The secret to big calves…

I’ve got some tips for you to use both before and during your workouts.
This isn’t really very wide-spread knowledge, so I’m sure it’ll be worth a read!

Today I wanted to give some insights on workout supplement stacks that are not often talked about.

First is L-Tyrosine. 500mg pre-workout. This is an amino acid that is a precursor to dopamine and other neurotransmitters that impact energy, motivation, and mood. If you’re deficient in dopamine this will help!

Creatine. 5g at any time of day. This stores extra energy in the muscles essentially. There are thousands of studies on this one showing it’s effective on cognition and exercise performance.

Alpha-GPC. 300mg pre-workout. This is another protein that promotes release of acetylcholine which is key in memory, attention, and muscle contraction. You might get a focus boost on this one if you use it for work or studying.

Protein of some sort. 40g a few hours before or after a workout. Meal timing is pretty irrelevant, but if you train fasted it’s important to have SOME protein in your system before or after a workout. Key for muscle recovery and muscle gain.

Here is the key for building your calves. Regardless of what you think, you CAN build bigger calves. You’re probably just not training them right. You just treat them like any other muscle. 10-20 sets per week, split in 2-3 sessions. Go slow and controlled. DON’T BOUNCE. Really take a second at the bottom of the rep to feel the stretch in your calves. If you bounce you’re just placing tension on your tendons and not giving the calves any work. Also try putting them at the beginning of the workouts before you get fatigued. We often just throw them in at the end after a long leg day. I know I’m not working any muscles effectively after hitting legs.

Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this. I’m sure you’ll be able to make a few of them work for yourself, let me know how it goes!
Do let me know of any topics you’d like to get my thoughts on.

Thanks as always,
CP