If you want to have an impressive set of legs, you have to look below the knee. Building bigger, stronger calf muscles can be challenging. However, the task is not impossible. When looking to build bigger calves, you must often attack them with higher training volumes, frequencies, and a variety of rep ranges to develop the muscles that optimally make up the lower leg.
Muscular calves are not just an aesthetic feat, either. They are often responsible for or aid in increased jump height, sprinting capability, and overall lower body explosiveness.
This article will discuss the calf raise and how to incorporate it into your lower body training to build bigger, more muscular, more performance-oriented legs.
How To Do Calf Raises
Calf Raises can be done using a dedicated machine or a calf block. The number of reps you do for this exercise will vary depending on your current calf mass and workout routine. Test different ranges to see which works for the density of your calf muscles.
Stand under the machine pads or bar with the balls of your feet on the calf block. Start with low heels, approximately 2 to 4 inches below the block. This will offer the best stretch on your calves.
Slowly raise yourself on the balls of your feet as high as you can and contract your calf muscles as you reach the peak. Hold briefly and lower under control to repeat.
Benefits of the Calf Raise
Below are a few reasons you’ll benefit from including calf raises in your workout program.
Increased Hypertrophy
The calf raise is an isolation movement that targets the two calf muscles (gastrocnemius and the soleus). Based on the calf raise variation (seated or standing), you will target one of those muscles more than the other — the soleus if the knee is bent and the gastrocnemius if you’re standing.
To increase muscle size, you will want to train both seated and standing to ensure balanced muscular development.
More Explosiveness
The calves are responsible for ankle plantar flexion, the joint action of pushing off through the toes to propel oneself forward or upwards. This is often why more muscular and explosive calves can increase jumping and sprinting capabilities.
While overall lower body strength is also a critical factor in both jumping and sprint performance, having more muscular calves and training the ankle muscles can directly impact your power output.
Stronger Ankles
Stronger ankles can improve your ability to grow bigger calves, improve sports performance, and keep you training more consistently. The calves support ankle and knee stability; therefore, introducing calf training specifically into your routine is a smart idea for functional fitness athletes, runners, or anyone susceptible to ankle sprains and injuries.
Muscles Worked By the Calf Raise
- Gastrocnemius – The calf muscle most visible from the body’s exterior. This muscle attaches to the Achilles tendon and originates just behind the knee on the femur, which crosses the knee joint.
- Soleus – This deep muscle is not visible when looking at the leg externally. It lies beneath the gastrocnemius on the rear portion of the lower leg.
The function of the two muscles is to elevate the heel with the leg straight and when the knee is bent. The action of turning the heel is used in a variety of movements – walking, jumping, running, squats, etc.
Who Should Do Calf Raises
Calf raises can be done for aesthetic reasons and to accrue performance benefits. Some individuals may need to train the calves more than others; however, below is a general overview of who can benefit from training their calves.
Strength Athletes
Building stronger calves can aid in squat and deadlift strength, increase ankle stability, and positively impact overall athletic performance. Movements like heavy carries, stone lifts, and push presses require strong ankles.
While direct calf training may not be necessary for every type of athlete — as general training may provide enough indirect calf work — additional calf isolation exercises within a training program may benefit some athletes.
Olympic Lifters
Weightlifters rely on a solid extension of their ankles, knees, and hips to generate an upward force upon the barbell during the snatch, clean, and jerk. While calf raises may not be a joint movement used in weightlifting training, some lifters may find them helpful to add if they lack extension strength.
Bodybuilders
Any aspiring bodybuilder should know they must train every muscle to look good — including their calves. Whether you dream of stepping on stage or not, underdeveloped calves can hamper the appearance of your legs overall and contribute to an “imbalanced” look.
Calf Raise Sets and Reps
Suppose you want to increase the size of your calves, modify the strength and power of your lower body, or improve stability at the joint. In that case, the below guidelines can be used to program direct calf training within your program.
To Build Muscle
To gain muscle mass, you must attack the calf muscles in a more isolated routine. While some individuals may have a more challenging time growing their calves than others, anyone can put on muscle mass around their calves if they work hard enough.
If your goal is to add muscle mass to your calves, increase your training frequency. Work up to sessions 3 – 4 times per week, aiming to hit up to 20 sets overall. Your rep ranges can vary between 5 – 10, 10 – 20, and up to 30 reps per individual set. Start on the lower end of the volume, assess your recovery ability, and work up from there.
To Increase Strength and Power
Most athletes will be able to increase the strength and power of their calves by lifting heavier loads for 5 – 10 reps or simply by performing their sport-specific tasks like heavy clean pulls, sprinting, jumping, and sled work.
For direct calf strength, perform 3 – 5 sets for 5 – 10 reps within a full range of motion.
Frequently Asked Questions about Calf Training
Now that we’ve discussed some of the best calf volumes and focus work you can add to your training and example calf workouts, you can start implementing immediately; let’s review some of the most frequently asked questions regarding calf training.
Calf training can be confusing if you do not see the desired results. As we’ve already outlined in this article, for those who aren’t genetically blessed with big calves, it takes a unique training strategy to grow them.
And since training can be highly individualized, many trainers and fitness icons may gloss over personalized details and make blanket statements about how to grow your calves.
You may not have the results you want straight away, so be willing to switch up your approach and continue to experiment over the long haul if needed.
1. How can I increase my calf size?
The best way to increase your calf size is to focus on a well-designed workout routine that focuses primarily on improving upon compound lifts that work the entire body. First things first. You’ll get derivative benefits from a solid weekly routine by default because you can’t achieve overall fitness without having an impact on your calf’s
Once this is achieved, you’ll want to add isolation work directly targeting the calves. Once you’ve begun isolating your calves during leg workouts, you may want to increase training frequency to promote growth.
Once you’ve maxed out on the frequency you can train your calves and still adequately recover, you’ll want to progress by increasing volume and the weight used.
2. Are big calves genetic?
Yes. And no.
Much of it boils down to genetics regarding muscle insertions and the ability to build muscle mass.
However, that fact shouldn’t discourage you from maximizing the natural growth you were born with and are capable of through training.
Finding the right training program that incorporates the proper calf exercises for you and the appropriate amount of training volume, intensity, and frequency will allow you to build the muscles of the calves.
3. What is a good calf workout?
Any calf mass workouts listed above would be an excellent place to start immediately. As you get more familiar with your body and your preferred training routine, you can modify them to fit your individual training needs better.
In short, a good calf workout is a workout that is paired with a good workout routine. From there, it isolates the calf muscles by utilizing calf exercises that work best for you. These calf exercises also use different leg and foot positioning to target both calf muscles based on your individual development needs.
Since the calves are comprised of both fast and slow twitch muscles, it’s essential to train them with variety and frequently to make them grow optimally.
The exact volume, intensity, and frequency in which you train your calves will depend on you as an individual.
4. How often should you train calves for mass?
It depends on you as an individual – your genetic propensity for building your calves, the frequency in which you usually train, and your ability to recover from a higher training frequency when it comes to isolating the calves.
The calves are one of the few muscle groups that can be trained daily. Often you do it indirectly without even knowing it.
So, you can train them as frequently as your program allows so long as you can recover efficiently from the training stimulus.
5. Will the calf raise increase calf size?
Absolutely. Calf raise variations are excellent exercises for isolating the calves.
However, how you program them into your workout based on your individual needs is how you’ll experience their benefits.
Performing aimless, unfocused sets of calf raises with an ineffective rep tempo and range of motion will do little to build calf mass.
Focus on appropriate training volumes, and performing each rep with a slow or explosive tempo and a full range of motion with emphasized stretches and contractions will add tons of calf mass.
6. Do squats increase calf size?
Squat variations indirectly target the calves’ muscles, as do any lower body exercise. Some genetically gifted people may get away with building their calves strictly by progressing with lower body exercises such as the squat.
For most, however, some calf isolation exercises will be necessary to maximize the total calf mass they can grow.
However, getting stronger at exercises such as the squat is still critical for building bigger calves. That is why a balanced workout routine, first and foremost, and then adding calf isolation work, is optimal for progress.
7. Will losing weight reduce calf size?
During weight loss phases, you’ll typically lose a small amount of muscle size – even if you do everything right when it comes to slow and steady dieting with a priority on protein intake.
The best way to minimize this loss in calf size is by still training heavily during your compound lifts and continuing your calf training protocol during your fat loss phases. Doing so, paired with a diet focused on moderately high protein intake, will preserve your lean muscle tissue.
8. Why do I have huge calves?
Some do, some don’t, and why are you still reading this article?
9. Can you walk to build calves?
Any form of good cardio that requires a lot of repetitive motion will build the muscles of the calves.
Many people will implement jump roping and jogging as their primary form of cardio and walking on their rest/active recovery days away from the gym to target the calves with a little more frequency.
Biking can also accomplish this, with an even greater emphasis on the soleus, as a portion of the movement is in the bent leg position.
So, if you’re looking to shape your calves and maximize your efforts using a cardio activity, don’t hesitate to add walking, jogging, jump roping, or biking.
10. How many calves raises should I do to get bigger calves?
There won’t be any magic number regarding how many calves raises you should perform to promote calf mass. Although the workouts listed earlier in the article are a good starting point, everyone is different.
And the actual calf raise movement pattern will be somewhat meaningless if you’re not controlling the tempo and performing them with a good range of motion.
Start with the calf workouts mentioned earlier. Once you’ve conquered that, experiment. Find the best exercises for you, play around with volume and frequency to find what works best for you, and always aim to progress as time goes on.
