in the habit of using only one or two calf exercises such as Standing Calf Raise or Seated Calf Raise. The calf muscles become accustomed to the stimulus from using the same machines or exercises all the time. At least once a week, change a calf exercise in your routine. Consider these exercise variations:
Standing Calf Raise Machine - with one calf or two calves
One Leg Standing Calf Raise with Dumbbell
Donkey Calf Raise Machine
Toe Press on a Leg Press machine - with one calf or two calves
Seated Calf Raise Machine - with one calf or two calves
Calf Rock Ups (also called Squatting Calf Raise)
Keep your calves guessing by shaking up your exercises frequently. Consider the above two techniques to "kick start" your calf growth. Your calf training can get into a rut if you don't change things up and constantly apply new stresses to the calves.
For more information on advanced calf training techniques and a FREE REPORT on calf training, visit this site.
About this Author
Jeffry Robinson is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer specializing in muscle building, fat loss and fitness consulting. With over 40 years of bodybuilding experience and his in-depth knowledge of physiology, anatomy and muscle building principles, he has developed new and revolutionary information products for bodybuilders. Bodybuilding articles and free bodybuilding reports can be found at his website at:
http://www.optimummuscledev.com.
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