Donkey Calf Raises

Thanks James, the list of exercises looks great.

Just one question on calf training though: you don’t include Donkey Calf Raises in your list. On his website, Larry Scott offers a purposely designed machine for performing them without a partner.

What are your thoughts on this exercise?

Regards,
Barry H.


My Answer: Donkey calf raises are a great exercise, but I would have to disagree with most bodybuilding enthusiasts that the donkey calf raise is the best calf exercise.

First let's tackle the machine Larry Scott created. I've never run across a gym that has this machine, so I can't tell you how effective it is in developing the calves. I did, however, try to simulate this machine by using:

1) a low pulley machine attached to
2) a weight belt
3) over a calf block and
4) bench

All I can say I was not impressed with the feel of the exercise, especially given all the trouble of set-up. The reason why you can't approximate the donkey calf raise through a machine is that the line of pull on your body is downward and behind you. It's really not giving you that much resistance or tension.

Regular donkey calf raises are better, because the weight of your partner is directly above your calves. The weight of your partner is pushing down on your hips and legs and adding to the stretching of your calves.

There's one problem, and this is the reason why I didn't include donkey calf raises in my list of 68 Exercises for Symmetry and Strength: your calves can handle an incredibly high amount of weight, even in a stretched position. This is why you often see photos of old time bodybuilders like Arnold with 2 people on them. Which is ludicrous, because only one guy can sit directly over his partner's calves.

Think about: you walk every hour of every day. Your calves can handle your entire body weight and perform high volumes of lifting that weight.

So if you do donkey calf raises, what happens? You bend over and your calves are only lifting the weight of your legs. Then your partner sits on top of your ass, and he's replaced the weight you just lost by bending over. Unless you get a super heavy weight to sit on you, there really is not that much benefit to the donkey calf raise that the 45 degree leg press can't offer. The leg press calf raise offers the stretch, plus the ability to add extremely high amounts of weight.

68 Exercises for Symmetry and Strength

Some time ago I was planning on shooting an exercise DVD showcasing all of these lesser known but highly effective bodybuilding exercises. These lifts are an eclectic mix of conventional and esoteric bodybuilding and strength exercises. The videos that I have on my YouTube channel show a tiny cross section of these esoteric moves.

But I've been quite busy with family and work. I've been spending a lot of quality time with my one year old daughter, so I haven't had any motivation or energy to write an article, let alone shoot an exercise DVD. Perhaps in the future when I have more time and resources.

So in the meantime, instead of an exercise DVD, I'll offer the next best thing: a compilation of the 68 best bodybuilding exercises for symmetry and/or strength. Most exercises work muscle, but not every exercise truly builds muscle. If you want to build muscle and build muscle in the right places, then this is a must have list.  It is a simple list of exercises with links to various videos on the Web.  Nothing more.  Some of these exercises you know, but many of them are lesser known gems that will give you the muscular V-taper physique you want.

I am offering this list as a complimentary PDF with each purchase of Strength and Physique, Volume One from Lulu.com.   This offer is not available through Amazon or with Volumes 2-4.   This free PDF comes with a purchase of either the paperback or Ebook.

UPDATE: There's been some confusion about how to receive the free PDF once you purchase SPV1.  To clarify, once you purchase SPV1 from Lulu.com, Lulu will email you a "thank you" note.  In this thank you note are instructions on how to receive your free PDF.  So if you don't receive this thank you note, then check your spam box.

Nutrition, Supplements and Sleep

My name is Jake. I live in Sydney, Australia. I have loved health and fitness all my life and recently have become excited about weight training and building muscle.

I am 172 cm and 55kg. I am looking to add about 10kg of lean muscle mass to my physique. There is so much information on the internet about 'THE BEST WAY' to build muscle, it is all just so confusing and overwhelming.

I would LOVE to hear from you the best way to gain muscle through quality nutrition, supplementation and recovery. I hope you have a good week ahead of you, and I would really value your advice and guidance.

Thank you.

Kind regards,
Jake


My Answer: Jake, that is way too much to cover in a single blog post. You're asking many people on the net, so you will get a ton of answers to pick and choose from. So I will keep my answer short and to the point.

- If you want to have impressive muscular size, then you'll need to up the calories and protein. What I suggest is to follow the ZigZag Zone diet mentioned in SPV2: Neo-Classical Bodybuilding.

- With regards to supplementation, refer to this blog post: Supplementation for the Academy

- With regards to recovery, this is a no-brainer: Get some sleep! Sleep for as long as you can: 7-9 hours of continuous uninterrupted sleep is good. If you find that you're sleepy in the afternoon after lunch, then take a nap if you can. If you can't because you're at work, then don't worry about. Save naps for the weekends.