Adarq.org

most are in my journal.

prefer the smith machine calf raises over any other calf exercise. can't get to max top ROM on seated. leg press feels weird. standing barbel needs balance. other machines don't have enough weight.

do not let the lowerback bend/fold. smith will break you easily.

paused rep calf raises on smith machine
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMLTP26JYwA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMLTP26JYwA</a>

VERY COOL THANKS FOR THAT

Btw have you seen much calf growth since you started calf specialised training?

Also, what happens if you lose your balance, won't you get really hurt?

newbie growth spurt for me from low-mid 15s to mid-high 16s in a couple of months. i calf raise 1-2x daily with 100+ paused reps/top+bottom holds. these work. i don't get sore anymore.

lose balance and you will screw your back with the very heavy weights. you will not get crushed because of the catch pins (red hook looking thingys in vid)

that's a lot of calve strength!!!

does any one now the minimum requirements for calve strength? I know Kelly Bagget recommends at 1.5 X bw 20 times or single leg calve raises slow and controlled 20 times. Does this sound about right?

THIS QUESTION MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.

Are you still training for the 60m?  If so how has your progress been?  Any drops in time?  What was your initial test time?

Also, besides larger calves... have you noticed any functional improvement which you think you can attribute to the calf work?  Do you notice appreciable increase to speed or jumping from the calve work?

still doing my hill sprinting but no formal training / timed sprints for the 60m.

as far as the calf training, i'm still just blasting out heavy paused reps 1-2x/day.. the explosiveness benefits might start to be noticeable once i cut the volume down to maintenance level and not go for more progressive loading. at that time, i might also do more volumes of the jump squats or other jump drills to really get the calves more explosive.

i'm at 495-545-585 right now on my smith calf raise and i can still get my 100+ daily reps. it might be possible to get to BOSS mode by december - 585x10 warmups/maintenance.. i just stamped my upperback with the smith bar. traps are bruised and feel more beat up than my calves.

smith machine double leg calf raises - paused reps.

675x5. heaviest i've done is 765x1.  calf still got to push to a decent top ROM but my whole torso felt like it will snap if i screw up and loose tightness even for a slit second.

warmup sets at 585x10 with top ROM like it was BWs after the 2nd set. 495 and lower might as well be BWs..

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Y4tv3pFBE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Y4tv3pFBE</a>

Private video^^^

By the way - how do you use the smith machine? You need to rotate the bar to put it back? Is there any other way to re-rack it? Because at my gym I have to rotate the bar using the hands and it's sliding in my hands and I have to bend my back to help rotate it back on the racks and I've had TERRIBLE back pain two times from this - so I'm not using it anymore. Way too dangerous for my back because of this.

Is there any other way I'm not aware of to re-rack the weight?

that is why i use gloves doing these. need to really squeeze the bar on the knurl area and twist that thing to re-rack. the bar also gets harder to twist the more weight you have in there.

i would love to start going extra heavy on calf raises but...

my right calf is still so much smaller than my left. and ive been training it exclusively for months on end. still hasnt caught up, but progress has been made.



what's your vertical looking like now?  i wanna know how much the calves have helped

Dec 21, 2010. Exactly 2 years ago. 405x4 non-paused reps. BW 188-192lb. relatively stronger today while at a constant state of fatigue from daily lifting. can't believe i used to throw around 4 plates like that.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK6cuwMWoBI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK6cuwMWoBI</a>