• Barbell squat Stand with a barbell resting on your shoulders and traps with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Maintain the natural arch in your lower back and keep your head directed forward. Bend at the knees and hips, letting your glutes track backward to lower yourself. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, reverse direction, driving up forcefully through your heels to a standing position. Repeat for reps.
• Smith machine squat Stand in a Smith machine with a shoulder-width stance and the bar across your shoulders and traps. With your chest high, keep your head forward and maintain the arch in your back. Bend at the knees and hips as if you’re sitting back in a chair until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Reverse the motion by driving through your heels and pressing your hips forward to return to the starting position. Repeat for reps.

The evidence

One major difference between the barbell squat and the Smith machine squat is how far you can bring your feet in front. With the barbell, there is only one position-feet directly under the bar. In contrast, the Smith machine follows a fixed path, thereby removing the need to balance it, so you can bring your feet out to various distances.

In 2002, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that the farther the feet are positioned in front of the Smith machine bar, the less quad involvement and the greater hamstring/glute involvement. When the feet were directly under the bar, the hamstrings and glutes received little emphasis, while the quads got almost all the focus. When the feet were about 12 inches in front, the quads and hams/glutes were fairly evenly emphasized. When the feet were placed about 18 inches in front, the hams and glutes reveived the greatest emphasi, glututes received the greatest emphasis, with the quads getting only a little.

Another difference between the barbell squat and the Smith machine squat is strength. Researchers from Drake University (Des Moines, lowa) eported that when 32 trained lifters tested their one-rep max for the Smith machine squat, they were about 5% stronger than on the free-weight squat. The researchers suggested that the strength increase forthe Smith machine squat may be due to the reduced need for balance, thus allowing a focused effort on driving the bar straight up.

The verdict

Both exercises should be incorporated in leg training. Although the Smith machine squat has been shown to allow heavier training and the forward adjustment of foot positioning, the fixed nature of the Smith machine doesn’t call numerous stabilizer muscles into play. Over time, this can decrease strength and even increase the risk of injury. Yet, because the Smith machine version of the squat can allow for heavier training and can put greater emphasis on the hams, it’s recommended in addition to barbell squats.

Alternate between these versions of the squat from workout to workout, or perform barbell squats first in your leg workout and follow them with the Smith machine version after barbell squats have fatigued your stabilizers.

References

K.G.Abelbeck, “Biomechanical model and evaluation of a linear motion squat type exercise,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 16(4):516-24,2002; M.L Cotterman et al., “Comparison of muscle force production using the Smith machine and free weights for bench press and squat exercises,” Journal’ofstrengthandConditioning Research, 19(1):169-76, 2005

May be the number one calf-training mistake is picking the wrong parents, because more than any other bodypart, calf size is determined by genetically structured anatomy. Those with high gastrocnemius can suffer thousands of sets and still have “peg legs”; while others, despite never having entered a gym, possess footballs that seem to sprout from their ankles. You can’t change DNA, so you have to be even more resolute to earn an A in calving. This month, we show you how to boost your lower-leg grade point average by remedying the most common calf-training errors. Class is in session.

Mistake#1 – Performing short, low-intensity reps

Explanation
You likely take anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 steps daily. Think of each stride as a rep, and you can see how acclimated your calves are to short-range-of-motion, low-intensity work. That’s their thing. To make them grow you need to do what your calves are not accustomed to.

Solutions

• Get a maximum range of motion on each rep.
• Hold each stretch (as low as you can go) for one second and each contraction (as high on your toes as you can get) for two seconds.
• Perform shorter, faster repetitions only after you’ve reached full-rep failure. For example, a set might consist of 10 full reps with top and bottom pauses followed by 10 shorter reps without pauses.

Mistake #2 – Failure to train all muscles

Explanation
When you think of calves, you probably think foremost of the heart-shaped gastrocnemius muscles. Your gastrocs are the largest and most visible muscles of your lower legs, but the soleus beneath and below the gastroc also needs to be fully taxed, as do the flexor muscles on your shins, foremost the tibialis anterior. These small shin muscles are not going to wow anyone, but they do set off your calves when viewed from the front, and strengthening them guards against shin splits (a common injury for runners).

Solutions

• The soleus is isolated when your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, so always include seated calf raises in your calf routine for at least four sets of 10-20 reps.
• The flexor muscles are trained with tibialis raises. If your gym doesn’t have a machine for this, sit on a lying leg-curl bench, hook your toes under the leg pad and, while keeping your knees steady, raise the pad up and back toward your shins. Very little weight will be required. Do three or four sets of 10-20 reps at least every other calf workout.

Mistake #3 – Insufficient exercise variety

Explanation
Just as your calves long ago grew accustomed to the same old, plodding repetitions of walking, they acclimate to the same old, plodding repetitions of standing calf raises. Unfortunately, not many exercises isolate your soleus or flexors, although you can do seated calf raises or tibialis raises with both legs simultaneously or one leg at a time. By contrast, there are a lot of exercises for your gastrocnemius, and you can alter each lift for still more variety.

Solutions

• Never do the same gastrocnemius exercise two workouts in a row.
• You may think you’re limited to machine standing calf raises, but here are five more gastroc exercises you can do in most gyms: calf presses on a 45-degree leg press, calf presses on a vertical leg press, calf raises on a hack squat machine (toes on a board), calf raises on a Smith machine (toes on a board), one-leg standing calf raises while holding dumbbells.
• Do some sets for the gastrocnemius with your toes pointed in to hit your lateral (outer) gastroc head and some sets with your toes pointed out to hit the medial (inner) gastroc head. New research presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine confirms that this technique works.

Mistake #4 – Staying in the same rep range

Explanation
It’s commonly believed that the calves consist of mostly slow-twitch fibers, since they’re acclimated to the endurance load of walking. In fact, although the soleus does have more slow-twitch than fast-twitch fibers, the gastrocs typically have nearly equal quantities of fast- and slow-twitch fibers. They’re sprinters, as well as marathoners. Furthermore, although there is much empirical evidence that calves respond better to higher reps than other bodyparts do, your calves adapt to rep quantities, whether high or low. Keep them off-guard (and growing) by mixing up your workloads.

Solutions

• Perform mostly moderate- to high-rep sets of 10-20 reps.
• At least every other workout, do some lighter sets of 20-50 reps.
• At least every other workout, do some heavier sets of 6-10 reps.

Mistake #5 – Not stretching enough

Explanation
Just getting the fullest possible range of motion during each rep is not sufficient. You also need to fully stretch your calves between sets and immediately after training them. This increases mobility, enlarges the fascia and boosts the pump, which in turn aids recovery and growth.

Solutions

• Between sets and immediately after your workout, stand on the edge of a riser, block or stair and let your heels drop as far as possible. Also rise up as high as possible, flex and hold. Stretch your calves individually and together.
• Perform some stretches with your toes pointed in and others with your toes pointed out to elongate both the lateral and medial gastroc heads.
• Stretch your soleus while sitting on a seated calf raise machine, keeping your toes on the riser and letting your heels dip down as far as possible. Alternately, with your knees bent at 90 degrees, bring your toes back toward your shins as far as possible.

Lessons learned

• Stretch and contract your calves maximally on each rep. Do shorter reps only after reaching full-rep failure.
• Don’t neglect your soleus or flexor muscles.
• Perform a wide variety of calf exercises, and do some sets with your toes pointed in and others with your toes pointed out.
• Keep most sets in the 10-20 range, but sometimes do higher (20-50) or lower (6-10) reps.
• Stretch your calves after each set and after your calf workout.

With more meat than a deli counter, and tricked out with vertical ravines and horizontal etchings, quadriceps can be showstoppers. Unfortunately, most bodybuilders never maximize their quads, because they are forever shortchanging their leg workouts. This month, we’ll examine the most frequent quad-training blunders and lay out a course of action for correcting each so that the time spent at the squat rack and leg press earns you an A in leg gains. Class is in session.

Mistake #1 – Incorrectly targeting areas

Explanation
Here’s a prevalent myth: to focus more on your quads and less on your glutes during Smith machine or hack squats, move your feet further forward. In fact, the opposite is true. Likewise, many believe that a wide stance will work outer quads and a narrow stance hits more of the inner area–wrong again. The fact is that even many experienced bodybuilders simply do not know how to best target the four quadriceps muscles (the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius and vastus medialis) and the various muscles of the upper, inner thighs.

Solutions

• Point your toes in to work the outer quads (vastus lateralis) more; point them out to work the inner quads (vastus medialis) more.
• Keep your feet under your hips during exercises, such as Smith machine squats, to target the quads more and glutes less.
• Taking a narrow stance will focus more on the outer quads; taking a wide stance (and pointing your toes out) will focus more on the muscles of the inner thighs.

Mistake #2 – using truncated range of motion

Explanation
You see it in every gym. Guys load up the leg press for–at best–half reps, bending their knees only far enough to keep the weight moving. That same abbreviated bending occurs at squat racks, hack squat machines and often even for leg extensions. Whenever a bodybuilder trains quads, the odds are that he will go through the motion of not going through the whole motion; primarily because doing leg exercises for sets of full reps is hard and doing half reps allows heavier training–providing the illusion of training harder–so quads get “short repped” and thus shortchanged. By limiting the length of movements, you’re limiting your growth.

Solutions

• Each rep of most sets of squats should descend to where your quads are parallel to the floor or platform, if not deeper. The exception to this rule is when doing half squats to focus more on the medialis, which research shows is effective.
• Any form of leg press should descend at least until your quads are parallel to the foot platform. In a 45-degree leg press, your knees should brush your chest without your glutes coming up off of the leg press seat, which would place a lot of stress on your lower back.
• Squats or leg presses should briefly lock out, or stop just short of lockout, at the top.
• When performing leg extensions, go from a full stretch (calf perpendicular to thigh) to a full contraction, wherein you briefly lock out your knees and flex your thighs.
• Lunges, thigh adductions and any other leg exercise should have a full stretch and contraction.
• You may wish to extend sets of some machine leg exercises via partials, but do this only after reaching failure with full-range reps.

Mistake #3 – Going too heavy

Explanation
This mistake almost always travels in concert with the one that precedes it, since going too heavy leads to truncated reps and truncated reps allow you to go too heavy. This is especially true of leg presses, because it’s very likely that you can use more metal with this exercise than any other. This stokes your ego, and because the guy before you used 800 for half reps instead of 500 for full reps, you want to crank out those 800-pound partials, too. What’s more, even if you’re squatting deep in the hole, you may pyramid up to singles and doubles just to slap on as many plates as possible each workout, thus feeding your pride, but not building much–if any–muscle.

Solutions

• Do full-range movements (see mistake #2).
• Keep the reps for most sets in the eight-to-12 range.
• Focus on your muscles, not on the weight.

Mistake #4 – Squatting with incorrect form

Explanation
Stopping far short of parallel isn’t the worst squatting offense. Many bodybuilders lean too far forward and push their hips too far backward, working their backs, hips and butts more than their quads. What’s worse, this could potentially strain your spinal erectors. If you’re going to do barbell squats wrong, it’s best not to do them. A better option is to practice the correct form of this invaluable exercise until you squat right every time.

Solutions

• Generally, when you take a stance that’s beyond shoulder width, it’s best to do so with your toes angled slightly outward, but find the stance that lets you remain as upright as possible. Often, taller bodybuilders need a wider stance.
• Overemphasize the arch in your lower back.
• Look straight ahead throughout each rep.
• As you drop down, keep your butt over your heels, as if you’re going to sit down on a chair.
• Driving out of the hole, move your hips before you move your knees.
• Practice proper upright form by sitting to (butt just touching) and rising from a bench, chair or box set at parallel. Use no weight or a light weight until you master this.
• Consider starting with Smith machine squats until you master the form, then move on to free-weight squats.

Mistake #5 – Failing at failure

Explanation
Leg training is a bitch. Pushing sets of such exercises as front squats, leg presses and walking lunges to their max will feel like someone is firing a blowtorch at your thighs, and most bodybuilders don’t stay under the blowtorch long enough. You might regularly superset biceps and triceps exercises, do forced reps when bench pressing and drop sets during side laterals, but it’s less likely that you apply the same intensity to your leg workouts–simply because of the pain quotient. As we’ve already explained, bodybuilders frequently go too heavy (with truncated reps) on the leg basics. Low-rep training is the easy way out. Max out on five reps of the leg press and max out on 15 reps, and there’s little doubt that pushing yourself to the limit (with a lighter weight) for 15 will bring on greater torment. Immediately follow those 15 reps with another 15 of hack squats or lunges, and you’ll start to understand maximum leg-day intensity.

Solutions

• Use reps in the 10-15 range to boost intensity.
• On occasion, use intensifying techniques like partials, supersets and rest-pause to push sets beyond full-rep failure.
• Accept pain as a necessary component of full-bore quad workouts

Lessons learned

• Position your feet to target different quad areas.
• Make each rep a full rep. When squatting or leg pressing, this means bending your legs until your thighs are at least perpendicular to your calves.
• Generally, keep your reps in the eight-to-12 range.
• Practice proper squat form.
• Push sets to failure and sometimes beyond.

Facts of the case

• Barbell squat Stand with a barbell resting on your shoulders and traps with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Maintain the natural arch in your lower back and keep your head directed forward. Bend at the knees and hips, letting your glutes track backward to lower yourself. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, reverse direction, driving up forcefully through your heels to a standing position. Repeat for reps.
• Smith machine squat Stand in a Smith machine with a shoulder-width stance and the bar across your shoulders and traps. With your chest high, keep your head forward and maintain the arch in your back. Bend at the knees and hips as if you’re sitting back in a chair until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Reverse the motion by driving through your heels and pressing your hips forward to return to the starting position. Repeat for reps.

The evidence
One major difference between the barbell squat and the Smith machine squat is how far you can bring your feet in front. With the barbell, there is only one position-feet directly under the bar. In contrast, the Smith machine follows a fixed path, thereby removing the need to balance it, so you can bring your feet out to various distances.

In 2002, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that the farther the feet are positioned in front of the Smith machine bar, the less quad involvement and the greater hamstring/glute involvement. When the feet were directly under the bar, the hamstrings and glutes received little emphasis, while the quads got almost all the focus. When the feet were about 12 inches in front, the quads and hams/glutes were fairly evenly emphasized. When the feet were placed about 18 inches in front, the hams and glutes reveived the greatest emphasi, glututes received the greatest emphasis, with the quads getting only a little.

Another difference between the barbell squat and the Smith machine squat is strength. Researchers from Drake University (Des Moines, lowa) eported that when 32 trained lifters tested their one-rep max for the Smith machine squat, they were about 5% stronger than on the free-weight squat. The researchers suggested that the strength increase forthe Smith machine squat may be due to the reduced need for balance, thus allowing a focused effort on driving the bar straight up.

The verdict
Both exercises should be incorporated in leg training. Although the Smith machine squat has been shown to allow heavier training and the forward adjustment of foot positioning, the fixed nature of the Smith machine doesn’t call numerous stabilizer muscles into play. Over time, this can decrease strength and even increase the risk of injury. Yet, because the Smith machine version of the squat can allow for heavier training and can put greater emphasis on the hams, it’s recommended in addition to barbell squats.

Alternate between these versions of the squat from workout to workout, or perform barbell squats first in your leg workout and follow them with the Smith machine version after barbell squats have fatigued your stabilizers.

If you’ve been making less than stellar increases with your heavy weights lately, consider revamping your power training to include unilateral movements. “Unilateral training for your lower body is an excellent way to break through plateaus,” according to Tom Seabourne, PhD, author of The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Great Buns and Thighs (Alpha, 2006). He recommends rebuilding your workout program around unilateral movements for 4-6 weeks to focus on strengthening your lower body one leg at a time.

“Performing one-legged squats or deadlifts will help you target your weak spots so you’ll be stronger when you return to standard moves,” explains Seabourne. Begin with very light weight and concentrate on correct form, he advises. “You’ll be amazed at how weak you feel on one leg.”

Seabourne offers the following tips for performing one-legged squats:

• Use light dumbbells when you begin. “You can also stand near a wall or hold onto the post of a squat rack to help stabilize yourself if you can’t maintain your balance,” he instructs.
• Hold your “resting” leg behind you. “Set the top of your foot on a bench a couple of feet behind you or use a Smith machine rather than dumbbells–with or without the bench technique,” suggests Seabourne.
• Using perfect form, squat down until your upper quad (the working one) is nearly parallel to the floor. Pause, then press through your heel to extend your hip and knee until you return to the starting position. Keep your chest up, abs tight and back flat throughout the exercise.
• Move slowly through the set, which Seabourne says really challenges your stabilizers. He recommends using at least a slow three count on the down-ward movement, pausing for a count at the bottom, then another three count on the way up.
• Work up to 10 reps per side. “At first, it may be easier to alternate from one side to the other,” notes Seabourne. “Eventually, work toward performing 10 reps on one side, then 10 reps on the other. When you can successfully perform 10 repetitions with perfect form with each leg, increase the weight.”

Seabourne says you may feel muscle fatigue throughout your entire leg, including the calves, that you normally wouldn’t experience due to certain compensation. “Through this type of unilateral training, you’ll activate all the tiny balancing muscles of your lower leg, and this helps improve your total leg strength. When you return to your regular power-training routine stronger and more balanced than ever, don’t be surprised to find that you’re readily able to break through your previous plateaus.”

Try following this workout two days a week for 4-6 weeks.

Dear FullyFlexed,
For the most part, my leg training is coming along fine and my lower body is solid. However, I’ve noticed that my glutes and upper hamstrings aren’t as thick as my quads and lower hammies. Here’s my current leg training, which I do 1-2 times a week. Can you help? Sincerely, Lacking Up High

Dear Lacking,
Quick anatomy lesson here: The hamstrings do more than just bend the knees; they also assist in extending the hips. We mention this because your current workout isolates the hamstrings with only leg curls, which consist of 100% knee flexion and zero hip involvement. So the first thing you need to do is insert a couple of hamstring isolators that extend the hips, which will not only target the upper hams but involve the glutes as well. Our two favorites are romanian dead-lifts and glute-ham raises.

For the romanian dead, try to keep your legs straight as you lean forward, sliding the bar down your thighs to about midway down your shins. Go to where your torso is parallel to the floor or slightly below, keeping a slight arch in your low back. Glute-ham raises involve doing a back extension as normal (on a back extension bench), then extending the

movement by bending your knees and contracting your hamstrings hard to lift your torso to nearly perpendicular to the floor by the end of the movement. An added bonus is that both exercises call the lower back into play. If your erector spinae muscles happen to be another weak link, you’re killing two birds with one stone.

You might also try separating your quad training from your hams, doing them on different days for at least a couple of months. This way, you’re not doing your romanians and glute-hams after your hamstrings are already tired from squats, leg presses and hacks. Train hams 2-3 days after quads, when they’ll have recovered sufficiently, which allows you to train heavier and with more intensity to help bring up those weak areas. And, of course, prioritize your hamstring training by doing the aforementioned exercises before your leg curls. Just make sure your hamstrings are sufficiently warmed up beforehand with 5-10 minutes of cardio and multiple lightweight warm-up sets. Try the following workout for a month or two and see if it does the trick.

In an era when most bodybuilders turn pro in their 30s, two questions keep cropping up. Where will the next young phenom come from? And who’s the next Lee Haney, Shawn Ray or Lee Priest with a world-class physique and in his early 20s, with many years to improve? The answers are: a gym in a village in Wales, and his name is James “Flex” Lewis. Before his 21st birthday in November 2004, Lewis had already developed two of the best legs in bodybuilding, won all seven physique contests he entered and held his own in guest-posing spots next to the likes of Dexter Jackson. Yet, this Flex is only getting started.

Fertile ground
Let’s get the nickname cleared up from the start. Unceasingly polite and modest, Lewis wants no one to infer that he is comparing himself to Flex Wheeler, winner of 17 pro contests. The sobriquet was bestowed at age 11 for his flexibility in rugby, an absolute passion in his native country. (Likewise, Ken “Flex” Wheeler’s nickname originated from his involvement in martial arts before bodybuilding.) Eight years later, when Lewis entered his first physique contest, he worried that the Flex handle might seem impertinent, but by then, it was how most people knew him, and his mother told him to remain true to himself.

Modesty, rugby and family are recurring motifs in Flex’s young life, most of which he has lived in Llanelli, an industrial town on the southwest edge of Wales. The town is neighbored by ominously titled communities, such as Furnace and Dyfatty and Welsh tongue twisters like Bwlchymynydd (not a misprint). In this realm of harsh contrasts, beguiling forests, mountains and seashores are framed by gray rainy skies and the smoke of metal and chemical factories. Flex’s father works in a metal factory and referees rugby Flex’s mother was a nurse until a congenital hip disability forced her to retire. Part of Flex’s motivation for bodybuilding success is to earn money to give to his parents.

As generations before him did and as one of his two younger brothers does today, Flex developed a rugby proficiency. The tough-as-Wales sport–which puts a premium on leg power–laid the foundation for his bodybuilding career, but it was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding that opened his eyes to a brighter world. It wasn’t Arnold’s biceps or pecs; it was a photo of Tom Platz. “I just couldn’t get over the size of his legs,” Flex enthuses in his Welsh brogue. “I wanted legs like that.” His parents felt he was too young for weight training, so 12-year-old Flex hid his father’s Weider weights under his bed. Every night, he would hoist the loaded barbell onto his shoulders and pump out sets of deep squats before slipping into bed to dream of Platzlike lower limbs.

Prodigy
At 15, Flex wanted to join the region’s best gym. He remembers his first day. “I went up to what I thought was one of the biggest guys. You know how you think some of these guys are so huge when you’re young. I went up to him and asked what I should be eating to put on size. He just looked at me and laughed. I was so crushed, I didn’t have the courage to go back to that gym for years. That day, when I was 15 and a skinny little runt, I told myself that if I ever got big, I’d never be like that to a newcomer. I’d always be kind to people.”

Flex eventually returned to that gym and is now its most successful member. In the meantime, he took up powerlifting in a tiny primitive YMCA. As his legs swelled under heavy squats, friends encouraged him to pursue competitive bodybuilding. He entered and won his first contest, the 2003 Junior Wales, at 19. The junior division, prevalent in European bodybuilding, is open to those ages 20 or below. In less than two years, he nabbed six additional junior titles, including the EFBB Britain (twice). The 5’5″ Welshman was 180 pounds when he last competed. As he plans his jump to an open EFBB contest and a qualification for the IFBB pro ranks, he is undefeated.

Welsh wheels
Flex’s upper body is good for his age (he was 20 when the accompanying photos were taken) with pleasing tie-ins and a “pop” to his muscles when he poses. Still, his legs set him apart, not just from bodybuilders his age, but from most bodybuilders of any age. His Welsh wheels have it all: quads, hamstrings and calves that are bountiful and chiseled from any angle. “I change my workout almost every time to keep shocking the muscles,” Flex explains. “I might throw in Smith machine squats instead of hacks or do lunges up onto a box. I like to do sick things in my leg training. I’ll do drop sets. I might do 100 reps of leg presses, doing four drop sets of 25 each. My favorite exercise is leg presses. I don’t do regular squats anymore, but I think they were key in getting my legs to where they are now.

“I train hamstrings twice per week. I usually switch it up so my Monday and Thursday hamstrings workouts are not the same. For calves, I always do three supersets of seated and standing calf raises. I don’t count reps, but I usually do around 30. After each set of standing raises, I stand on a block and pump out as many extra reps as I can with no weight.”

Bright tomorrow
In Llanelli, Flex works for a moving company, hauling furniture and loaded boxes by day and moving weights by night. He hopes to continue his bodybuilding career in Southern California, where healthy foods are plentiful and it almost never rains, unlike Wales, where it seems the rain stops only when it snows. “It affects you when you open up the curtains in America and it’s sunny,” he says, with a glint in his eyes. “You want to go do something. You want to make it happen.”

There are a few indelible milestones in a successful bodybuilder’s career: first contest, first win, turning pro, first Olympia. Another is a first FLEX photo shoot. Working with bodybuilding photographer Chris Lund and his team of assistants in Milos Sarcev’s Fullerton, California, gym is a rite of passage, marking one’s arrival into bodybuilding’s upper echelon. The honor is usually reserved for new professionals or those on the verge. James “Flex” Lewis, who has yet to compete in an open division, was nervous, excited and more than a little overwhelmed as we drove to Fullerton (and not just because of Southern California’s maniacal maze of freeways). Youth is fueled by tomorrow’s sunrise. As you read these words, Flex is back in Wales. It’s raining and he’s training, but he’s dreaming about the warm glow of his bright tomorrow.

World-class squatters know that the calves play a big role in squatting big: When you come up out of the hole, not only do you have extension at the hips and knees, but also at the ankles. The gastrocnemius–the upside-down heart-shaped muscle on the lower leg–is a major player here. Then there’s the stabilization performed by the soleus throughout the entire exercise.

If you usually skip calves, stop. You need to be training them for strength, not just so they look good when you wear shorts. And forget all you’ve heard about high reps for calves; it’s time to train them heavy to carry that strength over into your squat.

Standing Calf raise
No need to wait for the standing calf machine to free up. Head for the power rack for a calf raise that better mimics the squat. Set the hooks so that when the bar rests on them, it’s at shoulder height or slightly lower. Place two 25-pound plates together (or a wooden block) about I1/2 feet in front of the bar. Load the bar with enough weight to get 5-6 reps and no more. With your back facing the bar, place your shoulders under it and stand on the plates so that the balls of your feet are on the edges and your heels touch the floor. Lift your heels as fast as possible, keeping the bar in contact with the power rack posts at all times (you should be pushing your body up and back toward the rack). Slowly return your heels to the floor and repeat. At the end of the last set, do as many partial reps as possible until you can barely budge your heels off the floor.

Seated calf raise
Drag a flat bench into the power rack and set the 25-pound plates about 1 foot in front of the bench. Set the safety pins so that when the bar rests on them, it’s at the same height as your knees or slightly lower when you sit on the bench. With the bar resting on your thighs (about 4 inches up from your kneecaps–for comfort, put a towel on your lap), your feet on the plates and your heels down, lift your heels until they’re just past parallel to the floor. Slowly lower your heels and repeat. Do partials at the end of your last set.

Author TIM SCHEETT, PHD
COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Hypothesis
Pointing your toes in while doing calf raises will hit the outer calf. Pointing them out will hit the inner calf.

Research
Researchers from Armstrong Atlantic State University (Savannah, Georgia) measured muscle activity of the inner (medial) head and outer (lateral) heads of the gastrocnemius muscles of subjects as they performed 10 reps of standing calf raises three ways: feet straight forward, toes pointing in (internal rotation) and toes pointing out (external rotation).

Findings
The scientists reported at the 2009 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine that when the subjects performed calf raises with their feet forward, there was a nearly even mix of muscle activity between the outer and inner heads of the gastrocnemius, with the inner head doing a little more of the work. When they turned their toes out, the inner head became even more involved as compared to the outer head. And when they turned their toes in, the outer head took on the most work.

Conclusion
The researchers concluded that due to the larger muscle mass of the medial gastrocnemius (inner calf head), it takes on a bit more of the brunt of the load during standard calf raises with the feet straight forward. The more you turn your toes outward while performing calf raises, the more inner calf (and the less outer calf) you hit. The more you turn your toes inward, the more the outer calf (and the less the inner calf) is engaged.

Application
Consider changing up your foot position when doing calf raises. If you have fairly balanced inner and outer calf-head development, start by performing two sets of calf raises with your feet in the straight-forward position and finish with two sets done with your toes turned in. If you need to bring up your outer calves, reverse this order.

Reference R.G. LeFavi et al., “Medial and Lateral Gastrocnemius Activation Differences During Heel Raise Exercise with Three Different Foot Positions,” Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, 2009.

Author Jim Stoppani, PhD
COPYRIGHT 2009 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning

Rather than get personal and ask why you’re not doing deadlifts, allow us to reiterate why you should be doing them. Other than the benefits we just mentioned, deadlifting is as functional as an exercise gets. You deadlift practically every day, whether you lift a box off the floor or pick up your 2-year-old after a nasty spill. So why not practice it and avoid injury?

Are functional training and injury prevention not manly enough for you? Then how does considerably more muscle mass and strength sound? The exercises that allow you to lift the most weight–such as the deadlift–are the best ones to build a program around.

So are you in or out? You’re in? Great. Then you probably have questions, seeing that you’re new to this and all. Heed the following FAQs:

How do you do deadlifts?
Start with a loaded barbell on the floor in front of you. Grasp it with a shoulder-width grip (either both palms facing you or staggered) and a hip-width stance. Keep your back flat, your chest out and your shoulders back to maintain proper posture. From there, stand up explosively with the weight, maintaining good posture, until your knees are straight but not locked out. Return to the start position under control.

Where should I put deadlifts in my split? With back or legs?
If you put it with legs, any major quad move you do after it, like squats or lunges, will suffer. Yet if you do it after those exercises, your deadlift will lag. If you add deadlifts to back day, you’ll be strong in it, but you’ll also work legs an extra day that week. (We suggest taking an extra day off afterward in that case.) So it’s up to you.

What if I have a bad back and can’t do deadlifts?
Check out rack pulls. The pins of the power rack are set higher, offering a starting point well above floor level. Perform your reps from there as you normally would to take pressure off your lower back.

This variation is also great for beginners who don’t want to jump right into full-on deadlifts. Conveniently, it caters to advanced lifters, too, as the higher starting point allows them to pile on more weight for greater strength and hypertrophy gains.

Training Level: Intermediate
Main Goal: Build Muscle/Increase Strength
Days Per Week: Every Back or Legs Workout (which ever you chose to do deadlifts with)
Workout Type: Multiple Muscle Groups
Designed By: Unknown

Recommend Supplements For This Workout:

1. Whey Protein (pre/post workout)
2. Creatine (daily/post workout)
3. Multi-Vitamin (every morning)

Description of the workout
Here’s a sample eight-week deadlift program to incorporate into your legs or back day. Do full deadlifts the first week, rack pulls the second and alternate every week thereafter. The first three sets are warm-ups and should be done with a light weight. The last two sets are the working sets and should be done close to failure.

BY JIM STOPPANI, PHD
COPYRIGHT 2005 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group