What to Do If You Have Poor Calf Genetics

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  • Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
  • In this QUAH Sal, Adam, & Justin answer the question “Is it true that the calf muscle is mostly determined by genetics and is not as “trainable” as other muscles in terms of increasing size?”
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    “What to Do If You Have Poor Calf Genetics"
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 65

  • @wraith9166
    @wraith9166 2 роки тому +66

    I've asked people who have huge calves what workout they do for it, they always say they never train calves. Here I am hitting calves 3x a week and they are still toothpicks lol.

  • @michaelharris8534
    @michaelharris8534 2 роки тому +34

    Training your 'chicken' legs more often and intensely will definitely give you more impressive chicken legs.

  • @fullclip2310
    @fullclip2310 Рік тому +15

    I'm training my calves to the point I reach muscle sprain, it so fucking painful and still there still no improvements.

    • @benjamindelfs2718
      @benjamindelfs2718 Рік тому +2

      That’s because like any other muscle, you need a day in between and you’re doing too many exercises. Simply do seated calf raises and weighted calf raises on step edges to failure 3 days a week. Give it a try and report back.

  • @levi9486
    @levi9486 2 роки тому +68

    I'm not genetically disposed for big calves, so I went through a period where I really wanted to focus on my calf development. I did calves 3x (2x seated and 1x in the leg press) a week with heavy weights, stretching at the bottom, slow and controlled reps, and long holds at peak contraction. After a couple of months my calves blew up and even though I don't work them out the same, they've maintained most of their size.

    • @CliqueOverAnything
      @CliqueOverAnything 2 роки тому +2

      What kind of insertion?

    • @Qwertyuiop-bt3ut
      @Qwertyuiop-bt3ut Рік тому +1

      What was your insertion and do you have pics?

    • @levi9486
      @levi9486 Рік тому

      @Qwertyuiop-bt3ut just looked it up, i have a medium to longer calf insertion which means I mis-spoke as I am more genetically inclined to have larger calves than I thought. With that being said, it was really tough for me to get bigger calves and had small calves like my dad(he used to be an ameteur powerlifter) until I did this. I think I just identified what my calves do daily(small range of motion-many reps/light weight aka walking) and did the opposite (l9ng range of motion, heavy weight, time under tension-multiple times a week).

    • @Qwertyuiop-bt3ut
      @Qwertyuiop-bt3ut Рік тому

      @@levi9486 ok it seems that I have a medium calf insertion so would I be able to get it big? They are not big rn tho they maybe like 13 in. And you know what your calf size was then vs now?

  • @justinrees2400
    @justinrees2400 Рік тому +9

    Calves will respond if you prioritize them. Train heavy and to failure 8-20 reps. They can take a beating so you can work them in several days per week without adding too much fatigue.

  • @keithhanisek2465
    @keithhanisek2465 2 роки тому +5

    Sorry to say but calves are mostly genetics. Yes you can improve them but either you have good genetics or you don't. I am lucky in that regard. I don't even target calves but they pop with any kind of leg training.

  • @josedumit1221
    @josedumit1221 3 роки тому +37

    You want to grow your calves? Use weighted stretching. Hop in the Leg Press Machine and do multiple reps with a 8 second pause in the bottom. The same thing goes to the seated version (It's important that you train both, cause they enphasize different part of the calve!) Also vary your feet position every few weeks, to prevent the adaptation of the stimuli. Believe me, this shit works like crazy.

    • @slayerfan545
      @slayerfan545 2 роки тому +7

      Nope still small my genetics suck

    • @maxyule2655
      @maxyule2655 Рік тому

      The 8 second pause is not needed, anything over 2 seconds is a waste of time

  • @marcus_ohreallyus
    @marcus_ohreallyus 2 роки тому +8

    I was obsessed with doing jump rope double unders a couple of years ago...until I fractured a metatarsal from "too much jump rope double unders". But, my calves (which are high insertion) did grow a little and while small, they look jacked.

  • @youtubefanboy8360
    @youtubefanboy8360 3 роки тому +7

    I thought it was all about going heavy which makes sense because when you see bigger people they have bigger calves, when they slim down they have big calves because they have weight to carry, that might not be true but I think going heavy is good because your calves aren't used to it

  • @SphazeTV
    @SphazeTV 3 роки тому +6

    These guys are awesome

  • @MarioBevans
    @MarioBevans 3 місяці тому

    Calf’s are genetics train calf’s like I train the rest of my body they just don’t respond well my legs are strong but just not big well the calf’s that is

  • @joshcarter2512
    @joshcarter2512 4 дні тому

    For best results train calves all day every day

  • @ChuckHolland-i4b
    @ChuckHolland-i4b 3 місяці тому

    I started walking on an incline treadmill and hill for 20k steps a day. Only thing that ever worked for me. Now instead have super skinny calves, i just have skinny calvs. 🤪

  • @halfers83
    @halfers83 2 роки тому +1

    Micah Lacerte has the best calves ever! Follow his program!

  • @Bluecollarjoe6B9
    @Bluecollarjoe6B9 2 роки тому +3

    I’ve trained my calves for years religiously and nothing.

  • @TheBaitShopGuy
    @TheBaitShopGuy 3 місяці тому

    Chris Bumstead has small calves and a stick neck. Everything else on him is Olympia level.
    The judges still pass Cbum through every year despite having no top or bottom to his physique.
    So it depends on the guy and the judges.

    • @dishank4723
      @dishank4723 7 годин тому

      R u kidding me have u seen cbum calves before he came into bodybuilding

  • @Staytruegoggins
    @Staytruegoggins 6 місяців тому

    I think I don’t have enough muscle insertions

  • @jcrodriguez6324
    @jcrodriguez6324 2 роки тому +1

    So, what to do then? 😂

  • @genovasquez8361
    @genovasquez8361 2 роки тому +3

    i am not a weight lifter, but i built calves by accident,
    i roller skate three times a week for a year and i always do crazy legs on the front two wheels only.
    Also i practice Wing Chun and Yee Gee Kim Yeung Ma is static stance posistion you basically put the weight on toes or balls of the feet. and raise the heels slightly off the the ground, an hold it for 5 minutes a twice a week.

  • @ericcalabrese8716
    @ericcalabrese8716 3 роки тому +17

    I have been doing calfs every day and I haven’t see growth month in

    • @ayushmaansharma5116
      @ayushmaansharma5116 3 роки тому +9

      Bro train them 3x per week and focus on tibialis anterior and soleus more and use tempo with weights and take rest

    • @streetrat123
      @streetrat123 3 роки тому +4

      Bro I’ve been training calves frequently for years and they’re lean and vascular but not really bigger 😐

    • @ayushmaansharma5116
      @ayushmaansharma5116 3 роки тому

      @@streetrat123 brother try to progressively overload the muscle and focus on more mind muscle connection or either go more heavy with full range of motion and train all 4 muscles as well I have good calves with bad genetics

    • @jayking3159
      @jayking3159 2 роки тому +1

      Throw shit load of weight on there and do a shit load of reps. Do it everyday.

    • @shermanalcide6791
      @shermanalcide6791 2 роки тому

      You know it’s actually bad to work one muscle group every day right? If you don’t rest the muscle fibers won’t grow back as strong as they should and you’re going to see less results. In addition, you just might have « bad genetics ». Most people in my family have small calves and I do too. They looked alright when I was a kid ‘cause I used to play soccer a lot but now i’m rather ashamed to show my legs… Adding to this the fact that people been telling me I have small legs since forever.

  • @ramsism8652
    @ramsism8652 3 роки тому +5

    Actaully calves (gastrocnemius and soleus) are bigger than any muscle on the upper body

    • @marsh59
      @marsh59 2 роки тому

      Interesting

    • @cop6576
      @cop6576 2 роки тому

      Lats? Chest?

    • @cop6576
      @cop6576 2 роки тому

      There's no bloody way thr calves are bigger than lats or chest muscles

    • @marsh59
      @marsh59 2 роки тому

      @@cop6576 according to Menno Henselmans ‘Science to Master Your Physique’ , the calves and Glutes are tied for 2nd as the bodies largest muscles. 1st largest are the quads.
      Lats are further down the list, being only bigger than the biceps 💪

    • @cop6576
      @cop6576 2 роки тому +1

      @@marsh59 Probably in an untrained individual.

  • @AF-kh1ki
    @AF-kh1ki 3 роки тому +7

    I grew up in Europe (for context). I used to take public transport to school and my commute was quite long, almost 2hrs per trip. I'd be standing in the bus for the majority of that trip for about 4-5 years, 5 days a week. I was only 13 at the time when I started going to school alone but in that period my calves grew ridiculously thick compared to the rest of my body. I also used to cycle regularly about twice a week, 2hrs per session. I think just being on your feet for a sizeable chunk of your day consistently over a long time goes a long way to helping develop your calves.
    This is purely anecdotal of course, but the moment I went to university and then started working - periods where my time spent sitting at a desk dramatically increased - most of that size started gradually decreasing. So for any people who work in offices I'd say the starting step is to get yourself a standing desk and to try to include (light) cycling or hiking as part of your routine during your rest days.

  • @davifurtado6534
    @davifurtado6534 3 роки тому +6

    The genetics part is bullshit. When I was a kid I practiced taekwondo, and this martial art is predominantly legs with almost zero use of your upper body. Few years later and I had massive calves and legs. Why genetics is bullshit? Because you can't even compare my calves with my brother's or my father's calves who didn't practice that martial art, the difference is HUGE. Unless the "genetic" difference also happens within the same blood, which wouldn't make any sense
    But still, I only trained martial arts when a kid for about 3 years and then when I was a teenager I trained for another year, yet my calves remained huge. No definitions, but big
    So recently I started weight training and a few things that made my calves look MUSCULAR and get some definition were this:
    - deadlifting, when I started deadlifting I saw the difference almost instantly
    - squatting, for obvious reasons
    - doing CONTROLED and low reps when training calves. Seriously guys, we have the acchiles tendon that is very elastic, so when you do train calves always pause for 1 to 2 seconds at the top.
    - add some rope jumping. 2 times per week for 5 minutes is enough
    gl fellas

    • @kungkung1167
      @kungkung1167 2 роки тому +11

      No hate but its mostly genetic

    • @slappyhappy6192
      @slappyhappy6192 2 роки тому +5

      Dude of course it could only be you in your family. Do you have any idea how genetics work? My brother is 6’5 and bean pole
      Everyone else is 6’0
      How is it possible that one kid has something physically different than his father and siblings? Gotta be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read

    • @davifurtado6534
      @davifurtado6534 2 роки тому +1

      @@slappyhappy6192 people ask if me and my brother are twins. We are not.
      Funnily enough I've been neglecting calves for the past 6 months and focusing on upper body and every day im looking closer to my family and losing a LOT of mass on my calves. But I guess it's easier to blame genetics instead of training calves for real.
      Want to really grow your calves? Treat it like you treat your chest. You probably blast like 20 sets per week on your chest and then you do 3 sets of calf raises per week by the end of leg day and call it done.
      Try starting your workout with calves, doing more sets like another muscle group and adding variations like seated/standing raises and rope jump and then come back here and say it doesn't grow

    • @unclebs6215
      @unclebs6215 2 роки тому +3

      Genetics, sports you played as a child and through puberty, definitely play a larger role than you attempt to discredit. I cannot grow calves no matter how heavy, no matter how many reps, frequency, massage, styles.. my calves may get more defined, but never, ever, ever have they grown thicker.. wider=perhaps a smidge and I mean mm not inches, thicker=zero, absolute zero growth.

    • @dlouise64
      @dlouise64 2 роки тому +1

      I wonder if it depends how active a person was as a child. I have huge calves too and was extremely fit when younger, running, mountain racing, bmxing and skateboarding. So that might have something to do with it.

  • @gideon-af
    @gideon-af Рік тому

    Calfs were the first muscle I started with when I started lifting. I’ve been training them 6x a week and run in barefoot shoes every day. It’s been 3 months no results so far. But I’m not quitting!

    • @YusufEbr
      @YusufEbr 4 місяці тому

      Did they grow😂FFS it's a year tell me something happened

    • @mauri1400
      @mauri1400 Місяць тому

      did they ?

  • @persianatural
    @persianatural 3 роки тому

    Right on