Calf exercise

JMan

Anyone got any tips on how to bulk up my claves as they are quite small and always seem to ache when riding for long periods whereas my upper legs dont so much,

would be really appreciative for some advice

warrior4life

I work in gyms and i work with athletes, cyclists and bodybuilders and i can say calfs are the hardest muscle to bulk up, its pretty much all down th genetics.
There's no tricks to calf work, they have an origin and insertion and run through one plane of motion.
You half many different calf raise excersises but all the really do is mimic standing up on your toes with weights on your shoulders.

to see any real difference you'll be talking over a year training calfs twice a week.

Calfs do high reps when we walk around on them all day say you need to hit them with something different, go super heavy and get right onto the tips of your toes.
Keep form good and be persistent.

hamstrich

I'm not sure that bulking up your calves is the best idea for your cycling - if you look at the elite road racers, they don't really have big calves at all. I'd recommend simply riding more - if your saddle is set up correctly (having it too high could cause aching in your calves or hamstrings) then the aching should go away as you get fitter (at least that's my experience).

airborne_warrior

Agree with the above statement. If muscle size won races then we'd all have quads, hams and calves like a pro bodybuilder. The size of a muscle does not equate to its strength or its endurance capability. Most olympic lifters and strongmen are smaller in muscle size to pro bodybuilders but much stronger. Same as all decent cyclists and runners would whip a decent sized bodybuilder on a ride or run even though their legs are probably much smaller.

DoubleTop

I took part in a duathlon and it was in the 1st mile or so, I was just getting sorted out before getting into my rhythm having a drink after running too fast – I was overtaken by a rather fit female who made the following comment when she went past:

‘Nice calves muscles’

When I overtook her on the first hill climb, I told her she had a nice…………

I saw her after the race in the bar for an orange juice, she ask how I got so defined calves muscle? For the previous 12 months every morning I had an MG Metro with a set of wheels that had something wrong with them. I would have to pump up at least 2 tyres every morning before driving the car and I couldn’t afford to replace the wheels and the garage couldn’t find where the air was escaping.

So, if you want get a car tyre and practice pumping it up everyday then that could work. If you do want more defined calves then do what I do when racing – I wear fake tattoos for visual effect – the radiation sign is always good.

Hope this helps…..but I agree with previous posters not sure how it's going really to help your cycling.

Bhima

It will benefit you a bit - because the bigger the muscle mass, the more lactic acid it can handle:

A large muscle mass working at a moderate intensity will develop less lactate than a small muscle mass working at a high intensity. For example, the rower must learn to effectively distribute force development among the muscles of the legs back and arms, rather than focusing all of the load on the legs, or the upper body

http://home.hia.no/~stephens/lacthres.htm

airborne_warrior

I think more riding would be of benefit rather than calf raises. Many elite distance runners and pro cyclists don't train calves. Doesn't that tell you something?

Bhima

Airborne Warrior wrote:

Many elite distance runners and pro cyclists don't train calves.

How do you know that? (Sorry, not being funny, i'm just interested in how you learned that info)