How to Develop Bigger Calve Muscles

Exercising to develop bigger calve muscles can be a trying affair. The rest of your leg muscles will respond easily with exercise, but the calves just sit there looking the same even after months of leg exercises.

This is because your calve muscles are desensitized to exercise, due to everyday walking. The walking around that we do everyday toughens these muscles so much that they won't respond the way we want them to while training.

To combat this, you really need to utilize proper weight training. Handling extra weight while working on this area will give you much better and quicker results than otherwise. You'll need to do some intense exercise, so hopefully you aren't afraid of a little hard work.

The two main muscles groups in the lower half of the back of human legs are the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles. Both of these important muscles are needed to move your feet and toes.

Besides these two major muscle groups, there are also a host of smaller muscles in your lower legs. All but one of these muscles (the tibialis anterior) will be worked on to develop bigger calves.

Each of these muscles mentioned above are tough and strong. They can handle of lot of work and will need to be exercised more frequently than any other muscles if you want bigger calves.

Below are 2 exercises that you can start on immediately for more shapely and muscular legs. Remember that it's vital to perform these movements correctly. This is to ensure your own safety and visible results. Take the time to learn each of these exercises to the best of your ability before incorporating them into your workout routine.

Tippy-Toe Tandem

Find a step or use your stairs. Make sure you have something solid to hold onto with your hands for balance.

Stand at the edge of the step and hold onto the stairs or another solid structure with a strong grip. Lift your body with your feet so that you're standing on the very tips of your toes. Do this in one slow and steady motion.

Hold yourself up for 10 seconds. Slowly lower yourself so that the heels of your feet are hanging just below the edge of the step. Repeat 10 times.

When you first start out, this exercise should be difficult to complete. Your muscles might ache and you'll probably feel like giving up if you're doing it correctly.

The key is to stick with it! It will get easier soon enough, and by then you should notice your calf muscles growing firmer and larger, as the rest of your legs tone up nicely.

When this exercise becomes too easy for you, you should increase the number of repetitions. It sounds unpleasant now, but it's the only way to ensure maximum muscle growth.