calves

rizzle · 10-12-2007, 11:29 AM

i do see both sides of ur arguement bt rep for ECH for some very useful info

skeptic · 10-12-2007, 11:57 AM

so... after all that... who has the bigger ****? cus i saw that as a measuring contest...

rizzle · 10-12-2007, 02:57 PM

lol skeptic u joka

**Thomas_Rivera** · 10-13-2007, 01:05 AM

Muscles are made up of thousands of tiny fibers. These fibers are broadly classed as either slow twitch, or fast twitch muscle fibers.

Slow twitch muscle fibers respond better to higher repetition work. They contract slowly, but can work for a long time without getting tired.

Fast twitch muscle fibers respond better to low repetition work. They contract and tire quickly.

Genetics determines the mixture of each type of fiber an individual possesses in any given muscle. On average, most muscles used for movement are made up of about 50% slow and 50% fast fibers. Individual variation is cause for why some weight trainers respond better to higher or lower reps for various muscle groups. A predominant amount of one type of fiber in a muscle can make an individual better suited for shorter, or longer duration activity (low reps or high reps in weight training). For example, Olympic sprinters have been shown to possess about 80% fast twitch fibers, a mixture that naturally leads them to excel in that type of short, fast burst activity.

Calves differ from other muscles in the body though. There are basically two muscles that make up the rear of the calves, the soleus, and the gastrocnemius.

The soleus contains mainly slow twitch muscle fibers. Therefore, it responds better to higher reps. In contrast, the gastrocnemius contains mostly fast twitch fibers and responds best to lower reps. Both high AND low repetition sets should be incorporated into a calf routine for the soleus and gastrocnemius to each get the stimulation they respond best to. Other muscles in the body could benefit most from one type of rep scheme or the other depending upon the individual’s mixture of fiber types, which is based on their genetics.

JDawg · 10-13-2007, 04:35 AM

I def get what you're saying ECH, used your advice in the gym this week! I loaded it up. Had excruciating burn at about rep 9(felt close to failure), and pushed through to about 15 wanting to scream the whole damn time. It took at least 10 seconds before I could stand back up after each set lol! Much better than the way I used to train for sure, glad I read this thread.

**mabo** · 10-13-2007, 04:37 AM

pfft... whatever skeptic.

skeptic · 10-14-2007, 10:15 AM

hahaha ease up tiger it was just a joke

**EastCoast Highlander** · 10-15-2007, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mabo

You keep implying that you train harder than I do, without knowing very much about me at all. I know what training hard feels like, I know what training to failure feels like, and I don't have any problems with the strength or size of my calves.

You seem to be basically saying to take your 8RM and do 12 reps, which obviously is impossible to do with your actual 8 rep max.

Load up enough weight and you won't get to 12 reps, no matter how strong you are.

i havent implied anything, ive implied how i see training... and you have no idea of my work ethic either m8

and i dont believe there is such a thing as an 8 rep max, if you can do 8 then u can do more, i do what reps i want, the iron does NOT command me, i did not get to where i am by making excuses

**EastCoast Highlander** · 10-15-2007, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDawg

I def get what you're saying ECH, used your advice in the gym this week! I loaded it up. Had excruciating burn at about rep 9(felt close to failure), and pushed through to about 15 wanting to scream the whole damn time. It took at least 10 seconds before I could stand back up after each set lol! Much better than the way I used to train for sure, glad I read this thread.

awesome man awesome

keep it up grow them calves to bulls

Mygeeto · 10-15-2007, 06:27 AM

see when one set of muscle fibre type is burnt out, the other, fresh one will kick in. hence the ability to do heavy weight AND high reps on calves

**JakeVendetta** · 10-15-2007, 06:43 AM

mygeeto im sorry to say but what you just said makes no sense physiologically. if your type II muscle fiber fails out do you think your type I will be able to contract with the exact power as your type II? (over simplifying this) I think not.

**EastCoast Highlander** · 10-15-2007, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeVendetta

mygeeto im sorry to say but what you just said makes no sense physiologically. if your type II muscle fiber fails out do you think your type I will be able to contract with the exact power as your type II? (over simplifying this) I think not.

both fibers gotta work together