calf - UK-Muscle Body Building Community

superstar19 · 20-07-2004, 11:42 PM

i am looking to develop the medial head of my gastrocnemius, and i hear that the best thing for them is the donkey raise, is there any other exercises that work this muscle as well as the donkey raises????

**hackskii** · 21-07-2004, 02:24 AM

Just hit the diffrent heads.
Donky's are good and in my opinion are best, (but who am I)
I would get full range and a really good stretch at the end.
Lots of fast twitch fibers in the Calves.
Lots of fascia too.
I would go heavy then do a dropdown set for reps then stretch the heck out of your calves while you still have the blood pumped in them.
This will stretch out the fascia.
You can point your toes in or out for variation.
But the full stretch up and down will make this better.
If you bend the knees then you will lose some stretch.

superstar19 · 21-07-2004, 09:18 AM

is it possible to do donkeys without the use of the machine but with free weights instead???

**hackskii** · 21-07-2004, 01:44 PM

Yah, the original donky calf raises used you and another guy. He sat on your but and you put somethng on the floor behind a table and you leaned over the table and the guy sat on your butt for weight.

GoldenArrow · 21-07-2004, 07:17 PM

You can do them one legged with no extra weight maybe..?

Quote:

If you bend the knees then you will lose some stretch.

If you bend the knees, you're not training gastroc's...

Killerkeane · 21-07-2004, 10:34 PM

donkeys look tremendously dodgy to me, ruins the hard man look

**hackskii** · 21-07-2004, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenArrow

You can do them one legged with no extra weight maybe..?

Excellent, a thinker! Good going.

philipebrown · 22-07-2004, 04:38 PM

calfs actually have a higher percentage of slow twitch fibres due to their nature of being used all the time which is why most people have skinny calfs, to your calfs you are doing constant cardio all day long and not powerfull explosive fast twitch movements, which is why they are a stubborn muscle to develop.You have to work them a lot!!!

**hackskii** · 22-07-2004, 04:54 PM

I have to double check but I just read an article on this.
Sprinters use their calves alot, in fact their heels dont even touch the ground.

philipebrown · 22-07-2004, 05:03 PM

yes scott, but in between doing sprints, they walk all day long using their calves which is a slow twitch movement. Dwain chambers, ben johnson and LInford christie still dont have big calfs compared to their upper bodies and theyre all on gear too lol.

Im talking by bodybuilding standards, sprinters dont have 17,18,19, inch calfs!

Hill walkers and ramblers who do lots of high intensity incline walking and climbing have huge calfs, have ever noticed that? but even this excercise is slow twitch, aerobic movements.

Maybe the key to getting big calves is sheer volume. If the calf has a majority of slow twitch fibres then theyre the ones you gotta stimulate (also understand the need for training both fibre types holistically but you know what im getting at)

**hackskii** · 22-07-2004, 05:58 PM

Fat people have the biggest calves and they do no slow twitch movements. These people are generally lazy.
I feel that it is the load on the calves that make them.
I think it is weight and not volume.
I did read in an article that the calves did have more fast twitch and the most fascia in the body.
It supports the whole body.

philipebrown · 23-07-2004, 10:59 AM

nope, sorry mate, were gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. big fat people still walk around a lot and walking is a slow twitch movement. Yes, a bigger load will make a difference but i think what we are talking about is volume, no of reps and sets.

Arnie was reported to have done 22 sets on calfs alone in the high rep range when he wanted to make them bigger, also it seems that you have to train them more frequently too.

Weve both read different articles. mine comes from a book called strength training by i forget who. if ive got time ill dig it out and post it.

**hackskii** · 25-07-2004, 11:52 PM

Thats cool Philipbrown, this is good to air things out. My calves are big and i dont even work them at all.

I just noticed that when I cycled my calves would get too pumped to walk. If I was in a hurry, it looked like I was crippled

philipebrown · 26-07-2004, 09:45 AM

yeah, doing cardio while on a cutting cycle was murder on the calfs, 10 mins on the treadmill and i couldnt walk

balzak · 27-07-2004, 02:15 PM

wow, I'm in this situation, and I was wondering if it would be safe to do cardio again (if I didn't it would break my routine), today even though my calves hurt so bad.

20-07-2004, 11:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
superstar19 Newbie Trainer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 17	calf i am looking to develop the medial head of my gastrocnemius, and i hear that the best thing for them is the donkey raise, is there any other exercises that work this muscle as well as the donkey raises???? Last edited by superstar19; 20-07-2004 at 11:44 PM.

21-07-2004, 02:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
hackskii UK-Muscle Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Southern California U.S.A. Posts: 23,737	Just hit the diffrent heads. Donky's are good and in my opinion are best, (but who am I) I would get full range and a really good stretch at the end. Lots of fast twitch fibers in the Calves. Lots of fascia too. I would go heavy then do a dropdown set for reps then stretch the heck out of your calves while you still have the blood pumped in them. This will stretch out the fascia. You can point your toes in or out for variation. But the full stretch up and down will make this better. If you bend the knees then you will lose some stretch. __________________ "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin Scott To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

21-07-2004, 01:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
hackskii UK-Muscle Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Southern California U.S.A. Posts: 23,737	Yah, the original donky calf raises used you and another guy. He sat on your but and you put somethng on the floor behind a table and you leaned over the table and the guy sat on your butt for weight. __________________ "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin Scott To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

21-07-2004, 10:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Killerkeane The Geezer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Somerset although im not proud lol. Posts: 2,978	donkeys look tremendously dodgy to me, ruins the hard man look __________________ Fortes Fortuna Paratus Mens-Fortune favours the prepared mind.:amen:

22-07-2004, 04:38 PM	#8 (permalink)
philipebrown Looking Freaky Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: north east Posts: 924	calfs actually have a higher percentage of slow twitch fibres due to their nature of being used all the time which is why most people have skinny calfs, to your calfs you are doing constant cardio all day long and not powerfull explosive fast twitch movements, which is why they are a stubborn muscle to develop.You have to work them a lot!!! __________________ "no, no, side chest franco, not front chest!........ ....and if you don't have it, don't hit it!" Arnold...from the making of pumping iron.

21-07-2004, 09:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
superstar19 Newbie Trainer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 17	is it possible to do donkeys without the use of the machine but with free weights instead???

22-07-2004, 04:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
hackskii UK-Muscle Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Southern California U.S.A. Posts: 23,737	I have to double check but I just read an article on this. Sprinters use their calves alot, in fact their heels dont even touch the ground. __________________ "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin Scott To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

22-07-2004, 05:03 PM	#10 (permalink)
philipebrown Looking Freaky Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: north east Posts: 924	yes scott, but in between doing sprints, they walk all day long using their calves which is a slow twitch movement. Dwain chambers, ben johnson and LInford christie still dont have big calfs compared to their upper bodies and theyre all on gear too lol. Im talking by bodybuilding standards, sprinters dont have 17,18,19, inch calfs! Hill walkers and ramblers who do lots of high intensity incline walking and climbing have huge calfs, have ever noticed that? but even this excercise is slow twitch, aerobic movements. Maybe the key to getting big calves is sheer volume. If the calf has a majority of slow twitch fibres then theyre the ones you gotta stimulate (also understand the need for training both fibre types holistically but you know what im getting at) __________________ "no, no, side chest franco, not front chest!........ ....and if you don't have it, don't hit it!" Arnold...from the making of pumping iron.

22-07-2004, 05:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
hackskii UK-Muscle Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Southern California U.S.A. Posts: 23,737	Fat people have the biggest calves and they do no slow twitch movements. These people are generally lazy. I feel that it is the load on the calves that make them. I think it is weight and not volume. I did read in an article that the calves did have more fast twitch and the most fascia in the body. It supports the whole body. __________________ "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin Scott To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

23-07-2004, 10:59 AM	#12 (permalink)
philipebrown Looking Freaky Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: north east Posts: 924	nope, sorry mate, were gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. big fat people still walk around a lot and walking is a slow twitch movement. Yes, a bigger load will make a difference but i think what we are talking about is volume, no of reps and sets. Arnie was reported to have done 22 sets on calfs alone in the high rep range when he wanted to make them bigger, also it seems that you have to train them more frequently too. Weve both read different articles. mine comes from a book called strength training by i forget who. if ive got time ill dig it out and post it. __________________ "no, no, side chest franco, not front chest!........ ....and if you don't have it, don't hit it!" Arnold...from the making of pumping iron.

25-07-2004, 11:52 PM	#13 (permalink)
hackskii UK-Muscle Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Southern California U.S.A. Posts: 23,737	Thats cool Philipbrown, this is good to air things out. My calves are big and i dont even work them at all. I just noticed that when I cycled my calves would get too pumped to walk. If I was in a hurry, it looked like I was crippled __________________ "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin Scott To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

26-07-2004, 09:45 AM	#14 (permalink)
philipebrown Looking Freaky Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: north east Posts: 924	yeah, doing cardio while on a cutting cycle was murder on the calfs, 10 mins on the treadmill and i couldnt walk __________________ "no, no, side chest franco, not front chest!........ ....and if you don't have it, don't hit it!" Arnold...from the making of pumping iron.

27-07-2004, 02:15 PM	#15 (permalink)
balzak Newbie Trainer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 12	wow, I'm in this situation, and I was wondering if it would be safe to do cardio again (if I didn't it would break my routine), today even though my calves hurt so bad.