well, i am one of those people who are genetically cursed with CHICKEN legs. the weird thing is, both my mom and dad have very nice muscular legs, so im not sure where my scrawny legs came from. i am 5'10 and weight about 150 lbs. i was heavier before, but all my weight goes to my upper body, so it made my legs look even worse!
well, i measured my ankles, and they are only 7.5"!!! i believe that is the size of a normal man's wrist! and my calves measure at only 13.5"!!!
i have been doing calf raises and leg presses once a week for about 4-5 months but didnt see any gains. i did some more research and think that i have to perform really HEAVY weights with very low reps. and i know i am supposed to do squats, but i dont really feel any burn on my calves when i do this, so i stopped. i was also worried about my back and knees. however, i just started power walking on a treadmill this week and i felt my calves burning after about 5 minutes. will this hinder any type of potential gains i could have with the weight training, or could it help me add some mass? from an article i read, it said that power walking will tone my legs and not build mass - which is the opposite of what i am trying to accomplish.
and does anyone have any other suggestions on how to fix this problem???
Down this road, in a gym far away,
a young man was heard to say,
"no matter what i do, my legs won't grow"
he tried leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses , too
trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do.
from the corner of the gym where the big men train,
through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain
where the noise is made with big forty fives,
a deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees.
a very big man with legs like trees.
laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack
chalking his hands and monstrous back,
said, "boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten,
the trouble with you is you ain't been SQUATTIN'. "
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Invest serious time learning to squat ass to calves and invest more time learning to deadlift.
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At 5'10 and 150lbs, sorry, im having a hard time thinking all the weight is going to your upperbody.
Squats are the best tool for leg growth (if done correctly. you really have to go, way lower, then 99% of people you see). low reps, high reps, medium reps.. whatever, just keep trying to improve.
Oh, and buy the book 'starting strength' its really cheap and you will thank me later.
and i know i am supposed to do squats, but i dont really feel any burn on my calves when i do this, so i stopped. i was also worried about my back and knees. however, i just started power walking on a treadmill this week and i felt my calves burning after about 5 minutes. will this hinder any type of potential gains i could have with the weight training, or could it help me add some mass? from an article i read, it said that power walking will tone my legs and not build mass - which is the opposite of what i am trying to accomplish.
and does anyone have any other suggestions on how to fix this problem???
#1... you are doing stuff that's not working.
#2... you know what you should be doing but you don't think that'll work.
Maybe it's time to try what you think won't work... since what you think will work isn't.
And if you want the extra pain in the legs, do a full rom atg squat and when you get to the top add in a calf raise. Then you'll get your little burn that you seem to feel is necessary, and you'll be actually doing the squats that'll actually help you get where you want to be.
ok, so its pretty clear i guess - squats is the only way to go.
but when i do squats, i can feel my thighs burning like CRAZY, but i dont feel anything in my calves at ALL. does this mean im doin the exercise wrong? i have looked at various videos, and feel that i have proper form.
the other reason i dont do squats is that i have a bad lower back, and my knees crack really loud when i bend them. i dont want these to get worse, so i started the leg presses.
and Frank - trust me, no one can guess that i am 150lbs (i use to weigh about 165). i wear baggy fitted clothes, so they really cant see my lower body. when i tell someone that i am 150lbs, they never believe me, because i look more like 175lbs by looking at my upper body.
I encourage you to review the Squat Rx videos to help learn good squat technique. I think you'll find that you're knees will improve as you increase your hip mobility and leg/hip strength.
And I'll say again what everyone else has mentioned. If you want to be bigger, you have to eat sufficiently to gain weight. You can't have bigger legs without gaining weight and without giving your body the nutrients to use to grow muscle. No amount or type of exercise will make you grow without excess calories.
You might try riding a bike as a warm up to get that cracking out of your knees.
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Heavy squats will likely make your calves grow too over time, if you really want to you can add in some calf exercises in your workout after the squats or deadlifts.
I wouldn't worry about knee cracking unless it hurts, or is really ridiculously loud.
this was from jesse marunde's log a few years ago:
Quote:
tuesday-
almost totally devoted to squatting. squat till you drop style. light power snatches as a warm up. lately we've been doing box step ups, then some sort of pull (RDL, STLD, DL, snatch pull, clean pull etc), and front squats. We spent most of the winter back squatting so we're working on some front squats untill we get bored. If there is any gas in the tank after this we hit some leg extensions and calf raises. There is never any gas left in the tank.
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Your calves are one of the most heavily worked muscles in your body, seeing as you walk with them all day long. The uphill treadmill will probably help your calves grow, but you might need to do a TON more calf work to make them grow if they are really skinny. Plus, if you try to gain weight, then all that uphill walking works against you. It's just that much more food that you'll need to eat. So more typical calf exercises might be a better choice.
the other reason i dont do squats is that i have a bad lower back, and my knees crack really loud when i bend them. i dont want these to get worse, so i started the leg presses.
I'd even be cautious with leg presses if you have a bad lower back. If you're not sitting properly you'll only add to it. I read somewhere that the leg press machines, like the Smith machine, are 2 machines that are evil.
If normal squats don't work for you you can do dumbbell squats. I've been doing those for a while and have had no back pain at all. Started doing them after I hurt my back a few years ago and my gym doesn't have a squat rack.
FWIW, my knees crack too. They always have. Squatting has not hurt my knees or made them worse. Like others have previously said, make sure you warm up well first. Do a couple of warmup sets with lighter weights, working your way up gradually.
I used to run laps a lot in college, made my calves pretty big. Always ran on a flat surface so it was more of a lower leg workout for me than an upper leg thing.
That in mind, my calves are bigger and stronger now than they ever have been. I've been doing squats and deadlifts for the last 6-8 months. Back squats, front squats, deadlifts, RDLs, Good Mornings, step ups, etc, all take a tremendous amount of balance which was somewhat lacking in me before. I never feel the burn in my calves anymore, but it apparently isn't necessary. At least give it a try for a while.
My knees crack too. I've noticed though that when I pay very close attention to form, and properly brace myself throughout the movement, much less cracking occurs. In fact, the cracking has 90% stopped the last few months.
My knees crack like crazy! My boyfriend got me an olympic bar and weights for Christmas, so I asked him to watch me deadlift. He was horrified. I don't think its a sign that you are hurting yourself or anything.
Another thing is, you can definitely put on mass with a great lifting and eating plan. But we are all shaped the way we are genetically disposed to be shaped. I put on muscle more easily in some parts than others, definitely not even all over.
the weird thing is, both my mom and dad have very nice muscular legs, so im not sure where my scrawny legs came from.
Maybe from the milkman or the mailman? (Just kidding, )
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trying to get BIGGER legs, need help!
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