Comments on: Hey Pencil Legs! Turn Those Calves into Cows

By: Andreas Schumacher

Andreas Schumacher — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:44:30 +0000

Jump Squats and Plyometrics are great for some nice looking calves

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:43:21 +0000

Steve,
As a young man I worked out religiously and built a pretty stout physic. I am now 47 and have leaned down as my work schedule became more hectic and my fitness time more restricted. That has worked out just fine with the exception of my calves. I’m 5’8″ and my calves measure 18″ in circumference, talk about cows… I frequently run for very long periods of time. I’ve tried high reps w/ low weight and that seems to only add definition. What can I do to reduce their circumference?

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:26:53 +0000

You could superset all of the calf exercises with other exercises that are not already in a superset.

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:08:16 +0000

How can I incorporate this with the werewolf training?

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:02:41 +0000

To start the next rep, just reposition your foot.

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:26:18 +0000

Hey, Steve!

Great article. To be as terse as possible:

“•Toss a plate on the floor and put your foot right beside it. Keeping your heel in one spot, use your toes to push the plate away from your body, pivoting on the heel, to contract the peroneus muscles.
This could also be done with a cable.

•Toss a plate on the floor and put your foot right beside it. Keeping your heel in one spot, use your toes to push the plate towards your body, pivoting on the heel, to contract the tibialis posterior.”

Could you rephrase this exercise please? I have to be doing it wrong. What I do is I put a plate(for a barbell) on the floor to either side of my foot. Then, I push or pull the plate towards or away from me. That, to my understanding, is a rep. How do I start the next rep?

Once again, great article, thanks for posting it!

By: hamid

hamid — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:51:29 +0000

hello, i do the jump manuel which consists of weightlifting and plyometric exercises. After I do them both withing a week my legs feel refreshed and i tend to jump higher then normal. however couple days later my left calfs around the soelus muscle aches and i feel tension when i try to jump. what do you think is wrong with my calfs.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:51:03 +0000

New to workout plans but can you please help me here Steve.
I was wondering if there was a way to incorporate a bicep workout into this, or am I relying on back exercises for that? Also, should I repeat supersets? IE do the flat chest and standing calf raises twice each (with a 60 to 90 second rest in between each superset)?

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:18:16 +0000

Foam rolling the calves several times a week may help to lessen the cramping over time (helps to break down scar tissue, muscle adhesions, etc.).

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:43:12 +0000

Toby: Maybe you do too much calf work and they are overtrained? Hopefully it is not a problem with your Achilles tendon. Just be careful. Check with your doc if you want to know more.