Why Aren’t My Calves Growing?

Do you fail to isolate and fully contract your calves when training them?

Do you avoid making your calves a focus point in your workouts?

Do you use too much weight on calf exercises?

Do you limit yourself to “conventional” repetition ranges on calf exercises, choosing low reps instead of high reps?

Do you use improper foot placement when doing calf exercises?

Do you avoid training the individual parts of your calf muscles?

Do you avoid training your calves from every angle?

Based on your answers, it’s unlikely that your calves aren’t growing, which is of course a positive sign! However, know that it happens to many: giving up training calves or becoming discouraged training them because of the lack of progress in calf development. Luckily, in your case, you may seem to know how to train them properly in order to make them grow. Or you just may be blessed with genetically strong legs!

Based on your answers, you are displaying some training habits that may avoid your calves to grow to their full potential. Calves can be one of the most difficult muscle groups to develop, even though they are a small muscle group. In case you have hit a plateau, and you feel like your calves refuse to grow, you may need to change your work-out regimen. Calf size is for a big part genetically determined, however, all muscles have the potential to grow. But for growth to happen, you need to work hard and be consistent! The first step to growing your calves is prioritizing them by working them first.

Unfortunately, you are displaying the signs typically seen among individuals who have a hard time growing their calves for many reasons. The good news is that even if you don’t have the ‘big calves gene’, you can still build nice muscles in your lower legs. However, if you are ignoring to train your calves, or throwing in a couple of ‘useless’ sets at the end or beginning of your work-outs, it’s time to start treating your calf muscles differently. It means you have to attack your calves in order to notice an increase in strength and size. Remember that conventional training will not be enough. For growth to happen, you need to work hard and be consistent!