Hello, I’m Kap, and I have skinny calves.
Over the course of my MLB career, my teammates often busted my balls about my lower legs. Perhaps their ribbing came because I showed my little guys off by going socks up with my baseball pants, but more likely, it’s because they don’t quite match the rest of my physique.
For many years, I tried to build them up. I worked on donkey raises or the flavor of the month calf exercise. My calves became as strong as a Martin Luther King Jr. address, but remained undeveloped.
I’m starting this support group because I know I’m not the only one. Ben Lindbergh was the Editor-in-Chief of Baseball Prospectus from 2012 until earlier this year. He now writes for Grantland and continues to co-host BP’s daily baseball podcast, Effectively Wild.
More importantly, he’s nearly as nerdy as I am. Need evidence? Check this email he wrote me many months ago.
I’ve been lifting and eating mostly Kapler-approved meals since high school, but no matter what I do, I can’t seem to make much progress in the calf department. At times I’ve tried to target them by hitting them especially hard with weighted raises and reverse raises and anything else I could think of, and it didn’t seem to make much difference.
From what I’ve seen (and I hope this won’t offend you–I’m talking relative to the rest of your physique), it seems like you might suffer from the same affliction. Is there anything I/we can do? Do we have to resign ourselves to our fate and accept that we’ll always look worse in shorts than people who’ve been more blessed by genetics in the lower leg area? Should I get tattoos to hide them?
Signed,
Crying about my calves
At some point in my late 20s, I gave up on trying to build size. My legs are heavily tatted, and I proudly wear a gnarly scar from my left Achilles tendon tear in September of 2005. I knew I wasn’t winning any pose-offs.
This was my reply to Ben:
So far, I’ve found nothing. I was always told that the squat would most positively impact my deficiency; no dice. Yes get tattoos, but don’t count on them being an adequate concealer.
I was swayed by the popular narrative that calf development is largely genetic. As you know, part of the mission of this blog is to challenge our current thought patterns and assumptions. I knew I needed to research this storyline.
As part of my digging, I found a study entitled Development and genetic influence of the rectal bacterial flora of newborn calves. Needless to say, I moved on.
This, from livestrong.com, was more like it:
Genetic factors influence the rate and quantity of muscle growth for an individual throughout his or her resistance training program.
This confirms what I already knew; now I can abort my mission and rest easy knowing that I’ve done all I can. I kid. This post is going well. Deep breath. I vow to find a program to prove to the readers of kaplifestyle.com that anything is possible. My reply to Ben continued:
Now, on to what may actually be a worthwhile discussion. I would be open to a public experiment if you would.
I could write a post based on this interaction and tease follow up information.
We could:
- Measure our skinny calves
- Try two separate popular methods of training
- Track progress on the blog
- Publish results on the blog
- Encourage others to do the same
Thoughts?
Kap
I’ve since realized we should try the same routine rather than differing programs. It will unequivocally make for a cleaner experiment. Regardless, Ben was in.
Wow. Is the industry ready to accept us for what we are? Will people still put us on TV, knowing what kind of calves we’re concealing under those suits?
I’ve been known to wear sweatpants in the summer because of my calf shortcomings, so it seems crazy to expose my weakness to the world. But if we step forward together on our puny calves, I can probably be persuaded.
If only I was that nerdy…er…funny.
So, here’s the deal. This routine at t-nation.com claims “You can easily put an inch on your calves in one month with this method. However, you must be consistent. Every day means every damn day.”
Deal. I love busting myths.
Start with 50 reps of heel raises and work up to 100 reps with just bodyweight. Do that every day without fail for a month. You’ll be amazed at the growth and definition that you’ll acquire, and as a bonus, improved balance and coordination skills.
As simple as it sounds, proper form is very important. Situate your feet about shoulder-width apart and toes turned slightly out. Concentrate on raising the heels straight up as if they’re puppet strings being pulled up by God himself.
Make sure to contract hard at the top – think of a double biceps pose, except you’re squeezing the hell out of your calves. Don’t hold on to a wall or machine for support.
The idea is not to deload in any manner, as we want those small stabilizers to grow as well. Simply keep your arms at your sides or your hands on your hips.
You must be in bare feet (no shoes). Make sure to raise the heels as high as possible, and distribute your weight evenly over all your toes. Hold the top, contracted position for a full 2 seconds. It must be a definite stop at the top, and you must feel a peak contraction in the calves.
Next, control the lowering – don’t just drop like a bomb! If you fail to perform these two steps properly, the rep doesn’t count. It’s that simple. They must be quality repetitions to optimally benefit from this type of training. The prime movers will get hit, but so will all those little stabilizers, and in the long run, it will make a big difference in the overall growth of your calves.
You’ll need to invest up to 10 minutes a day for a month to reap the benefits of this method. Consider that each controlled repetition should take 6 seconds (i.e., 2 seconds up, 2 seconds at the top, 2 seconds down, and no pause at the bottom) and you’re performing up to 100 reps per day – that equals 10 minutes.
We’ll start today. Want to join in? Take a picture of a tape measure wrapped around your calf to show the current size. Email it to contest@kaplifestyle.com. Next month, submit a follow-up picture to show your progress. We’ll send out prizes to the winners.
Feel free to join in the shenanigans, skinny.
Kap
My brother, in his mid-thirties, was squatting almost 800lbs and deadlifted 750lbs. He, nor anyone else in our family has any size to our calves. Huge legs and back but tiny calves. It is 100% genetics. Just my opinion.
Fair that you’d have that belief, Ben. Nothing like personal experience shapes our paradigm.
Suffer from the same affliction, definitely going for it! Must be a Jewish guy thing, hah.
Remember to report back, Jon.
Three days in, 100 reps each day. My calves are sore beyond belief, way better than any of those other exercises we all have done to build them up. This is definitely working…
Sore doesn’t always equate to bigger.
No, but as somebody who trains regularly, I know the type of sore that has been related to muscle growth in my body.
Finally a solution and i had to go get my Achilles replaced this month…how cruel not only will i have skinny calves but uneven skinny calves…oh well i will be trying this out in 6 months if it works for you guys
That’s me, too. Skinny and uneven. The perfectly embarrassing combo.
My calves might be skinny but they push weight homey.
You and me both, brother.
One of the funniest/ most honest posts yet. I feel ya, I’m in for the challenge. I was a fan of yours while you were a Ranger and enjoyed following you after you moved on but I am an even bigger fan now. Thanks for the positive attitude and the constant inspiration.
Thank you for the kind words, Matt.
Hey Kap,
I was blessed with a pair of large calves (not trying to rub it in) and I do have to admit that genes had a big role in their size. Although I have always been athletic which has helped develop them over time, they have been big for as long as I can remember without ever specifically having to take the time to work them out.
That being said, I live in Miami, FL and started road biking as a hobby (weekends only) about two years ago. I have a friend who has ‘Chicken legs’ and, of course, I rag on him now and then about his tiny calves. While on a Saturday morning bike ride with my friend, we were discussing genes as a specific factor of calf size when I noticed that ALL the bike riders that zoomed past us not only had big calves, they had huge calves!
The more I took note of this, the more I was convinced that bike riding definitely helps build great looking calves. Could it be a coincidence that a large percentage of serious road bike riders have big calves because of ‘good genes’? I don’t think so! Take a look at the guys riding in the Tour de France, you’ll see what I mean. So, in short, food for thought for those who may want to try biking as an excellent workout not only to help build calves but to improve resistance and overall health.
Biking. Noted.
Email sent! Count me in. Calves are my jam!!!!! Also mine are different sizes so I want to see what happens!!!
Splendid, Caitlin.
Don’t worry Kap-John Carlos had skinny calves, and he was pretty fast. I always felt running stairs helped my calves.
Indeed, Bill. Speed can be independent of lower leg size.
From a scientific perspective, I’m glad you decided to have you and Ben both do the same workout. You want as few variables as possible. This will be a pretty decent correlation between the two. I’ll be joining you. Just finished a 30 day ab challenge and was quite pleased with the results. Wouldn’t mind some bigger calves either. 30 days for potentially a lifetime of bigger calves? I’m in.
Glad you’re in, Al.
For Baseball in college we had a “hell week” of sorts in which before the season started in the spring we had 6am conditioning trying to get kids to quit I suppose. In any case a good 15 of us threw up the first day of it (not me). One thing we had to do was jumping jacks in place. I know what you’re thinking… Jumping Jacks? That’s a joke, right? WRONG! No clue how long we did them for but while everyone just jumped I counted how many I was doing. Long story short each day we were doing a good 250+ jumping jacks in a row. I swear I have never felt a greater pain in my calves before. They tighten up an incredible amount. In any case thats my two cents…
Thanks, Kyle. Interesting anecdote.
Go ahead and scoff at me, but my baby cow’s are ripped. I attribute that to years of BMX, basketball, and climbing ladders all day at work.
Isolation movements like the one you described above can certainly add definition to them though. Size would depend on how much you are eating, just like any other bodybuilding exercise. I don’t see how wearing shoes would make a difference. Ideally your toes should be the only thing you are pushing off of to get max extension. Heals shouldn’t touch the ground. It’ll burn if you’re doing it right! It’s a great exercise at work when you are taking a break too.
My spare change,
~Al~
No scoffing here, brother. Thanks for chiming in.
I `m into hiking and backpacking, trust me doing this will make a noticeable difference in your calves especially going up mountains and with a 25 lb pack on your back….
Thanks for the thought, Kevin.
What an honest, yet funny post! I am intrigued to see if this works for you and Ben.
Looking forward to hearing more about it. As a scientist, I can never resist a good experiment. Although I am happy with my calves I am thinking of giving this a try too.
-Kelebek
Thanks, Kelebek.
Hello, My name is Joey. I have small calves. I’m no small man 6ft 215Ibs. Even my clients ridicule me for having small calves. I to have tried everything to no avail. Please except me into the small calves group.
Hello, Joey. You’re in and we’re happy.
I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I have disproportionately large calves – and skinny ankles. I am an Ironman triathlete, but I’ve had those legs since high school. They’re more refined now from years of swim/bike/run, so my unscientific opinion is that it is a combination of nature and nurture. Incidentally, my legs come from my Mothers side of the family. Her, my Grandmother and all my Great Aunts have the same softball calves. Mine are just hairy. 🙂
You’re not complaining about beastly calves, are you?
Johnny Drama’s calves were small too.
Maybe he wants in on this challenge….
Call JD and invite him.
Any person I’ve met that played a lot of ice hockey has huge calves. Not science, but true.
Not to self: Buy ice skates.
Wish I had advice to pass along but I’ve always had ‘thick’ calves that grew very easily without calf-specific exercise – don’t think it’s genetic, unless I was separated from Mark Prior at birth…
Phenomenal reference. Nice.
Funny as hell buts its not a Jewish thing, Jon. Trust me. I’m in. Photos sent.
Love it, Duane.
I remember watching that game in Toronto. So devastating seeing you go down. I was legitimately crushed.
You and me both, Mike.
I have pathetic calves. Wife ribs me constantly. Whats worse, I have lost most of the hair on them. Real attractive.
Im in…..
She’ll be loving them in 30 days.
First of all, I’d just like to say, I love the socks up look…..so thank you for that. 🙂 But this post is killing me!!! I WISH I could complain about small calves!! I didn’t have big calves as a teen, but somewhere along the way they grew. I struggle with my calves. Do you know a good way to make mine smaller??? I have always done leg workouts. I’m thinking running or yoga might help instead, but I don’t know. Let me know if you know anything. Besides that, good luck to you all. I’ll probably still have you all beat by the end. 😉
Ha, you win before we even start? Love that.
PS….I’m female in case you wondered if my user name was sarcastic. And I don’t think it’s genetics…..both my Mom and Dad have/had skinny calves….I should be so lucky!! Maybe my name is sarcastic….just not the girlie part….haha!
Stacie 🙂
My calves are probably one of my proudest features. I don’t work at them at all and they’re big and muscular, have been since I was 14. All I can say is I rode my bike EVERYWHERE from age 8-16 and played a TON of basketball into my late 20’s. Now if only I would have been eating right all those years, I probably would have a chiseled six-pack to go with my sweet calves.
If you had that six-pack, you’d be boring.
Boring, but irresistible.
I really like this technique. In addition to the stance with your feet apart and toes pointing out, I like doing reps with my feet parallel and and then toes pointing in (heels out).
Thanks, Kevin. Appreciate you.
Speaking of lower legs, how’s the Achilles? I ruptured my Achilles in 2001 and if anything, at 42 years old, it feels stronger than ever!
Eric
Great post Kap. I’ve always struggled with this even though (at 41) I can squat as much as most 205lb college football players. That said, the disparity is horrible as I can jack my arms and shoulders quickly and the lower body takes forever. I’m in for the contest!
Was today the last day of the calf contest?
Stay tuned, guys (rumour has it Tuesday…)
This is a rather old discussion so my input may not be of any use to anyone but I’m gojng to go ahead and bark. So I have had quite a time building my right calf after sustaining an injury to my right foot during my college football career. I broke my 4th and 5th metatarsal and have had chronic issues with the foot since, I noticed after several months of training that my right calf wasn’t responding to training like my left, I have tried every solution that you could think of over the last 15yrs and found that some light weight high rep training would help maintain the strength and that using a tens unit for a few hours each evening has helped me bring the right up just about even, excluding my medial soleus, it’s garbage and will not come up for anything. Anyway, the tens unit has helped me, maybe it will help someone else.
I have had skinny calves my entire life and so has everybody who takes after my father’s side of the family, to include my brother and 2 of my sons. It is indeed genetic and that is a fact. I was extremely athletic when I was younger and tried to build my legs up for many years, but NOTHING ever worked. I was in every sport you can think of and trained constantly. I also rode my bike everywhere, every single day. I ate a lot and consumed lots of protein. I was as strong as an ox but remained skinny as a rail. I am now 42 years old and everything else has gotten bigger except for my damned calves. They are just a lost cause. I have never been able to wear shorts without being ridiculed and I never will. People with huge legs never get teased but us with boney legs do.
I’m the same. I hare wearing shorts and only do so on holiday. I feel so conscious as they look funny. I r trained my calf’s for years but they never grow. My legs do however. I just have to accept there’s no way to change this