subject: Is Your Calf Training Routine Effective? [print this page] Is Your Calf Training Routine Effective? Is Your Calf Training Routine Effective?
If you've been training your calves for a while or have done some calf training in the past, this question has probably crossed your mind. If it hasn't, then I'd like to give you a little "food for thought". To effectively build muscle, you must be constantly analyzing your routines and your progress. This analysis process is critical so that you can be sure that your efforts and energy are productive toward stimulating muscle growth. If you're a bodybuilder, then it's pointless to continue to workout and not make any progress. This is especially true for your calf workouts. For most, the calves are a stubborn muscle group to grow.
To help you analyze if your calf training is effective and productive, there are several things that you should consider.
How much calf muscle size growth have you experienced in the last month? This may be the most important question of all. Of course, you can't really answer that question unless you measured your calf size last month (or any preceding month or months). If you're not taking measurements of all your muscle girths, then start immediately!
Any successful endeavor must have goals and a measurement system to analyze progress toward those goals. Measure your muscle girths (including your calf girth both of them) each month. You should see some measurement progress, if not then you need to change your program.
Are your calves fully pumped during and immediately after each calf workout? The answer to this question should always be "yes". You need to train hard enough to achieve a "pump" in your calf muscles. If you're not familiar with the "pump", then let me explain it. The pump is an immediate reaction to intense, high rep resistance training where blood pools in the muscle. Studies have shown that blood pooling (the "pump") is beneficial to promoting protein synthesis and inhibiting protein breakdown in the muscle. You should always be working for "the pump" in your calf training.
In addition, if you continue to develop a pump in the calf muscle in your future workouts, then there will be an increase in capillaries and other blood vessels in the calves. Increased capillary density will increase the muscle size and enhance the strength and endurance of the calf muscles.
Do you walk "funny" after each calf workout? I know that sounds like as strange question. But, I got your attention. Right? What I really mean is that if you can walk normally, then you have not worked your calves hard enough. Your calf workout should be so intense that your calf muscles are fatigued and tight. This fatigued/pumped state will impair the way you walk for several minutes after your calf routine is done. I tell my clients: "If you can walk normally after my calf routine, then you didn't do it right. Do it over!"
If you're interested in making more progress and building bigger calves, then click here to learn more and to get a FREE REPORT on calf training.
