Calf raises? Effective?

faireplay
faireplay Posts: 126
in Fitness and Exercise
Have you found these to be good for building muscles in the calves? Being fairly new to working out I am only doing the circuit machines at the Y and there is no machine that targets this area. I bike and/or walk every day but would it be worth my while to incorporate the calf raises to begin building muscle there? Or are there other exercises that would work too?
I am not trying to "spot reduce", I know I have a lot of fat to lose but I want to improve the muscle underneath all the fat while I am losing.

Replies

  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Most people do them wrong, and just bounce.
    The trick is to go heavy as hell, do lots of reps, and FAST up, slooooooooooooooooooooooow down to a slight stretch.

    Calves are hard as hell to build, really.
  • faireplay
    faireplay Posts: 126
    Am I achieving anything by doing them with 10 pound weights in each hand then or does the weight have to be on my legs in the form of ankle weights or something? I am just doing them at home in addition to the circuit at the gym.
  • johnieC
    johnieC Posts: 38
    i do them while im on the leg press, dont have much trouble building them
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Am I achieving anything by doing them with 10 pound weights in each hand then or does the weight have to be on my legs in the form of ankle weights or something? I am just doing them at home in addition to the circuit at the gym.

    I'm talking something like 150lbs for a beginner.
    My wife does about 250.

    Not something you can really handhold.

    In 3-4 weeks you should be calf raising double body weight. =)
  • johnieC
    johnieC Posts: 38
    any weight is better than none
  • faireplay
    faireplay Posts: 126
    Okay I will look up how to do them on the leg press. But I'm old. and fat and waaaay out of shape so I don't think 150lbs is going to happen lol. Thanks though, at least I know where to start now.
  • Keto_T
    Keto_T Posts: 673 Member
    Okay I will look up how to do them on the leg press. But I'm old. and fat and waaaay out of shape so I don't think 150lbs is going to happen lol. Thanks though, at least I know where to start now.

    One of the benefits to being heavy is that you 're carrying around a lot of weight so your legs are going to be strong. You'd be surprised what you can do.
  • girlykate143
    girlykate143 Posts: 220 Member
    that will be really, really heavy especially if you're new. Oh, you're not talking about baby cows.
    yeah, my guess is since you're doing a lot of walking and cycling, you don't need to strengthen those muscles more than you already are. Do weights that target your biggest muscle groups instead. More bang for your buck.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    You would get a lot more bang for your buck doing some compound lifts. No need to isolate calves unless you are body building (and even then, you could probably milk a lot more gains sticking to compounds for the first year or two of your training, before switching to isolation work)

    eta: hah, didn't realize i was echoing the poster above me :)
  • Poorgirls_Diet
    Poorgirls_Diet Posts: 528 Member
    Am I achieving anything by doing them with 10 pound weights in each hand then or does the weight have to be on my legs in the form of ankle weights or something? I am just doing them at home in addition to the circuit at the gym.

    I'm talking something like 150lbs for a beginner.
    My wife does about 250.

    Not something you can really handhold.

    In 3-4 weeks you should be calf raising double body weight. =)

    I thought I was doing well at 60lbs but obviously not, will have to increase it seems
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    Most people do them wrong, and just bounce.
    The trick is to go heavy as hell, do lots of reps, and FAST up, slooooooooooooooooooooooow down to a slight stretch.

    Absolutely. Calf raises are really effective if done correctly. But then, so is any exercise.
  • Tricep_A_Tops
    Tricep_A_Tops Posts: 319
    Yes they are very effective if done properly which most people do not. You should pause at the top of your rep for 3 seconds and at the bottom of your rep for 5 seconds. By just doing them in one continious motion your achillies tendons are doing most of the work, they stretch like a rubber band during your rep and by pausing, you allow them to contract and force your calves to do the majority of the work.
  • Allie_71
    Allie_71 Posts: 1,063 Member
    I integrate them into my fitness classes when I teach, and my students have had good results with 'em. I get them to pause at the height of their raise too. And with whatever weights they can hold. Usually 15 to 25 lb weights.
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
    I do them on the leg press machine as well. I also dance and spending a lot of time on my toes has really made a difference. My calves are getting huge! It's awesome...
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Even if you're at home without a machine to do them on, if you just hold something heavy in both hands (I have 25lb plates) and do what the others said, pause at the top and slowly come back down, make sure you're squeezing your glutes at the top and keeping your core tight... yeah, try doing 100 of those and seeing if your calves don't burn like heck. :)

    The heavier the better, and if you're holding the heavy plates, you're increasing your grip strength, too. It's the little things~
  • msmollygp
    msmollygp Posts: 22 Member
    I started them after I had foot surgery and was in a boot and on crutches for a while. Even if you just go to a curb and use your body weight, they will work. I do about 3 sets of 20 at a time. Just remember to do them slowly, like a stretch. Once you can do that, start doing them one-legged.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    I started them after I had foot surgery and was in a boot and on crutches for a while. Even if you just go to a curb and use your body weight, they will work. I do about 3 sets of 20 at a time. Just remember to do them slowly, like a stretch. Once you can do that, start doing them one-legged.

    I've seen more muscle soreness in my calves doing them very slowly, with a pause at the top, and bottom, for high reps, than I ever have with high weight. I usually mix them up with either on the leg press with heavy weight, seated calf raises, or the machine that is for calf raises, then add in some, high rep single leg on a raised platform with just body weight.

    Bodyweight ones can be done anywhere, anytime. I've done them Standing in line at the grocery store, at home, at work, or any time I have to wait in line for something. You don't need to put them in your workout.
  • feydruss
    feydruss Posts: 349 Member
    One thing I do for my calves that really helps is to stand balanced on an upside-down BOSU, then go up on my toes (like a releve in ballet) and STAY BALANCED for as long as possible. Repeat until you just can't do any more. It works my calves, but also my whole core and can be really challenging for my CNS!
  • Mighty_Rabite
    Mighty_Rabite Posts: 581 Member
    I've been doing single leg calf presses using the leg press station lately. Doing those at 350 pounds is actually more challenging, burns more, and is easier to set up than the 800+ pounds I used to set up for doing both legs simultaneously!

Categories