LEGS

I need to boost my legs up big time, especially my calves. but nothing seems to be working.

are calves high rep or low rep muscles? also anyone have any tips on getting monster calves? thanks. my lower body is lightyears behind my upperbody.

Hey Buddy,

Calves take a long time! Some people train them with like 25 reps, others treat them like any other muscle group and hit them 8-12 reps. I like to get the 15-25 range, just because I love the feel of it. It burns like crazy, makes me want to cry. Sometimes I wimper a bit in the gym from the intensity, but I love it.

I love training legs, I think my quads are one of my best muscle groups, period. Sometimes it might be hard to tell that from photos, but I think most photos, show that quads are a strong point for me.

I have some fairly recent ones I'll put up soon that show some pretty shredded legs.

I think upper legs respond pretty quickly so your quads and hams should be catching up to your upper body soon. Calves can get bigger with time but that's just it, it takes TIME. Calves are one of those special areas, you have them or you don't, and if you don't, it will take a while to get them, but it can be done.

See what rep range works for you but I like at least 15 to get that pump feeling.

Legs are generally up there in rep range.

Legs are one of my favorite muscle groups to train. Focus on them all summer and see how it goes. If you haven't trained them much in the past, they should respond well.

I don't think you have to do anything crazy like 3-rep sets. Keep it up around 15, feel the burn and build some muscle.

Try eating a bunch of new foods too. Get some more nuts, lentils, beans, green veggies, grains, a variety of fruits, lots of berries, lots of other non-green vegetables, seeds, seaweed, and some nut butters and see how that works for you. I am also taking a bit of a soy break. I do that from time to time and focus on the foods I just mentioned. Also if you're still taking in shakes, try some hemp protein, pea, or rice, to mix things up.

Hit them legs and make em Swol, dogg.

cool i will see what i can do.

I cant work calves, squats, deadlifts, or leg presses anymore. I sprained/fracture my toe doing polymetrics on the Hickory Run State Park. Boulder Field. I run as fast (almost sprinting) as I can and do all various sorts of jumps and spins, and one legged hope. that's what i get for Boulder-Dashing. hehe. pretty burned up on my arms, back, and leg as well from falling. its my first time I've ever fallen. Ive been doing this for years now too.

anyway nothing major. I will stick to hamstring curls, quad extensions, and ab/ad-uctions.

Oh yeah, I forgot about your fall.

I hope you recover soon. I've had my share of injuries and setbacks too, but you and I are both very optimistic, positive people and we keep on keepin on.

Best of luck training with the muscles that are not injured right now.

P.S. I'm at work so I can't use instant message to chat right now

But I'll catch up with you later Topher, I should have your image up on the Bio section of the main site soon.

oh cool thanks. i just noticed the bio was put up.

I need to boost my legs up big time, especially my calves. but nothing seems to be working.

 

are calves high rep or low rep muscles? also anyone have any tips on getting monster calves? thanks. my lower body is lightyears behind my upperbody.

Do you run for cardio at all? I have a couple friends that run a lot and have developed huge calves from just doing that. They don't even work them in the gym. That's something I'm considering getting into myself.

I dont do cardio.

I do polymetrics ever now and then. I run on a boulderfield.

Ive actually noticed my calves growing now, and my legs are slowly.

I figured out what I have to do to make em grow. I just gotta wait for this sprained toe to heal up.

from my experience of cycling and running, most of the people who do it have very toned calfs but they dont seem to be that big. skateboarders often have big calfs because its not endurance work.

rob, i have to say that 3rep sets are great! not amazing for definition but excellent for building strength and mass!

jonathan

I don't train my legs, you train them all the time when walking and such. I think big legs are unproportional with the rest, since they are already growing becouse you use them constantly with walking. And if you train to hard you may get problems walking(like Jay Cutler, he can't walk without pain, or so I have red somewhere).

You can also skateboard and do martial arts like me, I am verry happy with my legs. I also cycle a lot, and occasionaly jump an hour or so in the pit at a punkrock concert.

Also I guess you have to watch out with overtraining, since you use your legs for walking and such.

greetings.

i also thought the same for the first year of weight training, as i did martial arts then, as well as lots of running, walking and cycling. also i go to quite a few hardore punk shows. i also did 3years of reasonably high level cycling before that.

but after a year my legs were really lagging, as normal activity does not increase mass in your legs in the same way that it doesnt in your upper body.

i think that gigantic legs like those of many pro body builders are really stupid. i mean not being able to anything but leg curls and extentions is ridiculous. but bear in mind that you only get legs like that if you do the juice. actually i think that you need growth hormones too (as before GH, BB's like arnold and franco columbu had much more reasonable proportions).

squatting is a really vital part of any exercise regime, whether you bodybuild or train for power, whether you do sets of 3 or 50. in my opinion its one of the very best exercises.

jonathan

i also thought the same for the first year of weight training, as i did martial arts then, as well as lots of running, walking and cycling. also i go to quite a few hardore punk shows. i also did 3years of reasonably high level cycling before that.

but after a year my legs were really lagging, as normal activity does not increase mass in your legs in the same way that it doesnt in your upper body.

i think that gigantic legs like those of many pro body builders are really stupid. i mean not being able to anything but leg curls and extentions is ridiculous. but bear in mind that you only get legs like that if you do the juice. actually i think that you need growth hormones too (as before GH, BB's like arnold and franco columbu had much more reasonable proportions).

squatting is a really vital part of any exercise regime, whether you bodybuild or train for power, whether you do sets of 3 or 50. in my opinion its one of the very best exercises.

 

jonathan

I agree with you on the squatting thing. It is one of the best excercises that a person can do and everyone should do them. Just watch the form.

yeah - mine is pretty crap at the moment! i am sorting it out though. in my defense, i am extraordinarily tall which makes it quite hard to ever have perfect form.

jonathan

yeah - mine is pretty crap at the moment! i am sorting it out though. in my defense, i am extraordinarily tall which makes it quite hard to ever have perfect form.

 

jonathan

Yeah I am 6'2'' and it is pretty hard for me. Another thing that sucks about being this tall. When you gain 10 lbs it is a lot harder to tell than when a little squatty guy gains 10 pounds.

yeah - mine is pretty crap at the moment! i am sorting it out though. in my defense, i am extraordinarily tall which makes it quite hard to ever have perfect form.

 

jonathan

 

Yeah I am 6'2'' and it is pretty hard for me. Another thing that sucks about being this tall. When you gain 10 lbs it is a lot harder to tell than when a little squatty guy gains 10 pounds.

yeah! i mean i have gained 55lb since weight training as a vegan and i still look skinny! plus im now (just) clinically overweight with a bmi of 25.1! its crazy!

jonathan

I want to be clinically overweight

I think I was at one point. I was around 5'11" and around 200 lbs

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/images/2003/2003-1.jpg

Strong Vegan Monster Robert Cheeke in 2003

I want to be clinically overweight

 

I think I was at one point. I was around 5'11" and around 200 lbs

 

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/images/2003/2003-1.jpg

 

 

Strong Vegan Monster Robert Cheeke in 2003

Im Obese Type II according to the BMI!