4 week Calf Growth Challenge (How Big Can They Get)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Movements we are using in this phase
Movement #1
Standing Calve variation - Options include:
Smith Machine
Standing Calf Machine
Hammer Standing Calf
1-legged standing calf will all work here
Movement #2
Seated calf - Seated calf machine or Parillo Calf Raises
Movement #3
Tibialis raises - Hammer machine, or just dorsiflex foot with toes hanging off aerobic step bench
Frequency - 5 times a week.
All sets listed are WORK SETS. You'll need to do adequate warm up sets prior to doing these. WORK SETS mean they are done to true muscular failure. Where you couldn't achieve another rep.
Tibialis anterior raises - These are to be done after each working set of calves. Find a block/or step bench to elevate your heels with toes hanging off, and do 20-30 reps with a 2 second hold at the top. THIS IS KEY!!
Rest between sets - Unless noted it's a2-minute rest when there are multiple sets done.
Week 1
This is the acclimation week. This week is important because if you've not been training calves then you don't want to go full bore into this. You'll be so sore you won't be able to walk normally if you do. Use this week to build some conditioning for the weeks ahead.
Days 1-5
Day 1 - Standing raises - 1 set of 10, Seated Calf Raises 1 set of 10
Day 2 - Standing raises - 1 set of 10, followed 10 partials from the bottom to finish / Seated calf raises 1 set of 12
Day 3 - Standing raises - 1 set of 10, 1 back off set of 20 / Seated raises 2 sets of 10
Day 4 - Standing raises - 1 set of 20 (30 second stretch in machine after last set) / Seated raises 2 sets of 12 (30 second stretch in machine after last set)
Day 5 - Standing raises - 2 sets of 10 - both sets end with 20 second stretch after last rep / Seated Calf Raises - 2 sets of 12 all reps held for 3 seconds in the bottom
Take any 2 days off during week
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 2
Days 6-10
Day 6 - Standing raises - 3 sets of 10 - all 3 sets end with 5 additional slow partials out of stretch and 20 second stretch
Day 7 - Seated raises 3 sets of 10, all reps are paused for 3 seconds at the bottom before performing the concentric
Day 8 - Seated raises - 3 sets of 10 all reps are paused at bottom and top for 3 seconds / Standing raise - one giant drop set with 10 reps, then drop weight and do 10, then drop weight and do 10, then just stand on ground on tip toes for 60 seconds squeezing.
Day 9 - Standing raises - 4 sets of 8
Day 10 - Seated raises - 3 sets of 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 3
Days 11- 25
Day 11 - Standing raises - 4 set of 10, on each set do 5 slow partials out of stretch position after doing your 10 reps.
Day 12 - Standing raises - 1 set - Do 10 reps and then hold at the top for 10 seconds, immediately do another 10 reps and hold again at the top for 10 seconds, then immediately do 1 final 10 reps, and one final 10 second hold at the top. This is one set, and it BURNS.
Day 13 - Seated raises - See what you did yesterday, in terms of rep scheme, now do it again today on the seated machine. BURN again.
Day 14 - Standing and seated raise super set - Do 10 reps standing and then then 8 reps seated. Also remember to do your tibia raises! Do 3 cycles of this.
Day 15 - Do 5 sets of 8 very heavy, work the stretch hard, and if you can't quite get full contraction that's ok.
Take any 2 days off during week
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 4
Days 16-20
Day 16 - Toe Presses - I would like for you to do these in a leg press machine. Work the stretch and do 4 heavy sets of 12.
Day 17 - Toe Presses - Do these again but bend your knees a little this time. Do 3 sets of 20.
Day 18 - Seated raises - 4 sets of 10 all reps are paused at bottom and top for 3 seconds /
Standing raise - one giant drop set with 10 reps, then drop weight and do 10, then drop weight and do 10, then just stand on ground on tip toes for 60 seconds squeezing.
Day 19 - Bodyweight toe raises. Stand on a block and do bodyweight only calve raises. Shoot for 100 reps total. Try to do as many as you can do before pausing for a second and then starting again.
Day 20 - Seated raises - 5 sets of 15. Do these with a very slow tempo and squeezing the contractions for 2 seconds each.
Take any 2 days off during week
Paul IG: @LiftRunBang
John IG: @mountaindog1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplements: granitesupplem...
Discount code - MDUA-cam10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make sure you like the video share the video and subscribe to the channel. And if you would like me to answer any of you question please ask them in the comment section.
#MDCALF #CalfWorkout #JohnMeadows
Make sure you use the Hashtag #MDCALF on IG so we can see your progress.
John.... I am very confused now because of the 5 days in a row with no rest days in between? Can you please explain the logic in this intensity technique
@@dustencross357 your calfs are not like most other muscles. Beacause you to walk everyday they are made to withstand a lot more volume that pecs for example. Same goes with shoulders. At least thats what i know🙂
@@ericman3234 so they are like the core?
@@dustencross357 guess so..
@@ericman3234 thanks for the help!
One of my favorite calf training tips from John Meadows: *Hit calves FIRST when you arrive to gym*
Helps with your squat aswell.. tight calves prevented my squat range for ages.
Im too scooped for that hahaha
@@erikleypoldt8275 ay?
John got me to change the way I do them now.
3 times a week first thing I do. 5 sets of 15 with partial reps till I die.
That's fax my guy
The man provides a full calf program for free and 10 people dislike it? People never cease to amaze me.
many angry people out there brother
@@mountaindog1 Indeed
They’re mad cause they wanna blame genetics and be lazy haha
"my calves are small now"
Bigger than most people's arms.. lol
Pretty close to a lot of people’s quads lmfao
Our definitions of small calves are vastly different!
😂
No doubt, when I compare my calves to his, it's like I suffer from some rare disease called 'Nocalvesyndrome'. 😫🤣
I hope Omar Isuf is watching this one!
my calves have already grown since I started doing them multiple times per week AND at the beginning of my workout. thanks for the tips John.
Damn I was just thinking how I can get my calves as big as possible and then this gets posted... Nice
Same bro
I have fought for 20 years to get bigger calves, I was born with superskinny calves, but after consistent training year after year, I can now say I am pretty satisfied with the results. They are not huge and will never be, but now there are striations and details a poor trained guy never will get. Thanks for your great training advice on calves John! You have given me new inspiration and fire to train them smart! Thanx!
Thanks for sharing!
Any transformation vid by any chance??
Lol 17 inches would be my dream.
for arms....
Greetings from Greece. 1.5 month since gyms reopened.Good genetics in quadraceps, bad at calfs so i gave it a try . Finished,yesterday,this 4 week program, step by step-day by day, and im telling you i have seen the difference. Really hoping for the next video. Im a fan for almost 2 years . Thanks a lot for your content mr Meadows.
Great stuff brother!
This guy is a role model. He has a family to provide for and still pursues his dream without sacrificing his family. RIP John Meadows man 💪
YES SIR!! FINALLY! Thank you so much!! I’ve been working on my calves since I first saw your calves video and they’ve grown!! Especially with those tibia raises!! 😂
Happy to help!
Just subscribed and have been following to get fit since Im 29 and weigh about 254. His mentality when it comes to fitness is the most well rounded I've seen.I'm hoping to be fit enough to pass the APFT with top scores sooner that later using Granite and John's get down just because it's good ole Mountain Dog.
How dod ot go, dos you pass the APFT/ACFT?
John thanks for everything your the man! Hoping to have a following like you someday shooting for 100🙏🙏🙌🙌
Calves can become the "fly in the ointment" for a bodybuilder. Easily discarded if not worked at the beginning of the workout.
I'll be hitting mine hard again starting today.
Thanks for the motivation!
Good point!
Watching you do calf exercises with that music is hilarious 😂
In and thanks for the tibias 🦴 lol . I remember you talking about that and now it is going into the routine!
Loved how you put everything in the description. I'll be sure to join in on the program.
Excellent video John.
Glad you enjoyed it
LOVE IT. GR8 MOTIVATION JOHNY BOY..
Just what I need! Thanks John 💪🏽.
As Arnold used to say ... turn doz cafves into cows. I'm in.
My calf genetics are absolutely terrible. They have been small all my life and would not budge for the longest time. In the past year or so I've been training them 5 days a week 4 - 5 sets a day to failure. Roughly 22 sets a week and they have been growing. Albeit slow but they've been growing. At this rate I'll hit 17 inches in a decade lol. Thanks for the inspiration to beat the hell out of my calves John!
@hakan mavruk You should do sets to failure but a heavy ass weight. Even 6 reps full contraction on a 2nd or 3rd final set would destroy them
@hakan mavruk A few sets for your first time then add sets, increase weight, or change the excercise. Consistency. Simple enough, just gotta work hard bruv
RIP John. Thanks for the workout
Looking forward to starting this tomorrow on my 52nd birthday. I am definitely one of the worst about completely neglecting my calves throughout the decades. Time to get some meat on these to survive my last 40 years or so on Earth vertically if I'm blessed to live healthy that long.
Meadows is the literal MAN, bought a tibia dorsi machine because of him as well. Such an awesome guy, will miss these gems.
Damn you really dont want me to walk anymore dont you
Yeah, Buddy! I am so jumping on this wagon!
Right on!
What a great challenge. I've never had "impressive" calves nor have I really put the dedication into my calves i do the rest. I created an Instagram account to speak with Dr. Chris Zaino so I'm good to go. My UA-cam notification seems to be delayed as I just received this notification so ill be a day behind. Better late than never lol if your calves are 17' get ready for some unimpressive single digit calves 🤣
Definitely trying that and recording in my channel John!! Great Iniciative
John lets make calves big again Meadows!! I’m with it. This gave me motivation to start on mine..
A good example of the use of 2 advanced training principals: the priority and the periodization principals. I use it for all body parts: this month my priority is quads and hams, next month it will be delts and arms. Etcetera. This month I do a little maintenance volume for all body parts excepts the quads and hams.. Meaning I will attack the quads and hams 3 times a week, and the rest of the time in the same week I divide the time equally for pecs, lats, delts and arms. Meaning perhaps only 1 or max 2 exercises for those muscles.
You just cant dislike this guy, So chill yet so hardcore!
Great video. I desperately need to grow my calves. 6'3" and got some chicken leg action going. 😂
I'm in. Gonna do it
He does something I started doing last month. I wasn't a rocker but I didn't really understand the way a calf muscle contracts. The flex starts at the big toe but the smallest toe is where the fullest contraction is. When I started pushing from my big toe all the way up to the outer edge of my foot it completely changed the pump
lol 17" calves, how "depressing". I just started out at the gym about a month ago and have never in my life had any calves at all. They have responded TREMENDOUSLY to training and I am beyond excited. Can't wait to see how big they are a year from now :D
Yoooo update?
Yoooo update?
I saw this on your Instagram the day you announced it. I was in immediately! Currently on day 4. Let’s go the full 8 weeks!
The Reason from Hoobastank is playing in the background,one of my fav songs
I’m in for sure💯 Mine are 14.5”, I weigh about 165 pounds.
15 1/2 right now this coming from training them so i know they are growing! Shooting for maybe 20! Really just want to get them bigger! R.I.P John love all your training techniques I use them all at the gym and at home!
Always learning from you brother, thanks for passing on the knowledge!
Loved this 4 week set. Would you (or anyone out there) have programming recommendations for calves going forward after completing the 4 week challenge? Thank you Mountain Dog!
Bust my ass for years to get 17 inch calves...pretty happy. John Meadows, "17 inch calves, depressing." :( Thanks John, made my morning. I'll give it a shot. It'll give me something to do on IG.
Definitely getting involved in this, starting tomorrow as I've already trained this morning
No joke I've actually been doing calf work every session for the last few weeks because I too came to the realisation my calves suck.
Look forward to having other soldiers in the trenches with me
I've been doing high reps. 25/30 range. Am I better upping the weight and doing sets of 10?
Calf challenge... 😂😂😂 good one!
Ah man, just yesterday I was hoping to see a new calf workout video from one of the guys i follow and here it is!
Enjoy
Working on my calves, using John's superset technique. Loving the growth!
Keep it up
Which one?
"Shrunk to 17 inches" MD doesnt know the struggle
Yaaaaas! My calves are nearly as big as yours, at the start lol
Greg Doucette mentioned his calves are small. I hope Greg gets in on this challenge.
My calves are 10.5”... LMAO I’m in
Best topic, I have decent quad and hamstrings development but my lower leg is just 2 sticks
Awesome to see you looking happy and motivated John after all life has thrown at you recently, congrats on your coaching also!
I appreciate that!
Everything shrinks with time John! Except the gut!
Thank you very much for this video
BG: 13 / 1.5 in calves. Skinny legs. Father has skinny legs, grandfather has skinny legs. I train calves 4-5 days a week as the first exercise.
DAY1: Standing calve raises - 4 sets at 275lb for 10 reps. RPE 10. 3 sec pause at the bottom and top.
Day 2: 13 1/2 in calves
Done before main workout:
Blood Flow Restriction Calve Raises on Standing Calf Machine.
1 set: 210lbs for 25 reps
Rest 1 min
2-4 Set 210 for 15 reps (RPE10) followed by a 8 sec stretch pause on the last rep.
Day 3: standing calve raises 6 sets @285 for 10 reps. Two second pause at the top and two second pause at the bottom.
@@thefox7427it’s been 3 months, noticed any improvements?
Count me in!!!!
John Meadows + Paul Carter make calves great again!
I love the videos. I know it's going to take me years to get huge claves. I am not taking gear. But at least they will look better
The people need an update on this :)
Omar Isuf has left the chat.
Hey bro great channel
Thanks for the visit
Epic......
Yeah...I got excited when I saw this on Instagram. I couldn’t walk for 2 days! 🤦🤣
Oh no!
Hi John a couple of suggestions for you to try when supersetting the lower leg muscles superset 1 standing calf raise with standing tibia raise superset 2 seated calf raise with seated tibia raised perform both exercises on the calf machines doing it this way both exercises can be done with resistance these are two of my favourite supersets of lower leg development stay safe and healthy
Not necessarily relevant, but y’all should try doing cardio by skipping rope instead of jogging/stair master/treadmill. It gives one hell of a calf pump, has doubled the growth rate for my calves and added 1.5 inches. It’s also not very tiring since calves recover very quickly set-to-set, and are made for high reps with the amount of slow-twitch fibers.
And, It burns more calories per minute than cycling or jogging without affecting the leg recovery.
8 hours later and Mtn Dog still hearting comments. He da true MVP
will be starting this challenge with you and I will make sure i get results, calves are currently on 13.9 lets see after 4 weeks then after 8! amped up
Rip champ ... miss this " alright hi everybody "
alright stoked to follow along! hope you do an arm growth thing at some point?
Possibly!
Great person ❤️
Hey there John, i think that is the best combination, calf raises + tibialis anterior
I think so too!
My Monday is made
Very good camera work😂
RIP John 🙏
For a long time i trained calves for pump 15 to 20 reps and that do shit for me max 10 reps heavier weights and 6-8 sets 4 times a week, that works for me
🤔 yep definitely in! 👊🇺🇸💪
Can't wait until my calves are bigger than my quads! Lets go
I've been measuring while seated which gave my calves a whole extra inch, but if standing is how the cool kids do it then that's how i'll do it.
Looks like i'm doing alot more volume, i'm getting slow results, as in 1/2" in 6 months, so i'm not ready to give up on it and go back to heavy weight low volume yet since I went for years with no growth doing heavy. Currently every other day I do 4 sets to failure using a weight that I exhaust after about 35 reps. Done it this way for a year now. Maybe time to switch it up.
Me: My calves are 17", they look amazing!
John: My calves are 17", which is depressing...
😔
4 weeks in and I’m probably going to push this to eight weeks. My routine of donkey raises using a belt squat machine and seated raises 5x weekly and I have put on almost 1/2 an inch and have a slight vascular look to them. I am an extreme hard gainer when it comes to calves
Will start from tomorrow.
B pac would say don’t roll your feet out at the top. Stay on the ball or big toe. Whatever ever works though 👍🏾
Single leg calf/tibia raises on the stairs every evening is a godsend
Hey John. You're a big inspiration of mine and I truly believe you are a gift to the fitness industry. I wanted to ask you if its okay for an 18 year old who has had 1.5 years of training experience to run The gamma bomb?? Keep educating me and millions of others, always looking forward to your videos!
id rather you do Colossus
@@mountaindog1 okay John. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks,
You're welcome!
Had foot surgery so my calves got small can't wait to get back to train them
I completed the four weeks and took a new measurement today and my calves grew a quarter of an inch
I’d love to try this
Did John ever finish the challenge?
It only goes to day 10 on mountain dog website
We miss you John.
I'm new to BB and John's training routines. Where can I find this eight week calve program as I'm not seeing it here?
DAY 1- completed
I’ve got some chicken legs let’s see if this works lol
Your “shitty” is our greatest imaginable ever in our wildest dreams inside our wild dreams.
It’s not the same man.
I have recently upped my calf workouts to 4x a week after watching an earlier John Meadows video. Might as well make it 6x a week. 16inches starting, let's see what happens!
Keep it up
Will the "build your own mountaindog training series" be continued?
John Meadows, the thinking man's meathead :)
Great video, I've never trained my calves enough, because now that I do steady state cardio super high incline treadmill 3-7 hours a day everyday they've been growing.
3-7 hours a day? How do you fit 7 hours in 😂
I cut part of one of my fingers off a couple weeks ago its too painful to grip a barbell or dumbell at the moment. Now that I think about it I have no excuse to not work calves.