Calf muscles are often resistant to growth using conventional training methods.  Building bigger calves requires a more intense approach.  It requires that you go to failure on every work set. 

I realize that "going to total failure on every work set" is a controversial subject with many bodybuilders, fitness experts and personal trainers.  Most will tell you that "going to total failure" on every work set or even your last work set of an exercise is a prescription for "over-training" and injuries.  I couldn't agree more. The conventional wisdom says that you should train to "near failure" on most work sets and "to total failure" on your last work set occasionally. However, when it comes to calf training, conventional wisdom doesn't always apply.  

Your calf muscles are extremely durable and recover very quickly from the many physical challenges that they endure everyday.  In a "non-exercise" mode or in your daily activities, your calves are probably the most exercised muscles in your body.  They seem to thrive on walking, jogging, and running without giving out.  

When conventional training techniques are applied to calf training, many bodybuilders will find that their calf growth is slow or even non-existent.  Why is this?  Well...mainly because the calf muscles must be subjected to much heavier loads and stresses over and above what they experience during daily activities in order to grow.  The calf muscle fibers must be subjected to total failure to sufficiently stimulate more muscle fiber growth in response to the new stresses they are experiencing.  

Even though the calf muscles are small muscles in comparison to other muscles, they are very resilient, recover quickly and are hard to over-train.  This is why "going to total failure" on all or most work sets can be tolerated by the calf muscles. 

So, what do I mean by "total failure"?  Total failure is reached when you: 

Cannot complete a repetition without breaking strict form and proper technique,

OR

Cannot complete a repetition through its full range of motion,

OR

Cannot move the weight through the "sticking point" 

Usually, during a "total failure" set, you have an intense lactic acid burn and this may force you to stop the repetition. 

For calf training, drop-sets, add-sets and rest-pause sets are the best techniques to force you into a "total failure" training mode.  These three high intensity exercise techniques are extremely intense and will elicit "total failure" with heavy weights and high repetitions to stimulate the calf growth you need.  Therefore, progressively increase the intensity of your current calf training routine by adding more "total failure" sets and you'll see more results toward building bigger calves. 

For more information on advanced calf training techniques and a FREE REPORT on calf training, visit this site.

Jeffry Robinson is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer specializing in muscle building, fat loss and fitness consulting. With over 40 years of bodybuilding experience and his in-depth knowledge of physiology, anatomy and muscle building principles, he has developed new and revolutionary information products for bodybuilders. For bodybuilding articles and free bodybuilding reports, visit his website.