I have found 2 ways of training my calves that have yielded great results. One focuses on the tempo of the lift, whereas the other on volume. Both methods have a few things in common that help tremendously in speeding up the results. Stretching the calves (I do about 30 seconds before lifting, and 30+ seconds after, depending on how they feel, as well as occasionally in between lifts.) seems to be key in achieving a full, striated soleus and gastrocnemius muscle. Holding at the top of each contraction is also incredibly important when trying to chisel the calves and bring out a lot of definition. Lastly, I always train the gastroc first, to better isolate the weaker and smaller soleus muscle.

Workout 1:

5×5 calf raises on Smith machine (use of a box or plates is necessary to achieve full ROM)

3-5 sets of 8-12 on bent knee calf-raise

Gastroc:

Place a box or plates (or any solid platform) under the ball of your feet. Using the heaviest weight you can do 5 reps with, lower the weight until you feel a stretch in the calves, then contract the calves as hard as possible, until you are at the peak contraction. HOLD this contraction for 5 counts, and lower it on a 5 count as well. Repeat 4 times. This is one set. I rest 3-5 minutes between these.

Soleus: Using a bent knee calf raise machine, perform 8-12 reps, 2 counts on the concentric portion, hold for 2, lower for 2, repeat.

Workout 2:

Many sets (my best results have been somewhere around 6-10 sets) of smith machine calf raises (full ROM) while making sure to hold the contraction at the top, and feeling the stretch at the bottom. 30 seconds-1 minute between sets. FInish with however many sets of bent-knee calf raises you can, emphasizing the squeeze at the top and stretch at the bottom.

(I like to superset the calf raises with abs, making the most of my time while still keeping the rest period short to recruit the most muscle fibers possible).

*running on the treadmill seems to speed up the “chiseling” process, compared to other cardio machines such as a bike or elliptical.