The calf is one of the most stubborn muscle groups. After years of unsuccessful calf training, many weightlifters have concluded that you are either born with great calves or you are not. In the gym, you can't do anything about them. 

Before you blame your ancestors for your pencil calf, you should know that it is not just genetic factors that hinder your calf development. If you want to turn your calf into an adult bull, you should seek advice from those who do what they say. No one is more suitable for this requirement than the 6X Olympia Mr. Dorian Yates. 

It is safe to say that Dorian Yates has changed the face of bodybuilding forever. He was eclipsed by his competitors (such as Flex Wheeler, Kevin Levrone and Shawn Ray) with his amazing size and sharp physical condition. 

Place of Birth: Wormley, Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, England

Aliases: Shadow, British Bulldog, British Beast

Next: Build a huge back like the legendary Dorian Yates

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

According to Dorian, he receives dozens of requests for calf training skills every day. In this article, we will uncover the secrets of the huge Mavericks who helped Yates win six Sandos Awards. 

You ask, why do you listen to Dorian Yates?

In his professional league career, Dorian has won 15 of 17 games. In addition, both losses won the second place in the following projects:

If you just browsed Yate's statistics, let us remind you-this guy has a 20-inch calf. The arms of most weightlifters are not that big. 

Shadow's huge calf helped him surpass the competition. Yates can use them in almost any position to give his challenger an advantage. If you want to list the 15 best calves in the history of bodybuilding, Dorian Yates will definitely enter the top 3. 

There are not many online photos of Dorian Yates (suitable for his nickname-"Shadow"), but the photos you can find will make you have no doubt that his Mavericks have a life of their own. 

Yates adopted a widely questioned training system (at the time)—High Intensity Training (HIT), and made it his own. When training in the dungeon, he completely changed the routine of training segments and body parts.

Check out: Dorian Yates still looks energetic at 58

In order to make the most of your calf exercise and sculpt the calf of your dreams, you need to understand the ins and outs of the calf. A little knowledge of anatomy can help you develop muscular cows, or you can exit this article here and become the subject of the next viral "leg-jumping day" meme. 

Your calf is made up of two muscles: the gastrocnemius and soleus. The soleus muscle is a smaller muscle, located below the gastrocnemius muscle. On the other hand, the gastrocnemius is the muscle that most people imagine when you say the word "calf". It is a heart-shaped muscle that contracts at the top of the calf, and its role is to push the foot down. It also helps to bend the knees.

Must-read: Dorian Yates' "Blood and Visceral" training to promote growth

Both calf muscles require different training methods for optimal muscle recruitment and stimulation. 

Since the soleus muscle is located below the gastrocnemius muscle, if you want a large and well-proportioned calf, you must train the gastrocnemius at the beginning of the calf exercise. 

We know that sitting leg lifting is more convenient, and you may feel a better pumping sensation when performing these actions, but this is why you did not see improvement in your calves. 

Watch: "Dorian Yates: Primitive Mass Monster" clip-in the iron dungeon of the Temple Gymnasium

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

Before kissing your personal trainer's mouth, KISS-keep it simple and stupid. 

Dorian Yates made his calf training quite simple. According to him, most weightlifters mistakenly believe that the musculature of their calves is different from the biological composition of other muscles. 

Remember-skeletal muscle is skeletal muscle, no matter where it is in your body. If you want it to grow, you need to achieve muscle hypertrophy.

Related: Dorian Yates says weight training is the best way to shape your body

If your legs are lagging compared to other muscle groups, re-evaluate your lower body training and make it consistent with other exercises. 

For most bodybuilders, it is best to achieve hypertrophy through extensive and high-intensity training. 

Watch: Dorian Yates reveals facts about his depression after bodybuilding

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

Although most brothers will tell you to train your calf muscles at the beginning of leg exercises, Dorian Yates takes a different approach. Yates likes to fatigue his calves as quickly and effectively as possible. 

Therefore, when the calf is in full force, he will not train his calf on the day that he is partially separated from the leg. Instead, he will train the calf on the last day of leg training. At this time, the calf has been exhausted by the thigh exercise. 

When it comes time to hit the calf, all you need to do to complete the job are two exercises, but they will be described in detail later. 

Watch: Dorian Yates' real view on crazy steroids in the 90s

Just going through the scene for it does not cut it. To get the best muscle stimulation, you need to squeeze the life of the calf at the top of each repetition. 

If you do not feel the pumping sensation in your calves during exercise, please follow the steps below:

Watch: The best Dorian Yates fitness inspirational video ever

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

Usually, people who go to the gym try to wipe out their calves by performing 25-30 times per set. The high representation theory is a concept from the broscience Bible, and it does not hold. 

Your calves have adapted to high reps because you have been walking with them all day, and your chances of growing them through high reps are slim. In order to force muscle growth, the muscles must be fully fatigued through heavy, low-repetition training. Focus on exhausting the calf in 10-12 repetitions. 

Check out: Epic! This Dorian Yates video shows the hardships of 6 Olympia championship training!

Many weightlifters try to get the most out of their calves by using different heel and toe positions. They use the "A" shape foot position (toes inward and heel outward) to train the outside of the calf, and use the "V" shape (heel inward and toes outward) to hit the inside of the calf. 

According to The Shadow, the best way to train your calves is to keep your toes straight forward. Since the range of motion of the calf is relatively short, you must use all ranges.

Watch: Crazy Dorian Yates at the 1996 German Grand Prix

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

Dorian Yates is the king of strength. At his peak, he only performed two calf exercises. But unlike most weightlifters who treat the calf as an auxiliary muscle, Yates' training is so hard that he can't surpass these two exercises. 

Check out: Dorian Yates: "A world without steroids would be great"

Because the range of motion for calf elevation is very small, most weightlifters improve their self-esteem during calf training. They are carrying more weight plates than they can bear, and they will eventually bounce on their knees. If you have to use momentum, you are doing it wrong. 

If you can't move your heels more than a few inches without using power, you should put down your weight and focus on lowering your heels to the bottom until they are just a few inches off the ground, and then raise them all the way to the top. At the top of the action, you should look like a ballerina on toes. 

Must-see: Dorian Yates and Joe Rogen discuss steroids

A post shared by Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates)

Dorian Yates relies on stretching exercises to get the most benefit. The benefits of stretching include:

After each exercise in each group, Yates stretches the muscles to relax them. He said that if he didn't stretch his calves between sets, they would cramp so much that he could not complete the training. 

Watch: Dorian Yates calls the injury at the end of his career a "blessing in disguise" | Geodatabase

When it comes to his training, the shadow keeps it simple. Are you ready to reveal the secret? You might want to sit down and take a look at this. It looks like this:

Prosperity! You didn't expect this, did you? 

From the beginning to this section, you may have guessed that Dorian did not do more than 10 sets of calf exercises, but only 3 sets? To be honest, when we learned about this calf exercise, we were equally shocked.

According to Dorian Yates, these two exercises work together to carve out your calves with deep, rocky formations and protruding capes that indicate full development. Adding other actions, sets and repetitions is superfluous and may even lead to overtraining. 

Related: Backtracking: Dorian Yates performed the most intense calf training ever!

Dorian Yates usually heavier in standing calf raises, so he likes to start his calf training with this exercise. He only did a set of 10-12 warm-ups, then a set of 10 total failures, and finally added one or two strength representatives. 

Yes, you heard that right. One of the two groups is a warm-up group. 

"I always exercise the bigger muscles, the gastrocnemius, first standing leg lifts. Then I do a seated heel lift for the soleus. Once the gastrocnemius gets tired, it's easier and more direct to hit the soleus."-Dorian Yates

Dorian Yates didn't feel that a warm-up set was needed for sitting heel raises, so he performed a set of 10 full exercises, and finally added one or two mandatory repetitions. 

Remember: it took Yates almost 10 years to develop a strategy of one main set each time he practiced. Beginners and intermediates should do two to three sets each time they practice.

We know what you are thinking. Just do two exercises and three sets of exercises in the name of calf training? 

This is the passion Dorian Yates has for you.

A lesson can be learned through this training program. The 80/20 principle also applies to your exercise. 80% of the output comes from 20% of all inputs. Therefore, stop wasting time doing 15 sets of calf exercises, and instead focus on doing 6 sets of Dorian Yates calf exercises.

Who do you think has a better calf than Dorian Yates? Please let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sign up for the GI newsletter to learn about breaking news, exercise, diet and exclusive offers.

Generation Iron Brands LLC 134 West 29th Street Suite 902 New York, NY 10001 Email: [email protected]