The skinny on my skinny calves

My dad gave me many good qualities. Calves wasn’t one of them. 

Yep, I inherited Dad’s streamlined lower legs. That’s not good because calves are notoriously stubborn. You either have ‘em or you don’t. You see skinny folks with big, bulging calves and you see overweight people with defined, shapely calves. Never did a thing for them. Some things in life just aren’t fair. 

So, unlike them, I have to work for what little I have. It seems every spring I re-dedicate myself to getting some calves to strut around for the summer. It ain’t happened yet, but I’m still trying. It’s an uphill battle.  I - like a lot of blacks - have thin, high calves. The muscle belly tends to have a higher insertion than that of whites (or especially Asians). It’s just what is. 

And it’s even worse for Cape Verdeans. We’re even more calf-challenged. Lots of pins on my peeps back in New Bedford. Chicken legs. I can’t cite any studies, just an observation, even though my Cape Verdean mother was blessed with great calves. Rick inherited those. Lucky bastard. Shelley, you got a little bit, too. Um, Roxanne? We’re stuck in this little leg thing together. But hey, big calves on top of your little size 5 feet just wouldn’t look right anyway.

Quick anatomical tidbit: a higher calf sometimes correlates with a longer Achilles tendon, which, in part, explains why blacks tend to run faster and jump higher. This is fact. The Achilles tendon stores a lot of energy, which leads to a springy recoil. Look at kangaroos. They bounce around like they do because of unusually long tendons, which also allow them to hop faster without increasing energy expenditure. How cool is that? Imagine sprinting without getting more tired than when you jog. That’s athletic utopia. Heck, I’d run everywhere. 

While I’m talking calves and performance, if you want to jump higher, don’t obsess with calf raises. Those might improve your vertical minimally, but most great leapers don’t have big calves. Ever see Michael Jordan’s calf muscle? Me neither. Nobody has. One of the greatest leapers of all time has twigs for legs, straight up and down. (Former) high flyers Kobe Bryant’s and Vince Carter’s aren’t much better. 

But if you want to build muscle, yes, stay on your toes and keep doing those calf raises. We may be limited by our genetics (I’ll never have balloons in my calves like my sixth grade gym teacher Mr. Rounseville), but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve upon what we have. And that goes for any trait, physical or otherwise. Quick tip: seated calf raises hit more of the soleus, the lower part of the calf; standing raises target more of the higher gastrocnemius. Do both. And be sure to go through the entire range of motion and incorporate two or three exercises. 

Yes, calves are stubborn. Know that they’re not going to respond as quickly as your biceps or triceps, so you have to be that much more determined and dedicated (not just in the spring!). Vary sets, reps and tempo. Squeeze at the top. Try going heavy. Jump rope. Exhaust every option, every exercise. And if all else fails, blame your dad.

Footnote: Cape Verdeans are of mixed Portuguese and African ancestry. The Cape Verde islands are 350 miles off the west coast of Africa. Southeastern Massachusetts (particularly New Bedford) and Rhode Island are the most densely populated areas of Cape Verdeans.

SPREADING THE HEALTH!

ROBERT HADDOCKS, CPT, CES, CSCS

Want a Higher Vertical and More Explosiveness? Don't Bypass the Basics

The vertical jump, along with the 40-yard dash, is one of the most common tests for athletic performance. With good reason. It’s a great indicator of maximal power output. You might not be preparing for the NFL Combine, but you still should be doing plyometric box jumps and working on your vertical. Here’s why. 

Box jumps help increase power and improve your muscles’ elasticity – which we’re losing as we age. I say this often, but you need to think of your body as a rubber band.  If your muscles can’t stretch and contract quickly, you won’t generate much power. A plyometric by definition is just that: a quick stretch of the muscle (as in when you squat before you jump) followed by a rapid, forceful contraction. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 50-inch box jump or a push-up off the wall. It’s still a “plyo,” so all of my clients, even my 80-year old lady, perform them. 

So how can you increase your vertical, your explosiveness, your hops? Squats alone won’t do much. Calf raises will do even less. It’s a combination of things, but it all starts with the simple but often overlooked elements: alignment, stability and mobility. Everything does. 

If you’re ankles aren’t stable, let’s say your feet pronate as you squat (possibly because of tight calves). You’re already at a disadvantage because of poor alignment. “The posture adopted in a given movement dictates the activation of the muscles responsible for force production,” the NSCA says. 

Taking it further up the chain, the same is true of the knees. If they cave in (possibly tight adductors or weak glute medius), that’s a faulty movement pattern robbing you of power. Think of any movement deviation like that as a detour. As you jump (or walk or run), energy is transferred from the ground up. But with a detour, an inefficient path is created and power is diminished. Worse, chances of injury increase. 

Let’s move up to the hips. As you lower the body in the eccentric phase of the jump, good ankle and hip flexion is needed in order to sit back and load the glutes – essential in every movement. Your glutes are SUPPOSED TO BE your strongest muscle. In most people, they’re not. That’s a problem. The glutes’ primary function is hip extension, the catalyst to launch you. Box jumps are an example of what’s called the “triple extension” of the ankle, knee and hip. It’s a staple of any good strength and conditioning program, whether it’s box jumps, push press, clean and jerk or a snatch. All are great to develop the power that’s needed on the playing field and will lead to not only a greater vertical, but increased speed and overall explosiveness.  

What’s another thing you need for a big jump, a powerful Olympic lift, sprinting or a good golf swing? Stiffness. Yes, stiffness. That might sound counter to flexibility, but muscles also need to be taut – on demand. Think of a spring or a coil. It’s tight. Learning to stiffen your core is tricky, but you must figure out the precise, split-second moment to tighten your trunk to transfer energy from the lower body to the upper body. It’s about timing, which only comes with practice and improving the communication between your brain and muscles. All movement is neuromuscular.

I’m often labeled as the corrective guy, but don’t be fooled, I’m all about power. Most people don’t realize, but corrective exercise and power go hand-in-hand. It’s the reason I’m still able to do nearly everything I did 20 years ago. And some things I do even better. I no longer squat 500 pounds, but because my movement patterns are more efficient (better alignment, flexibility and muscle recruitment), I’m able to produce more power. 

 Hey, I don’t care to squat 500 pounds anymore. Been there, done that. In their quest for quick results and huge max lifts, too many people bypass the basics. That starts with alignment, balance, stability, mobility and flexibility. I reserve at least one day a week strictly for those things and some bodyweight exercises. And guess what, I feel better leaving the gym on that day than any other. Think that’s a coincidence? 

See, I’m not worried about how much I’m lifting or how many reps I can get. So I’m able to slow everything down, focus and communicate with my body, getting it to work as one synchronized unit. You could call it dynamic yoga. Improved body awareness, enhanced communication leads to greater efficiency of movement which translates to more power. It’s really not rocket science. Yet, at the same time, I’m amazed by how many people continue with workouts from the Dark Ages. Come see me. I’ll show you the light! And I’ll have you springing to new heights. 

 Footnote: Be sure you have good ankle, knee and hip stability before starting plyometrics. According to the NSCA, you should be able to squat at least your bodyweight before advancing to plyometrics. That’s a good rule of thumb for near maximum jumps, but I believe one can still do some low level jumps and then gradually increase. 

Now, hop to it!

SPREADING THE HEALTH! 

ROBERT HADDOCKS, CSCS, CPT, CES