stuke
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Post by stuke on Aug 31, 2022 20:25:13 GMT
Thanks for posting what You're doing and that video. I wonder how big that pipe is in the video. Not sure but my cylindrical wood works well (part of a children's swing frame)
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Aug 31, 2022 20:33:54 GMT
Wed 31st Aug Both
Didn't train my left calf yesterday, but it is ok to miss the odd one, I am still fairly high frequency. I wanted to work both together today, set up ny rounded 'blcok' for want of a better word and did standing calf raises
Bw x 20 Extra 20kg x 20 Extra 50kg x 15 Extra 70kg x 10
Single leg negatives with 50kg extra x 10 each leg
Crouching calf raises - thighs flat against calves, ball of foot on the rounded block, holding a fixed bar in front, I go from flat foot uo as high as I can, there is no extra weight and no heel below ball of foot but you can get a really good contraction, very high up. X 20.
I have to say, I didnt like the feelings in my feet afterwards, some weird aches, pricking in top of rightcfoot toes 20mins afterwards etc. Reminds me why I dont lift heavy now, though of course calf raises with 70kg would not be considered heavy by anyone, still, heavy when uiu have been doing one leg with at most, an extra 20kg or so, and even then, that is rare.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Aug 31, 2022 20:37:51 GMT
And while I am at it, the famous Arnold story about hiw Reg Park told him to use a lot more weight as the calves are handling bodyweight all the time (I seem to recall Arnold went from using around 400 pounds or so, to 1000 on the standing calf raise) - what the hell was he doing with the 400 pounds? Either it was way too easy and he was being lazy or he let his form go to shit with the 1000 - somebody of his level cannot suddenly more than double the resistance and keep the same form / range of motion.
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Michael
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He cuts down trees. He wears high heels, suspendies, and a bra?!
Winner of Twatformetrics Spartan Challenge
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Post by Michael on Aug 31, 2022 22:42:11 GMT
Yeah that seems kind of weird. I think sometimes guys like Arnold told stories to try to impress somebody.
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Post by fredhutch on Sept 1, 2022 12:23:44 GMT
Stuke, in one of Ellington Darden's books he advocated a twisting calf raise, at the bottom stretch position the heels should be wider than the toes, as you go up you twist the legs so that at the top your heels are together. I find it difficult to do this well on a normal block or step, the feet just won't stay in place...but years ago I had a pair of those rotating pushup handles and I tried standing on the handles, it was a bit precarious but it allowed me to do the exercise enough to evaluate it and it felt good for the calves alright....according to Darden, the heels out position at the bottom gives the most stretch, and heels in at the top allows maximum contraction. The pushup handles worked well enough to test the idea...now what is really needed for this is a dedicated unit, and with the right materials it would be pretty easy to build. Would just need some kind of lumber for a base, and two "lazy suzan" units, with a small square board attached to each to stand on...I think this would work very well. I don't have the tools and materials for this right now but someday when I put together my dream gym I will.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 2, 2022 16:57:56 GMT
Stuke, in one of Ellington Darden's books he advocated a twisting calf raise, at the bottom stretch position the heels should be wider than the toes, as you go up you twist the legs so that at the top your heels are together. I find it difficult to do this well on a normal block or step, the feet just won't stay in place...but years ago I had a pair of those rotating pushup handles and I tried standing on the handles, it was a bit precarious but it allowed me to do the exercise enough to evaluate it and it felt good for the calves alright....according to Darden, the heels out position at the bottom gives the most stretch, and heels in at the top allows maximum contraction. The pushup handles worked well enough to test the idea...now what is really needed for this is a dedicated unit, and with the right materials it would be pretty easy to build. Would just need some kind of lumber for a base, and two "lazy suzan" units, with a small square board attached to each to stand on...I think this would work very well. I don't have the tools and materials for this right now but someday when I put together my dream gym I will. I had a go, Fred did it exactly the same as you, on my revolving push up handles. Was a bit awkward but I got the feel for it. Tried it in a block too, just pivotting. I spent a while yesterday experimentiing with foot positions, the curve of the movements etc. Some obviously felt better than others but I think what I realised was that they can easily start to hurt, or at least give signs that they are a bit iffy on the joints etc. It is easy to get fixated on the range, angles etc, all of which can severely limit the poundage used if you really work on the subtlties. I know a lilot of people use a short, poor range of motiin, but for some reason we are always advised to reqlly exaggerate it for calves, far more than we would - or should - for any other muscle. I remember spending a few weeks really trying to calf raise onto my toes, not just the ball of the foot. What happened? I got some nasty pains in my toes / feet and I was also using a fraction of the weight I could do decent range calf raises with. Similar with incorporating a ton of stretches and exaggerated lower range, ended up with pains on the the bottom of my feet. So I think, all said and done, my best bet is to stick to pretty standard footing, a nice stretch and up on the balls of my feet, but not stressing about going too high, they will still be a very good range.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 3, 2022 15:49:03 GMT
Friday 2nd Sep
Skipped a day and worked both calves today. I won't go into details, it can get very boring, suffice to say I hit them with some higher reps midday, but did more of a workout in the evening. Standing calf raises, both legs on a normal block, but the best thing I did was seated calf raises with plates across my legs. I found I could get a decent amount of weight on without too much struggle getting them up there. Sets of around 10, felt it all through my soleous for the rest of the night.
No toe raises today.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 7, 2022 21:12:45 GMT
Wed 7th Sep
I decided not to post every damn calf workout, but I am still doing this, though I am not strictly one calf one day, the other the next etc. Sometimes I feel like working both, it allows me to do things like higher reps and some movements just feel better with two. I had a couple of days with no calf work as my feet and achilles tendons were feeling a bit iffy, I also get the feeling I need to give them a short break to make them more receptuve to stimulus.
So with that said, today I worked my right calf with a set of 25 single leg calf raises, ending with 25 bottom half reps too. Then a set with an extra 20 pounds in my hand, for 15 reps, dropped the weight and did a few more reps, followed by 15 reps top half only. Seated calf raise next, 2 sets of 10, 55 poinds then 77 pounds.
Two sets of toe raises with my i beam, one plus 11 pounds on top of it. These toe raises give a better stretch / negative than the band ones.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 10, 2022 19:36:22 GMT
Saturday 10th Sep
Trained right calf yesterday, but today, instead of doing just left, I worked them both together with just bodyweight (standing calf raises) throughout the day: X100 X50 X100 X50 X50
Band horizontal toe raises, 2 sets of 30
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Post by fredhutch on Sept 10, 2022 20:00:00 GMT
I read in some bodybuilding book that you should apply liniment to the calves to increase circulation, and, in turn, achieve more growth. I don't recall that it worked, but it did stink up the house...
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 18, 2022 11:17:46 GMT
I read in some bodybuilding book that you should apply liniment to the calves to increase circulation, and, in turn, achieve more growth. I don't recall that it worked, but it did stink up the house... Hahaha I can imagine. Had a couple of days off calf training, seems to allow them to catch up but also seems to let me feel them a bit more when I train them again. They just adapt to anything I throw at them so quickly that it gets harder and harder to feel them, link up mind to muscle etc.
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 18, 2022 11:19:37 GMT
But I have been massaging them fairly often. Going to step it up. I kind of feel I will stumble upon something that will make all the difference sooner or later. Maybe wishful thinking...
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Post by fredhutch on Sept 19, 2022 18:33:48 GMT
Might try the Charles Sampson system of using snug elastic around the working limb. When I experimented with it I bought those elastic support sleeves for the knees, but I sized them so they would be a snug fit on the calves...these can be worn during regular calf exercises, and also you can do muscle flexes with the elastic on with the intention of making the muscle bigger to stretch the elastic. Worn during conventional movement exercises, the theory is that the elastic massages the muscle during the set, according to Sanford Bennett in his book "Exercising in Bed", this is superior to massaging the muscles at other times. And yes while this does impede circulation somewhat--and that is why you shouldn't leave them on too long--this is not occlusion training, the theory and method of the Sampson system is altogether different. And yes I did this system for a while and I believe it helped with development, I did not keep at it long enough to say how valuable it was. Can read all about it in Sampson's book "Strength: A Treatise on the Development and Use of Muscle" (1895, currently in print on amazon).
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stuke
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Post by stuke on Sept 20, 2022 11:35:03 GMT
Might try the Charles Sampson system of using snug elastic around the working limb. When I experimented with it I bought those elastic support sleeves for the knees, but I sized them so they would be a snug fit on the calves...these can be worn during regular calf exercises, and also you can do muscle flexes with the elastic on with the intention of making the muscle bigger to stretch the elastic. Worn during conventional movement exercises, the theory is that the elastic massages the muscle during the set, according to Sanford Bennett in his book "Exercising in Bed", this is superior to massaging the muscles at other times. And yes while this does impede circulation somewhat--and that is why you shouldn't leave them on too long--this is not occlusion training, the theory and method of the Sampson system is altogether different. And yes I did this system for a while and I believe it helped with development, I did not keep at it long enough to say how valuable it was. Can read all about it in Sampson's book "Strength: A Treatise on the Development and Use of Muscle" (1895, currently in print on amazon). Thanks Fred, you are a mine of interesting calf trainjng ideas and theories, keep them coming! I will experiment with this one. Not done myself any favours recently, not sure if it was the heavy seated calf raises from Sunday, or the ismoetric calf raises yesterday, but my left knee is not so good now.
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