Are you one of the many avid exercisers who completes a total body workout but forgets to train their calves?
Unless you are amongst the fortunate who have great calves by genetics, you're making a grave mistake in creating body symmetry if you often forget your calves in your lower body strength training. The calves are used all the time for we engage those muscles everytime we take a step. This in itself shows just how hard it is to produce muscle growth in that region for if were easy, we would all have gigantic sculpted calves.
The calves are often the forgotten body part in a workout regimen by most novice and even with some fitness professionals. It might be because they are in back of you and they fall into the category of "out of sight, out of mind" or it just might be good old fashion laziness. Either way, the disservice exists. By not training the calves, you are missing a great opportunity to create a pair of the strongest, most defined, symmetric and lean legs you've ever had.
Training the calves takes some diligence and a consistently executed quick set on your leg day just won't do! In fact, you will have to consistently incorporate some deliberate position and weight variation to the intensity of your toe lifts to get the desired look and symmetry you'll need to complement your legs.
For example, if you are a little "knock-kneed" -- then you may want to build-up the inner part of the calves by pointing your toes outward to offset the more pronounced inner structure of the knees. If your thighs are full and your lower legs are skinny -- then you may want to incorporate a series of inner and anterior work to sculpt your calves to have them appear more symmetric.
In either case, consistent high repetitions are needed to produce muscle growth in the calves. Training the calves three times per week is recommended, alternating between heavy and moderate weight training days.
