This week I’m introducing supersets into calves training. It’s one of my favorite intensity techniques. For supersets you’ll perform one exercise followed immediately by another for the same body part. Then you’ll rest for 2 minutes before you perform your next superset. Supersets drive up intensity and thus muscle growth because your target muscle spends considerable time under tension for each set.
NOTES:
* It’s important that you find a way to organize your workout so you reserve both the standing and seated calf machines so you can superset them. Training at the busiest time of day at your gym may not be the best idea.
* Notice that the “burn” you feel while you’re training calves is more intense than it is for most other muscles groups. Every muscle group has its own challenges, but calves really require you to use your brain to fight through the discomfort.
* Adjust the weights on your seated calf raises, allowing you to complete all reps. Remember you’re pre-fatigued from standing calf raises.
* Watch my video to see how to stretch out your calves during your 2-minute rests.
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EXERCISE |
COMMENT |
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Standing calf raises |
5 Sets / 15 Reps SUPERSET: Rest 2 minutes between each superset, beginning with standing calf raises followed immediately by seated calf raises. |
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Seated calf raises |
5 Sets / 25 Reps |
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TIP: You should remain mentally focused throughout your entire workout, bringing a sense of urgency to everything you do while you’re training your calves. You want to be able to look back on this 12-week plateau-busting video series and know you did everything you could to improve your calves as much as you could over a relatively short span.
CREATINE HCl
Creatine is an amino acid compound that provides multiple training advantages. Primarily, it helps your body generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for better between set recovery. It also helps draw water into muscle cells for enhanced cellular volume. I add a dose of Creatine HCl before and after workouts. This Kaged Muscle® product is more soluble than run-of-the-mill creatine monohydrate, and it helps re-load your muscles for better workouts.
Check out my video for detailed tips and my commentary on how to perform these calves supersets.
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