This has been a point of contention for a lot of people, and a point to argue about on Twitter.  I, personally, am one of those coaches that never directly train calves or puts them into any client programs (directly).  In over 30 years of coaching, I can count the number of clients that I include direct calf training on one hand, and they were competitive bodybuilders that were lacking there.

Here is why:

Calves have the lowest level of “trainability” to gain size.  It’s not impossible, but the amount of hypertrophy you can stimulate is minimal.  And truthfully, if you’re doing squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc.  you’re not really missing out on anything.

And that’s not taking into account genetics.  For instance, tendon length has a direct correlation to trainability.  Just look at basketball players…they do a ton of work (plyo, squats, OLY lifts) that should stimulate growth, but most have small calves.  That’s tendon length.  Also why most tall people have problems here.

Now, if you include the big bang lifts in your programs, your calves will get stimulus.  OLY lift variations, squats, deadlifts, farmer’s walks, prowler/sled work, and lunges utilize plantar flexion and proprioception at the ankle…calves!  If your calves aren’t where you want and you are using these exercises, isolation exercises aren’t likely to make the difference...sorry.

Now, if how your calves look is that important to you, or even causes some mental trauma…go work them, you do you.  Just keep in mind that your return on investment is highly unlikely to be what you want. 

That being said, our next blog post on Wednesday 5/4/22 will address some tips and tricks that might be able to stimulate some growth.