Calf Routine/Calf Exercises/Calf Workout for Strength Endurance, Power and Explosiveness

The calf muscle is one of the most under-trained body part there is. Yet everyone ogles over well developed, ripped to shred calves. When it comes to the athlete wanting to jump higher, punch harder or increase lower leg strength, the calf must not be overlooked.

This calf routine will help you increase your strength as well as explosiveness, endurance and power.

Strong calves come in all shapes and sizes and having “Bulky” calves does not correlate with their strength. Some people are just born with big toned calves from day one, but are still weak. The goal is to get your calves in shape so they function better and decrease your chance of injury.

Let’s face it, you overall strength is not going to decrease because your calves are not string enough, but when you train your legs with compound movements, your calves will grow.

The calf muscle is made of two main muscles

Courtesy of WebMD

• The gastrocnemius is the larger calf muscle, forming the bulge visible beneath the skin. The gastrocnemius has two parts or “heads,” which together create its diamond shape. These muscles are fast twitch fibres, which are larger and responsible for more explosiveness power. Sprinters, jumpers in volleyball/basketball and fighters wanting punching power and muscular endurance

• The soleus is a smaller, flat muscle that lies underneath the gastrocnemius muscle. These are made of slow twitch muscle fibres, which are smaller and responsible for helping to build strength.

Just by working the gastrocnemius muscle, you will add some size on your calf, especially if you have not worked the calves in a while.

When working the calf, it is important that you do not try to increase the range of motion in your ankle unless advised by a Therapist.

Exaggerating your range of motion, going below parallel, will stretch your tendon and is very dangerous.

If you want to add size and mass to your ankles then exaggerating by holding the bottom and top movements for 3-6 seconds is the safer and more effective way to go.

So if you are looking for a quick calf routine that focus on function rather than your look, then add this calf workout to your overall training.

Calf Routine

Continuous Calf Hops – 3 sets of 10
Standing Barbell Calf Raises – 3 sets 20
Catcher Calf Raise – DB-Bodyweight – 2 sets 20
Seated DB Calf Raises – 2 sets of 20

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