If calves are all genetic and you can't grow them, as many people believe...

If calves are all genetic and you can't grow them, as many people believe, then why do all fat/former fat people have monster calves? They literally trained them by being heavy, I don't see why I couldn't train them in the gym for similar results.

Calf mass isn't genetic. What's genetic is how much of the area is actually calf muscle versus how much is tendon. If you've got high insertions you're up shit creek because only a very small area of your calves can actually be grown significantly.

Ok, go to the gym for 5 years doing calf raises for 4-5 hours a day and then you'll grow them the same way being fat does.

because being fat is genetic too

maybe they share the same gene

believe it or not genetics is product of environment.

so saying that u have bad genetics is like saying u dont want to lift enough.

Also, muscles can elongate if you do hyperextensions. which is why ROM>weight.

This is true, calf insertions are genetic but you can still train them, just like any other muscle
If you want to get huge calves you gotta train them with really high frequency and heavy weight, lightweight low-frequency shit will do basically nothing for the calves

I believe this to be true. a lot of people who develop muscles by stretching rather than adding resistance (like yoga for example) all have very long, sinewy muscle insertions. I doubt this to be uniquely genetic

also, the reason people trying to add mass to calves fail is because they don't realize that calves are mostly comprised of slow twitch (type 1) muscle fibers, that respond to high (very high) volume more than high weight. any kind of lower body cardio will do the trick: walking, running, stepper, inclined slopes targets calves (and glutes, which also have a lot of slow twitch muscle fibers) better.

Its logical.
There is a mechanism in muscles that allows for their elongation if the ROM is constantly exaggerated in safe amounts.

Same mech shortens the muscle if not full rom.

Insertions are genetic, size and definition are able to be manipulated to an extent. The problem is that people only do something like standing calf raises for 3x12 once a week and wonder why they get no results. Legs are resilient as fuck, they carry you around all day. You need heavy weight, slow and controlled reps, you need to turn your toes to hit the different heads, and you need to hit them multiple times a week.

Do one set of barbell calf raises with your toes straight, then out, then in, each one until failure, with a couple hundred pounds on the bar, every day you're at the gym. Consciously fire your calves while you're squatting, lunging, walking around the mall with your friends, or walking to the bathroom to take a shit. Also be eating in a caloric surplus.

Exactly, walking/running on an incline is pretty much one of the best ways to build nice calves.

When I was young I did a lot of hiking and outdoorsmanship. Decades of hiking have given me great calves

Carry around an additional 80 lbs everywhere you go including bed.
...for the next 10 years.

I mean, if you wanna be 100 lbs overweight for 16-17 years, every minute of every day, be my guest, but im not sure what machine in the gym can do that for you

yup this

was a fat fuck when i was young and was forced to play front row rugby for almost 10 years.

Calves like diamonds because of it, even though i haven't trained them or played in over 6 years.

> high insertions
> up shits creek
high insertions may not be aesthetic, but they are ideal for speed. Vast majority of middle/short distance runners have high insertions.

To everyone training for large calves, be aware that you will sacrifice pure speed for this endeavor. Have been a competitive runner my whole life, switched from short distance training to long distance training, grew much bigger calves but also lost lots of speed. Went down to to middle distance training and calves got slightly smaller.

calfs are both ugly and hard to train
just forget about them

Cycling gave me decent calves. That said I'm not swole so my calves are proportionate.
If I had a bigger chest then I'd look like a calflet because of bad proportions.

>t. skinny white boy

>not wearing an 80lb weightvest for your entire life to maximize calf gains

cause its an endurance muscle. things like hiking, marching band or cycling can give u great calves but not things like calf raises in the gym.