One
of the major differences between a physique athlete and a recreational gym user is the attention to detail. One metaphor I often hear is that we are like sculptors working on a piece of art. Like any masterpiece it is important to pay attention to the details. No painting or sculpture of any note would be held in high esteem without remarkable attention applied to the finest brush stokes or the use of tools as thin as a needle to carve out the final details with immense precision.
Completing 3 sets of seated or standing calf raises at the end of a brutal leg or back session may suffice for most, but to really stand out on stage, the physique athlete needs a little more. Great calves will show clear separation between the medial and lateral heads of the gastrocnemius and a clear V-shaped soleus but what’s more, you will also see details and cuts on the calves even when viewed from the front!
You see, much like the wrist, the foot can be plantarflexed (toes pointing away from the body) as well as dorsiflexed (toes pointing towards the body), it can also be inverted (twisting foot inwards so the sole faces towards the opposite foot) and everted (twisting the foot outwards so the sole faces away from the opposite leg). The gastrocnemius and soleus therefore, which are involved in platarflexion, only make up part of a complex muscle group.
In this series of articles I will emphasis some points that should be considered if you really want to take the appearance of your calves to the next level!
The View From The Front
The
tibialis anterior is located on the outside of the lower leg, originating from the lateral side of the tibia and inserting via a tendon onto the base of the big toe, where the toe meets the foot. As you can perhaps see from the diagram, increasing the size of this muscle will enhance the outer sweep of your calves! Increasing the size of the TA will also enhance the separation between this muscle and the posterior calf muscles.
Due to its positioning, the TA is not activated during standard calf raises, which require plantarflexion of the foot in order to contract the posterior calf muscles, instead it contracts when the foot is dorsiflexed. It can be worked using various types of reverse calf raises. Although reverse calf raise machines do exist, they are not available in most gyms so a little creativity may be needed in order to add resistance to this movement.
One method is performed from a seated position on a bench, place two weight plates on the ground on top of each other and position the heel of the foot on the edge of the plates so the toes are pointing down. Position a third weight plate so that its edge covers the front half of your foot, the TA contracts to bring the toes up towards the body. The contraction can be enhanced by inverting the foot as you bring it up – remember the insertion on the base of the big toe? Well the muscle is also involved in the inversion of the foot so by dorsiflexing the foot and inverting it at the top of the movement, you enhance the contraction of the muscle!
The same movement can be replicated in other ways too, one method is to sit on a lying leg curl machine, position your toes under the pad and again dorsiflex the foot to bring the pad towards you. Depending on the machine you are using, you may find you can get a better contraction by placing a foam roller underneath your knees. The TA is worked more effectively with the knees bent and before training your posterior calf muscles. With the legs straight, the gastrocnemius muscle contracts which limits the space and hence movement potential of the TA, having a pumped gastrocnemius will cause the same effect.
Although a greatly improved TA will improve your calf appearance dramatically, this just touches the surface! There are other muscles in the area also responsible for the dorsiflexion of the foot, most of which will be worked as you work the TA, but focusing on other muscles in the area by making slight alterations to the reverse calf raises can enhance the appearance further.
The extensor digitorum longus inserts, via a tendon that splits in four, on the base of the outer four toes. Flexion of these toes at the end of the contraction phase of a reverse calf raise will enhance the contraction of the EDL. Development of the EDL will result in increased outer and frontal calf sweep.
The other muscles involved in the dorsiflexion of the foot include the extensor hallucis longus and the peroneus tertius. The extensor hallucis longus is worked through dorsiflexion and inversion of the foot, but the contraction is enhanced further by extending the big toe at the top of the movement. The peroneus tertius is the primary muscle involved in eversion of the foot, so dorsiflexing and everting the foot will apply more focus to this muscle. These two muscles appear more on the front of the shin and developing them won’t win you a show alone, but if you are able to contract these on the stage and have them visible to the judges, you will stand out!
Next month I will focus more on the posterior calf muscles. In the meantime if you are serious about improving every aspect of your physique, start adding some reverse calf raises into your routine!
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