Tag: calf

How The Seated Calf Raise Machine Builds Stronger Calves

How The Seated Calf Raise Machine Builds Stronger Calves

Build bigger calves with the seated calf raise machine.
It may be fair to say that we often times neglect our calves in order to beef up those other vanity muscles, but the seated calf raise machine is not something to ignore. What this machine can do is offer a great exercise so no one can ever poke fun at your tiny calves again. It is a little embarrassing, is it not? Heading into the gym and knowing you have some of the smallest calves there. Just not worth it. Period. Stop neglecting your calves and work to boost your lower body gains with the seated calf raise machine.
The benefits to having bigger and stronger calves goes far beyond simply a larger, more defined aesthetic. Strong calves help stabilize our knees, prevent injury, help with power and explosivity, enhance lower body performance, and assist with sport specific and more functional movements (1). With all of these great benefits to large calves, why neglect them and put yourself in a bad spot? It isn’t worth it, and you work too hard to have a physique ruined by tiny calves.

Let’s take a look at the seated calf raise machine and see what makes this exercise so great. By knowing what equipment is out there and how best to tackle all of those gains will easily eliminate that fear of small calves from your mind. By putting this into your lower body routine, you can better tackle any and all of those workouts for only the best gains.

What Is The Seated Calf Raise Machine?
The seated calf raise machine is a great exercise to work your calves and usually involves a high amount of reps. By using the machine, you will make yourself comfortable as you push yourself to be uncomfortable. With many variations, some involving dumbbells or barbells, this exercise only needs the machine, and you start to show that gym equipment some love and really push yourself. As an effective calf builder, this is one to put into your routine.
Muscles Worked
For this exercise, your calves are what get worked the most. Mainly an isolation exercise, when performed the right way with good technique, this exercise is a perfect one for targeting your calf muscles. The specific muscle targeted is the soleus muscle and this is responsible for the movement of your foot moving down, otherwise known as plantar flexion.

Benefits Of The Seated Calf Raise Machine
The benefits of the seated calf raise machine are hard to ignore and for those who neglect their calves, you are certainly missing out. It doesn’t take too long to work your calves and putting them into your leg day routine is no hassle at all. Keep yourself in check and work to boost your physique, for people can spot small calves a mile away.
Benefits of the seated calf raise machine include:

Bigger, stronger calves: Work to build those calves so you see the best growth and all around great gains.
Easy to adjust weight for resistance: The set-up of the machine allows for easy adjusting of weight to help you better tackle those gains.
Easy to learn: This is easy to learn so there is no excuse for you not to perform this exercise.

How To Perform This Exercise
Here are the steps for performing the seated calf raise machine exercise. With the right form and a real focus on technique, you will be better prepared for tackling this workout no problem. Plus, the assistance of the machine is a great way for you to feel comfortable as you pack on that weight.

Set your machine with the desired amount of weight. Set your toes in a comfortable position on the foot platform. Make sure you are comfortable and that the thigh padding is exactly where you want it to be.
Grab the handles and when ready, raise your toes to release the machine. Be sure to keep your body engaged to really focus on this muscle.
Slowly lower your heels until your calves are stretched, pause, and return to the starting position.
Repeat for your desired number of sets and reps.

Seated Calf Raise Machine Alternatives
While this exercise and machine are great for building bigger calves, what you get by performing alternative exercises is a better chance at seeing muscle growth. With the right approach to training, you can mix in these other exercises to see growth, not sacrifice any gains, and mix up your routine so you kill monotony and boredom associated with performing the same old exercises.
Great alternative exercises to the seated calf raise machine include:

Best Exercises To Pair With It
Along with the seated calf raise machine, working to mix the best exercises into your routine will help you see growth for only the best gains. By pairing the right exercises together, you can better those gains so you stop spinning wheels and actually see progress. Mixing in other calf exercises are great, for these will continue to fatigue the calf muscle. However, other exercises like squats, hamstring curls, and those exercises that work the larger lower body muscles are great because they involve the calf muscles but build overall leg development so you see effective growth.
Wrap Up
The seated calf raise machine is a great excuse to not neglect our calves. As a worthwhile and effective machine in the gym, there is no longer a reason to feel self-conscious about small calves. You work everything else as best you can and your entire physique should show. By putting an emphasis on your calves you build sport specific performance, functional movements, and a well-rounded physique that others will envy. Place the seated calf raise machine into your routine and see what this can do for your lower body gains.

Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
*Images courtesy of Envato

References

Ema, R.; et al. (2017). “Effect of calf-raise training on rapid force production and balance ability in elderly men”. (source)

The Calf Training Secret No Pro Wants You To Know

The Calf Training Secret No Pro Wants You To Know

Calf Training of The Pros
Calves are one of the smallest, most stubborn, and desired muscle groups. Since you’re reading this article, we’ll assume you’re lacking in the calf department and are willing to change your current situation.
If you’ve been laboring away on the calf exercises but don’t have any results to show for it, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll share a calf training secret with you which will take your calf gains to a whole new level.
The Mistakes

Before we let you in on the secret, we want to go over the mistakes most people make in their calf training. Once you know what is holding you back from achieving your goals, you can get better results by fixing your shortcomings.
Training At The End of A Leg Workout
Without going too deep into the mistakes, we’ll just touch on them and tell you how to overcome them. If you have lagging calves, you should never train them after a brutal leg workout when you have no gas left in the tank. For best results, work your calves when you aren’t fatigued.
No Volume

Most people make the mistake of following a vanilla calf training program where they perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps on a couple of exercises. If you want to turn your calves into bulls, you need to be training them like you train all your other major muscle groups. Perform at least five exercises and switch up the intensity often to keep your muscles guessing.
Lack of Variations
While people are proactive in their bicep training – they work their inner, outer, and medial bicep heads – they don’t follow the same approach when it comes to calf training. You should be targetting your calves from three angles to train them effectively.
Perform your calf exercises with your feet planted parallel to target the medial calf heads. Placing your toes together and heels apart – forming an “A” – will target the outer calf heads and keeping your heels together and toes apart – forming a “V” – will work the inner heads.
The Secret That Will Change Your Calf Training Forever
Your calves are made up of both slow and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Performing exercises with long TuT (time under tension) works the slow-twitch fibers and lifts with smaller TuT train the fast-twitch muscles.
So, the dilemma with calf training is that no matter which kind of intensity (high or low number of repetitions) you go for, you’re not going to get the best results. There is a way around the problem and it has been a well-kept secret until now.
Forget Reps, Focus on Time – 1 Minute Is The Magic Mark
To make the most of your calf training, you should focus on performing the exercises for one minute. It doesn’t matter how many reps you do in that one minute but you need to make sure you’re not taking a rest-pause during the set.
You also cannot go light with the weight on the bar because if you do, the slow-twitch muscle fibers will be left out of the action. Remember – this is not a drop-set. You have to end with the same weight you’ll be starting with. If done right, calf training isn’t easy, and you’ll experience it first hand with this technique.

How often do you train your calves? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*Header image courtesy of Envato Elements.

The Ultimate Guide To Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR Calf Workouts Included)

The Ultimate Guide To Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR Calf Workouts Included)

Everything you need to know about blood flow restriction training
There comes a point in every lifter’s life when he cannot seem to make any progress, no matter how hard he tries. The plateau can cause despair and confusion in his ongoing struggle. Most people can relate to the scene, but not the pros. Pros incorporate advanced training techniques in their training routines, and so should you. 
What are advanced training techniques?
We are glad you asked. 

Follow the same exercises long enough, and your muscles will catch up to your training style. As soon as your body gets used to your workouts, it will stop responding, and your gains will begin to taper off. You will then need to shock your muscles to stimulate muscle growth and break through the overhead ceiling.
Enter advanced training techniques. 

Advanced training techniques shock your muscles by adding variety and increasing the intensity of your workouts. Most advanced techniques overload your muscles by increasing your muscle’s TuT (time under tension).
Also Read: How To Increase The Time Under Tension To Maximize Your Gains
Types of Advanced Training Techniques
1. Superset 
A superset is when you perform two or more exercises in succession without any rest. It could include training agonist and antagonistic muscles groups. 
Related Read: Best Supersets to Build Muscle
2. Dropset
It includes progressively decreasing resistance after every set (with no rest in between) until you hit failure. 
3. Intraset Stretching
The intraset stretching technique includes holding resistance at the ‘stretched’ position after you have completed the desired number of reps of an exercise. After pausing at the bottom of the movement for 10-15 seconds, you then perform the same number of repetitions you did previously without racking the weight. 
4. Negatives
While performing negatives, your training partner (or coach) helps you through the concentric phase of the exercise so that you can perform additional reps on the eccentric part of the motion. Lower the weight in a slow and controlled manner while performing negatives. 
5. Rest-Pause
Perform as many reps as possible, rest for a few seconds, then perform additional repetitions. Repeat until you hit absolute muscle failure.
While most advanced techniques make you lift heavy or increase your muscle’s TuT, blood flow restriction training does things differently.
Pre-Requisites For Advanced Training Techniques 
1. They Are Not For Everyone

They are called ‘advanced’ training techniques for a reason. If you are a beginner or an intermediate lifter, you should stick to orthodox bodybuilding exercises. Only think about adding an advanced training technique to your routine when you have milked the good old lifts. 
Years of experience in the gym and knowledge of the body are needed to make the most of ATTs. They get you the best results when orchestrated with strategically planned regimens. 
2. Don’t Push Yourself Too Hard
Many novice lifters are too hard on themselves when they can’t budge the needle in the right direction. They throw logic and reasoning out of the window and try to add as many ATTs as they can possibly think of in their workouts. 
Several techniques (like BFR) should be used during planned overreaching, whereas techniques like prioritization can be followed throughout the year. 
Remember: going crazy with ATTs can stagnate progress as it increases the risk of overtraining and injury. 
3. Switch Them Up
Follow the same advanced training techniques for too long, and you’ll end up where you started. We understand that you love dropsets, but if you don’t want them to lose their charm, you shouldn’t perform them at the end of every set. Treat ATTs like creatine. Cycle them to get the best results. 
Blood Flow Restriction Training
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is also known as occlusion training, hypoxic training, KAATSU, and ischaemic training. BFR training includes restricting blood flow to your target muscle groups for building strength and size.
How Blood Flow Restriction Training Helps In Building Muscle

BFR training cuffs hinder the flow of oxygenated blood to the target muscles and prevents deoxygenated blood from returning out. 
It forces blood to stay inside your target muscles throughout the set resulting in a nasty pump. 
This process creates a by-product accumulation effect and induces an oxygen-low muscle state. It stimulates anaerobic adaptations that are favorable for muscle growth.
Blood flow restriction training causes a swelling effect on muscles and a buildup of metabolites, such as lactic acid, that stimulate muscle growth. 
The direct fatigue to muscles caused by the bands forces the nervous system to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fast-twitch fibers have the highest capacity to grow. 

But isn’t restricting blood flow to a muscle bad?
Well, it is bad if you are restricting blood flow for long periods. A typical BFR set does not last longer than 60-seconds, so we are good here. BFR of veins increases your blood’s lactate concentration. It helps you work out at a lower intensity while giving the feeling of a much harder workout. 
Yes, there are mind games at work here too. When your brain thinks your body is experiencing a physical challenge, it signals the pituitary gland to release more growth hormones. GH (growth hormones) are responsible for building muscle mass and strength. 
To put all BFR safety worries to rest, St. Mary’s University conducted a study. The research found that compared with low-load training, low-load BFR training is more effective, tolerable, and therefore a potential clinical rehabilitation tool. 
Another study concluded that BFR training led to no prolonged reduction in muscle function or increase in indications of muscle damage in blood tests. 
Benefits of Blood Flow Restriction Training

Improves strength.
Better muscular hypertrophy.  
Increases aerobic capacity. 

Different Types of Blood Flow Restriction Training Equipment
1. KAATSU Device

Have you ever seen a bro walking around with cuffs in the gym? No, he is no Christian Grey looking for his Anastasia Steele. Those cuffs are known as KAATSU devices. These cuffs are specialized BFR training tools used to restrict venous blood flow. 
2. Pressure Cuff

If you want to take your BFR training a step further, you should invest in a pair of pressure cuffs. With this BFR equipment, you can dial in the exact amount of pressure you want around your muscles. We recommend this to people who know what they are doing. 
3. Knee and Elbow Wraps

Blood flow restriction training on a budget doesn’t get better than this. Knee and elbow wraps are incredibly effective substitutes for dedicated BFR equipment. 
Which type of band should you use?
A 2012 study of 116 people indicated a measurable difference in using narrow and wide cuffs in BFR training. Wide BFR cuffs restrict flow at a lower pressure and can be less effective than narrow cuffs. BFR training is all about chasing the pump, and you will have to try different bands tied at varying pressures to find out what works best for you. 
Most Common Mistakes While Blood Flow Restriction Training
1. Tying The Bands At The Wrong Place

While BFR training, you should only wrap at the top of the arm or leg. You can wrap your arms for a shoulder or chest workout and your legs for a glute workout. 
According to research, compared to a 13+ cm cuff, a 5-9 cm cuff reduces the risk of occluding the arteries. For the same reason, if you are using knee or elbow wraps for BFR training, you should wrap them at the top of your limbs in a layered manner rather than a spiral down the arm or leg. 
2. Your Blood Flow Restriction Bands Are Too Tight
Some people make the mistake of tying the bands too tight. Overly tight bands/cuffs could lead to a restriction of both – arteries and veins. Here is a high school biology lesson for you:

Arteries – bring blood to muscles.
Veins – take blood away. 

For a maximal swelling response, you want blood coming to the muscles and staying there. Meaning – you want the arteries to work just fine but restrict the veins. 
In fact, there is evidence that if you occlude both arteries and veins, you might end up decreasing muscle growth at the site wrapped. 
You can solve this problem by modifying perceived pressure on blood flow during BFR training. Wrap your muscles at a perceived pressure ranging between 0-10, with 10 being the tightest. 
Perceived pressure of 7 out of 10 for legs and 6 out of 10 for arms provide the best result. A 10 out of 10 perceived pressure will result in total restriction of both – arteries and veins. 
3. Skipping Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs
Before you begin your BFR workout, you should perform a light warm-up of around five minutes (walking or cycling), followed by 15 unwrapped reps with the weight you will use for your first BFR set. Doing this routine will get your blood pumping. 
After your blood flow restriction exercise, you should take off your cuffs/wraps and stretch out your muscles. Stretching can help flush out the built-up lactic acid in your muscles. 
4. Going Too Heavy
Perform a blood flow restriction set at the same intensity as a normal warm-up set. You don’t need to be lifting more than 30-50% of your one-rep max (1RM) while performing any BFR exercise. Going heavier than this will only sabotage your form and won’t add anything to the bottom line. 
The primary advantage of BFR is that it can help increase muscle size while training at low intensities. A study shows that training at 40% of your 1RM can be the sweet spot for blood flow restriction training. Going heavier than this does not increase muscle fiber recruitment. 
5. Performing BFR Training Every Day

Although blood flow restriction training causes greater fatigue immediately after a training session, there are no increases in muscle damage or declines 24 hours later. 
Since this type of training has low recovery demands as compared to high-intensity training, it can be followed on alternate days. A study found that 2-3 days of BFR training per week is best for gains in strength and muscle. 
6. Not Training To Failure
Blood flow restriction training recruits the larger, fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers are either activated by heavy resistance or fatigue. Research shows that the closer you get to muscular failure, the greater is the fast-twitch muscle-fiber recruitment. So, training to failure in low-intensity conditions is necessary for optimal muscle fiber recruitment while performing BFR training. 

Blood Flow Restriction Calf Workout
Calves are one of the most stubborn muscle groups. Since you use your calves throughout the day, they are accustomed to taking a beating and might not respond to your vanilla calf workouts. BFR calf workouts help trap the blood inside your calves during your sets. The pump can provide the necessary stimulus required for turning your calves into full-grown bulls.
1. BFR Calf Resistance Training Routine
a) Standing Calf Raise

1 Set – 30 Reps (20-30% of your 1RM)
30-seconds rest
3 Sets – 15 Reps (30-40% of your 1RM)
30-second rest after each of the three sets

b) Seated Calf Raise

1 Set – 30 Reps (20-30% of your 1RM)
30-seconds rest
3 Sets – 15 Reps (30-40% of your 1RM)
30-second rest after each set

The beauty of BFR training is that it can take your gains to the next level while making minor adjustments to your existing routine. You don’t need to be doing weird and complicated exercises for breaking the plateau. 
2. BFR Walk Training For Calve

Walk at a brisk pace for 3 minutes
Rest for 1 minute
Repeat 4 times for a total of 20 minutes

You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to make the most of BFR calf training. Research shows that walking while wearing BFR bands can result in increased muscle size in the thighs and lower legs.
You could perform the second calf workout on a treadmill or out in the open. Using a treadmill gives you the option to add resistance by walking on an incline. 
Most people make the mistake of placing the BFR cuffs just below or above their knees while training calves. There are superficial nerves in these areas, and wearing bands too close to the joints increases the risk of causing nerve damage. 
While training lower or upper legs, BFR bands should be placed at the top of the thighs. 
Conclusion 
Blood flow restriction training can help increase muscle growth as a standalone training routine and even as part of your regular training program. We recommend using BFR training on a light recovery day or for annihilation at the end of a workout. 
BFR training can be a godsend for people recovering from an injury. This advanced training principle causes very little muscle damage and can be used during de-loading periods to supplement as much as 60 percent of the high-intensity workload. 

Do you use blood flow restriction technique in your workouts?
Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.