Calves are a tough muscle group to build up, especially if your genetics aren't great for them. This Calf Deadlift exercise can fix that.
I'm constantly in search of better ways to work my calves. This is one of those better ways....it's a true compound exercise for calves.
Pretty much every other calf exercise you can think of is an isolation exercise...i.e. standing calf raises, seated calf raises, and donkey calf raises (and variations of each). They all involve single-joint movement only at the ankle.
THIS exercise loads the calves during the performance of a compound exercise, i.e. the trap bar deadlift.
To perform this one, you'll need a trap bar. A straight bar won't work very well for this because of your knee position during the exercise. It could lead to rotation during the exercise, which is not desirable. Dumbbells could work if you don't have a trap bar, though.
Set a 45 lb bumper plate or a single Step riser where your left foot will be set. Your right foot will be flat on the floor.
I'm using 405 lbs on the bar in the demo here...start lighter and get the idea of the exercise before you start loading it heavy.
At the start of the movement, your feet will be on different levels. Strive to keep your hips and shoulders level, however. We want to keep the spine in a good position.
Now start the deadlift.
Once you get to where the bar is at about knee level, start doing a calf raise with the foot that's on the floor.
Do this calf raise with POWER, especially when you start using heavier weight. Come all the way up into the top of the calf raise on that foot, keeping your hips and shoulders level.
Hold that position and contraction at the top for a few seconds, then lower back down.
This does take a little bit of practice to get the coordination right, but I found it has a very quick learning curve. Your body will figure it out pretty fast.
In the demo, I did 3 reps on one side, then switched the plate to the other side and did 3 reps right away. You can do it this way or you can take a rest period in between switching sides. You can also use less weight and higher rep ranges, if you like.
Bottom line, the purpose of the offset height is to force you to do a calf raise witih one of the legs while you're doing a deadlift.
Having one foot on the floor to start is a great to develop power in the calves, which can better carry over to sports and athletic movements (where your feet are on the floor or ground and not elevated on a calf block).
Full-Range Calf Deadlifts For Maximum Calf Growth
With a small change in setup, you can also perform this one with relatively full range on the calf raise side.
Set two plates on side and one plate on the other side. The one-plate side will be shifted forward so that just your forefoot will be on the front edge of the plate.
This allows you to start with the calf-working side in a stretched position.
Then perform the exercise as before, doing the calf raise as you also do the deadlift.
You'll want to use a lighter weight for this version of the exercise, since you'll be doing a full range of motion with it.
How to Use The Calf Deadlift to Build Your Calves
Overall, this is an excellent exercise for building mass in the calves. It allows you to load the calves very effectively using a compound exercise and has a lot of practical carryover.
You can use this exercise as your only calf training for the day. Because it's combined with a trap bar deadlift, it's actually a great way to kill two birds with one stone, getting in some good pulling work while working the calves.
Calf training is often an afterthought in most routines...this helps you actually get it done.
You can also incorporate this into a more complete calf workout by also performing Donkey Calf Raises (to target the stretched position of the calves) and Standing Calf Raises to better focus on the peak contraction position.
You might recognize this pattern from Positions of Flexion training that incorporates stretch, mid-range and peak contraction movements into a workout. This exercise would be the "mid-range" exercise.
If you've got a trap bar and a bumper plate/Step riser, give this one a try. I really liked it and found I could really feel the ENTIRE calf muscle getting worked during the exercise.
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Want more unique and challenging exercises to work your entire body with simple equipment? All you need is just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench. Check out The Best Home Gym Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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