4 Essential Calf Training Tips

Check out my Book, on Amazon: goo.gl/MTUzDZ
Website Https: www. reddeltaproject.com
Red Delta Project Podcast now available on Apple and Stitcher
Let's connect! find RDp on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[@Fitand50Formula]

Matt you might be the first person I’ve ever heard say they love calf exercises

[@RedDeltaProject]

lol, I think it was because I've long had poor tension control in most of my posterior chain except for my calves so they became my dominant muscles for a while.

[@awol6574]

You make good workout videos for minimalists

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks, I'm all about minimalism when it comes to staying in shape. The way I see it, i want my fitness habits to be as small a part of my life as possible while trying to keep their effects big and ever-present.

[@vishifishi01]

I know this is random as hell but I've just discovered a new way to add tension to bridging exercises. So, when performing the lowering motion of the movement (what I call ass down), I tense my abs and quads as if I'm trying to do a crunch or leg raise. It feels fucking amazing. Just a thought. :)

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks Vish! Much appreciated. I'll be sure to try that in my next bridge workout.

[@arjuna7839]

Thank you, Matt - right on time

[@robert50173]

Nice. On a ledge, I like to explode up, lower slowly, and hold for about 20 seconds at the bottom of each rep. Especially helpful before pistols considering my lack of mobility in the bottom of pistols.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Wow a 20s hold!? You're crazy! That's some serious calf training there. I usually hold for 3-5 seconds at most.

[@felixupsidedown2218]

Your calves are very developed😀

[@felixupsidedown2218]

How many reps?

[@MellMenzo]

All of them!

[@liakosnek]

god damn , you are the best

[@regprofant6984]

Ballet dancers usually have great calves with no blocks and etc However, as you have said, they are up on their toes a lot

[@seekerofknowledge6595]

I've got an imbalance. After about 10 reps my left foot takes over and my right calf has a lot of trouble locking out at the top - I just can't lock it out or stand on it alone without losing range of motion. Also how about the seated (bent knee) variation to stimulate the other calf muscles gastronenmeus or soleus - can't remember which one. I've thought about this tried doing them while in a deep squat position holding on to a sturdy object in front for support and going up on my toes. It's a different type of contraction...

[@peteh4130]

Hi Matt, great channel and info. Interested in your views (perhaps a video...) on when training for muscle growth crosses over into endurance. There’s quite a bit out there on strength vs. muscle growth and how these are correlated but less on the ‘other end’ of muscle growth vs. endurance. I am thinking particularly of body weight leg training where I am looking for ways to fatigue the muscle using the basic squat and lunge. Rather than progress to single leg squat variants as in Convict Conditioning (ankles, knees and hips are not flexible/strong enough yet but improving through focus on basics so ultimately this is the goal) I am experimenting with increasing TUT by slow reps - 4 down, pause, 1 up with no pause at the top to keep tension in the muscles. I can get to fatigue doing this but have to go to about 30 reps taking 2-3 minutes per set (vs. the ‘ideal’ 45-60 second guideline for hypertrophy). I suspect that all these things are pretty fungible and that even at 2-3 minutes TUT it will still promote muscle growth but any experience or tips on what to look for/how to gauge when the balance is shifting towards endurance would be interesting to watch. I plan to increase reps as required to keep getting to fatigue with the expectation that by the time I’m able to get to 40-50 my flexibility and joint strength will have improved and I will be ready attempt the 1 leg variants. Incidentally I am using the calf training approach (higher volume) as per CC2 and following the technique as described in your video which is working well....

[@RedDeltaProject]

Good question, all training does involve some strength to some degree and it will promote at least a little muscle growth. The more important factor is tension control. A lot of times, endurance training can be something people do on autopilot so they just get the reps done rather than focus on how well they are using their muscles and proactively putting more tension in the muscle on each rep. That will make a much bigger difference than how many reps you do or weight you lift when it comes to muscle development. From there, more high quality reps with lots of proactive tension will be much more effective.

[@peteh4130]

RedDeltaProject Hi Matt, thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense. The thing I like about sticking with the basic squats is having learnt the movement (ass to grass, weight on middle of foot etc) it leaves the mind free to focus on engaging all the leg muscles in the movement. I’ve put leg measurements into my training log so we’ll see how this approach works over time.

[@marcelloantoniodreier4795]

Great timing!!! 1 really urgent question to this Matt: I stopped counting reps on calf raises because It's not easy to keep the tension on and I lose at higher reps often my count. Instead I use a timer and do 40seconds of T.u.T. I do bodyweight balance calf raises (step #1) Should I lock in my 40 seconds T.u.T. and work on progressing my tension or should I still raise my 40seconds up to 60sec AND work on T.u.T.?

[@marcelloantoniodreier4795]

I do now for 2 weeks in a row 3 times per week 3 sets of 40seconds T.u.T. /40sec rest

[@ConradoNiehues]

You don't need to do isometrics. Of course you can add this to your routine, but when doing dynamics, just change the amount of time you spend in each rep. I do for example 1-1-2-1. 1 second up, 1 second pause, 2 seconds down, 1 second pause. You can change this the way you want, the longer you spend in each rep, the less reps you're going to do.

[@marcelloantoniodreier4795]

Conrado Niehues I do dynamic calf raises brother.. How do you track your reps if you count your speed/tempo?

[@marcelloantoniodreier4795]

Conrado Niehues In CC2 the progression table goes up to 4x 100reps. If I count my rep speed like 2 sec up, squeeze and 2 sec down' kiss the baby(floor) and Repeat... I lose track of my reps really fast. How do you do it? Ideas?

[@ConradoNiehues]

Well i just don't count the tempo, i don't need it. I just do it slowly with pauses and bottom and up positions, it's not always the same exact timing. I just count my reps. And depending on what you do on your daily basis, you don't need to go 100 reps.

[@nelsonbit]

great video as always. my question is: if i don't have an elevated surface at the moment, can i simulate that kinda "rotation" movement of the food around the surface by basically standing on the floor and raise my toes when my heels touch the ground? i don't know if i explained this correctly, let me know

[@ConradoNiehues]

This way you will turn off the tension on the calves completely because there are no more resistance. An elevated surface it's very easy to find, a step, log, a bench, even a chair.

[@RedDeltaProject]

That will do good things for the range of motion in your ankles. That's actually a good way to balance out the strength in your lower leg. But it's not quite the same as doing them on an elevated surface. You can also practice doing calf raises on an incline by facing uphill. Might even be a better way to go over doing them on a ledge.

[@nelsonbit]

thank y'all, i was focusing too much on the stretch but not on the tension. I'll find something to use as an elevated surface!

[@otxoawolf9054]

Interesting. I've always gotten great results from jump rope thus never felt I needed anything further. Any thoughts about that?

[@RedDeltaProject]

That's great, the claves can be developed a lot from jumping and explosive movements. That's where i've made a lot of my own progress early on through bike racing and bouncing on my toes in Taekwon-Do. If that's getting you what you want then stay on that. No need to add anything else to the routine.

[@otxoawolf9054]

RedDeltaProject thanks for the prompt response.

[@viniciusrodrigues1269]

Matt any thoughts on the donkey style? I find that just getting into the position causes my calves to tense up like crazy, of course the balance thing is decreased. Cheers!

[@RedDeltaProject]

I find the Donkey does good things because it tends to lock the knees in place and prevents them from bending, even a little bit, which makes the exercises easier. A strict lock-out really makes calf raises much more effective.

[@cuchulainn1967]

I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION HERE FOR THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR HEALTH: WHENEVER YOU DO SINGLE LEG EXERCISES, USE THE OTHER LEG AS A LIGHT SUPPORT ( OR BALANCE POINT) SO THAT YOU DON´T(!!!!!) HAVE TO PLACE THE TARGETED LEG IN CENTER LINE...!....I HAVE BEEN DOING SINGLE LEG EXERCISES ( CALF RAISES, SINGLE LEG SQUATS, ETC.) FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS....NOW IT IS REARING ITS UGLY HEAD...MY MENISCI ( BOTH KEES) AND MY HIP JOINTS ARE CHRONICALLY INFLAMED DUE TO THE TORQUE THAT IS CREATED IN THOSE JOINTS...ESPECIALLY IF YOU REALLY TIGHTEN ALL YOUR MUSCLES IN THOSE AREAS, YOU CREATE EVEN MORE OF AN UNEVEN STRESS IN THOSE PLACES...KEEP YOUR FEET WHERE THEY WOULD NATURALLY BE PUT...TRUST ME, AND IF YOU DON´T BELIEVE ME, JUST LOOK AT ANIMALS THAT WALK ON 3 LEGS ( DUE TO AMPUTATION) FOR SEVERAL YEARS...THEY ALL(!) GET SEVERE ARTHRITIS IN THE SHOULDER ( OR HIP) THAT IS CONSTANTLY BEING USED IN CENTER LINE....JUST SAYING!

[@agentnukaz1715]

cuchulainn1967 Ok

[@Dante.farnel1358]

Hey Matt! Is it necessary that the hips are in line with the heels when doing calf raises? I tend to lean a bit forward my hips when doing these exercises.

[@RedDeltaProject]

It's best to keep your weight back a bit so bring as much weight on the balls of your feet as you can. Try keeping all fo the muscles in your legs tense including your glutes, quads and hamstrings to improve the alignment of your legs and core as well.

[@Dante.farnel1358]

@@RedDeltaProject thank you very much! I will try it out

[@johnpope3025]

Matt what's your height and weight?

[@agentnukaz1715]

Pai Gow How tall you are and how heavy you are.

[@knights8887]

agent nukaz I think he was asking Matt's height and weight

[@RedDeltaProject]

5'10" 185ish

[@listenitsmusic9340]

hello :D i wanna ask a question about paul wade books (convict conditioning one and two)just to know about his approach , the way he trains > he is always talking about bracing not about tensing the muscles as possible as we can ,so if someone want to follow his (paul wade) way of training he should brace or tense all the muscles as possible as he can? ,i know that in any exercise ican apply body tension and i will get a good result but here iam just talking about paul wade approach to training , thank u

[@blairparkinson8118]

From what i understand Bracing and tensing are the same thing

[@listenitsmusic9340]

no blair, brace means head ,shoulder torso pelvis in line with each other(posterior pelvic tilt) with sending alittle tension to the core and glutes,

[@VforVanish]

Calf raises are boring, on the other hand skipping... ; )

[@RedDeltaProject]

Also try going for a bike ride without ever sitting down on the seat. That'll work your claves like crazy!

[@agentnukaz1715]

Um how many calf raises do I do?

[@RedDeltaProject]

As many as you can. And then one more.

[@michaelhoughton8449]

3rd

[@Terry14.88]

1st.

[@CPVerde423]

2nd