It is true that studies will show that calf muscles tend to be made up of more slow twitch muscle fibers than the rest of the body. Your muscles are primarily made up of slow twitch or fast twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch fibers are great at endurance activities while fast twitch fibers are great at explosive strength type activities.
Put differently, the natural tendency for calf muscles to be slow twitch dominant can be largely influenced by your training. Some muscle groups are simply prized among all others. Men tend to favor big chest and arm development, while women tend to favor leg and glute development. This is probably due to the signals the opposite sex sends using terms of our attractiveness. Body parts that men and women are typically attracted to are what we tend to value and thus train more.
Men know this, which is why men simply do not prioritize calf training. In my opinion, this is the reason why some people think calves are stubborn. This truth is, they simply have not placed the same amount of time and energy into developing their calves vs the rest of their body. I bet calves are on the bottom of the list. Try two calf workouts per week—one with very heavy weights for sets of reps, and one with very light weights for sets of reps. This will attack fibers that you probably have not been hitting with conventional workouts.
Do like Arnold did and train calves in your bare feet if your feet can handle it. This will increase the range of motion for any calf movement, and will force a very intense contraction. For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube! Train Calves for Weeks Straight Train your calves on a daily basis for a period of consecutive weeks before returning to your normal program.
Train Before Bed Every night before you go to bed, do a set of slow, hard-squeezing standing calf raises with just your bodyweight. Walk on Your Tiptoes More Wherever it is possible, walk around on your tiptoes rather than your flat feet.
Repeat with the other leg in front. Haas stresses the importance of focusing on proper mechanics—quality of form rather than quantity—before you build up the number of repetitions.
What it does: Myofascial release flushes tension in muscles and connective tissue to improve mobility and reduce inflammation created during exercise. How to do it: After a workout session or day in the mountains, use a lacrosse ball or myofascial-release tool Haas recommends the Rad Roller to roll out the soles of your feet plantar fascia , then work your way up the kinetic chain.
Focus on your Achilles, calf muscles, and the muscle on the outside of your shin anterior tibialis. Spend a couple minutes on each leg to loosen tight tissues. You can also use a foam roller or massage stick. Too much pressure can trigger a fight-or-flight sympathetic response. If you feel pain, your brain can interpret that as a problem and involuntarily tighten those structures in an attempt to protect them.
How to do it: If you have an adequate and symmetrical range of motion in both ankles, you can skip this exercise. But if you have a restriction in one or both of your ankles, perform the following exercise. Use the Weight-Bearing Lunge Test , described above, to gauge your ankle mobility. Girth-hitch an elastic band to an anchor at ground level, and stand facing away from the anchor.
Loop the other end of the band over one foot so that it sits in the crease of your ankle, below your ankle bones. With that foot, step forward to create moderate tension in the band.
Gently drive your knee forward and over your toes in a straight line, pause, then return to the starting position. This results in a posterior glide of the talus bone—the joint mechanics necessary for dorsiflexion. Hold the tension for a few seconds, then slowly return to the starting position. If your range of motion is really bad, Haas suggests placing your active foot on a box to improve gliding during the mobilization. Complete ten repetitions on each side, once daily ideally after exercise or on its own, but not right before activity until you build stability around the new joint mobility.
Lunges can be used to work several muscles in your lower body, including your quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
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