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Other/Mixed Calve training for the heart

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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the hansenator said:
I thought this was interesting so I wanted to share it and get people's thoughts.

Small Calves Equals Shorter Life
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The muscles in the calves play a prominent role in venous return. This may be a factor in why walking/running volume correlates well with outcomes. From a health standpoint certainly training the calves has the potential to do more for you than training the arms. However I do not think circumference makes much sense as a marker (for one problem, look at the calves of very overweight people - and yes they will be large even if dieted down), nor does it seem likely that a few sets in the gym will do as much as going for a hike in terms of building the venous return.
 
I have had a medical professor explain this conundrum to me. They way he put it is that the calf muscles work like a second heart in your body to pump the blood BACK UP to your heart from below. If your calf muscles are weak, you're set to die early.
 
What's interesting is the studies mentioned in the article actually did find a relation between longevity and calf circumference.

I like to do a few sets of calf raises anyway. It doesn't take much in either time or energy. I guess I have a justification now.
 
Steve Freides said:
It would be interesting to know if the difference between exercisers and non-exercisers, and other variables, were taken into account. A study that compared similar populations with the only difference being calf size.

-S-
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Indeed - and one might even wonder if the correlation drops off at some particular calf muscle size. The article talks about this "second heart" being active during locomotion... building strong calves via a lot of locomotion seems likely to have different effects than building strong calves sitting on the calf raise machine...
 
WhatWouldHulkDo said:
Indeed - and one might even wonder if the correlation drops off at some particular calf muscle size. The article talks about this "second heart" being active during locomotion... building strong calves via a lot of locomotion seems likely to have different effects than building strong calves sitting on the calf raise machine...
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Would take a lot of reps on a machine to simulate a simple 3 mile walk.
 
The only time in my life I had “good” calf muscles was when I was a bikie and rode a clipless pedal system (Speedplay X series, for anyone this might mean something to) that allowed me to pull back across the bottom of the pedal stroke.

-S-
 
Steve Freides said:
It would be interesting to know if the difference between exercisers and non-exercisers, and other variables, were taken into account. A study that compared similar populations with the only difference being calf size.
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Great Point

As Steve notes, there are a multitude of other factors.

This study reminds me of a TV ad that went into why Okinawaians' had long life spans. The ad conclude it was due to a certain food that consumed (I forget what it was).

The TV ad then promoted their supplement that was extracted from their diet that would essentially promote a longer lift for those who purchased it; would that it be.

To reiterate what Steve said, it's a combination of factors; with one of the most important being picking the right parents.

"Strong people are harder to kill." Rippetoe

This is one of the most important factors. To get into this category and maintain it requires some type of exercise program and a well formulated diet that is followed.

Calf Work

As Anna stated, Biker have great calves. Runners also have good calves, as well.

Bikers and Runners essentially perform a lot of "Repetition".

However, one of the differences is Biker only perform Concentric Contractions.

Runner's perform a Concentric and basically an Overloaded Eccentric Action

As we know, Eccentric Action are effective for increasing muscle mass, as well as strength.

Research show that each foot fall in running produces 3 - 5 times your bodyweight of impact force.

That means if a Runner who weights 150 lb will encounter 450 to 750 lbs of eccentric impact force with each foot strike.

One effective calf training method that simulates Running is...

A slightly better – yet silly looking - way to train your calf muscles​

The muscles that react the least to strength training are the ones in your calves. Bodybuilders looking for a way to get this stubborn muscle group to grow might find the answer in a study by Michael Mullaney of the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma. Mullaney discovered...


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Hopping trains the calf muscles a little more intensively.
 
Steve Freides said:
The only time in my life I had “good” calf muscles was when I was a bikie and rode a clipless pedal system (Speedplay X series, for anyone this might mean something to) that allowed me to pull back across the bottom of the pedal stroke.

-S-
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I run Speedplays on 2 of my bikes...
 
The "infinite" float worked great - I'm pretty bowlegged and nothing else worked for me.

-S-
 
the hansenator said:
What's interesting is the studies mentioned in the article actually did find a relation between longevity and calf circumference.

I like to do a few sets of calf raises anyway. It doesn't take much in either time or energy. I guess I have a justification now.
Click to expand...
I confess that when I initially linked to the article, I did not bother to read it. I learned some time ago that the author's interpretations of research are not to my standards - how's that for diplomatic? But since you prodded me, I went back. One thing that author does do right is provide citations. So I pulled the original research.

The subjects in the first paper were Taiwanese, age 65 - 80. Divided into quartiles, even the largest did not have BMIs much over 30. The three lower quartiles had BMIs predominantly in the 21 - 27 range. We can criticize BMI but the reality is that in the US the number of obese people is much larger. Obese people do tend to have larger calves, and to have less longevity. Next, the range of calf circumferences was less than we would expect in the US. The lowest quartile (for men) was < 13.38 inches, the top was > 14.96 inches. No scaling was provided for height. What these measurements capture is muscle mass relative to overall mass, a marker of frailty. In fact the author's discussion was strongly centered on how calf circumference correlates to lean muscle mass; even the citations the author's offered had arguments along those lines. Finally, the data is for a single point in time - it does not show any correlation to longevity. Rather it shows a correlation to the Framingham Risk Score. The second paper cited had a whopping 10 subjects and was an analysis about how gait changes with chronic heart failure. This paper did not show any correlation to longevity.

There are plenty of papers available discussing the role of the calf venous pump. I have not read enough to summarize them or speak to longevity (which I have not seen explicitly mentioned). But one perhaps of interest to this discussion is Optimizing calf muscle pump action by C. R. Lattimer et al (SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals) which offers a conclusion "Exercises which involve body weight transfers from one leg to the other may be more important in optimizing calf muscle pump function than ankle movement exercises." In other words calf raises are good; walking, running, hiking, rucking, and biking seem better.
 
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