Cgunner91
Registered
Calves/Forearms/Traps -- What has worked for you?
Hey all,
Currently 6'4" tall, 215 lbs, been lifting methodically/intensively for two years now. (First year was exclusively strength/powerlifting. I didn't grow much). For the most part I have always been stretched very thin, (orangutan limbs) and I feel it will most likely take me years to add much more thickness and mass to my frame. That being said, my weakest body parts by far are my calves, forearms and traps. I have been trying to figure out a routine in which I can bring up my calves, forearms and traps without spending 2+ hours in the gym. I currently do 16 sets for each body part 5 days a week (Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders, Arms). I am going to be starting a second cycle in a few weeks.
Calves: I am not genetically blessed with big calves! My calves are more defined since I began training them this last year with hypertrophy training, and lower body fat, but they are very stubborn when trying to add thickness and size to them. It most likely gives the impression that I skip leg day lol. I find the internet is filled with conflicting information and bro-science about training calves. Squats and deadlifts have never worked for me in regards to training legs (or calves) and my legs did not grow until I exclusively used leg-press and isolation based movements. I am currently doing 4 sets of 5 very heavy weight standing calf raises (gastrocnemius) and 4 sets of 20-25 seated calf raises (soleus). I have read this article about training them correctly and it is the only thing that has been working for me the last half year of training them.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/training-the-calves.html/
Forearms: My forearms are very long, so it feels as though I am not seeing much results with them by simply doing my regular heavy free weight lifts (heavy db/barbell shrugs, barbell bench presses/rows, etc). I only work them directly on my Arms day, but I feel as though once a week is not enough as the results are very slow. What has worked for you with forearms? Do you train them twice or once a week, or never at all?
Traps: Compared to last year, the fact that I can even see my traps at all now motivates me, but they are still hardly noticeable as I have very wide shoulders. Heavy BB rows, shrugs, and facepulls seemed to work, but again, I only work traps once a week on shoulder day. I have tried upright rows but I began to have shoulder impingement issues. Maybe I was going too heavy/high?
Hey all,
Currently 6'4" tall, 215 lbs, been lifting methodically/intensively for two years now. (First year was exclusively strength/powerlifting. I didn't grow much). For the most part I have always been stretched very thin, (orangutan limbs) and I feel it will most likely take me years to add much more thickness and mass to my frame. That being said, my weakest body parts by far are my calves, forearms and traps. I have been trying to figure out a routine in which I can bring up my calves, forearms and traps without spending 2+ hours in the gym. I currently do 16 sets for each body part 5 days a week (Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders, Arms). I am going to be starting a second cycle in a few weeks.
Calves: I am not genetically blessed with big calves! My calves are more defined since I began training them this last year with hypertrophy training, and lower body fat, but they are very stubborn when trying to add thickness and size to them. It most likely gives the impression that I skip leg day lol. I find the internet is filled with conflicting information and bro-science about training calves. Squats and deadlifts have never worked for me in regards to training legs (or calves) and my legs did not grow until I exclusively used leg-press and isolation based movements. I am currently doing 4 sets of 5 very heavy weight standing calf raises (gastrocnemius) and 4 sets of 20-25 seated calf raises (soleus). I have read this article about training them correctly and it is the only thing that has been working for me the last half year of training them.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/training-the-calves.html/
Forearms: My forearms are very long, so it feels as though I am not seeing much results with them by simply doing my regular heavy free weight lifts (heavy db/barbell shrugs, barbell bench presses/rows, etc). I only work them directly on my Arms day, but I feel as though once a week is not enough as the results are very slow. What has worked for you with forearms? Do you train them twice or once a week, or never at all?
Traps: Compared to last year, the fact that I can even see my traps at all now motivates me, but they are still hardly noticeable as I have very wide shoulders. Heavy BB rows, shrugs, and facepulls seemed to work, but again, I only work traps once a week on shoulder day. I have tried upright rows but I began to have shoulder impingement issues. Maybe I was going too heavy/high?
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