What are the best exercises for calf development?

I am currently doing standing calf raises, I am upto the limit on the machine, 500lbs, now what?????

try barbell heel raises. stand with your feet wider that shoulder width apart--like for squats except your just raising your heels of the ground. it's a lot different than doing them on a machine that isolates the calves.

Do one calf at a time. Be sure to use good form for both or you'll begin to look lopsided.

one at a time? with dumbells right?

Maybe Chud meant that you could do one calf at a time on the machine?

make sure you do the bent knee ones.

Don't let your soleus get too weak and your gastrocs too strong.

and, of course, work out your quads/hams, and the muscle that opposes the calves *moves the foot the other way, forgot the name of it* for the sake of your ankles.

Not sure if I can, because of the balance issue, but I can try.

Gotta seated calf raise apparatus? It emphasizes the soleus a bit more than the gastroc.

I have a seated calf machine, but I have never felt it was as "good" as the standing raises, to get anytype of descent workout I would have to load it with so much weight that the pad would hurt my knees.

Seated calf raises until failure. Put a towel on your knees pansy boy.

Feed the weaker calves to them.

Hey !!! no one calles me a pansy.... well maybe someone.. anyways...
The problem is the amount of weight I have to put on the machine makes it very awkward on my knees. Also, most power and strength coachs advocate the standing calf raise, beacuse you can use the most poundage and it involves more of the calf muscles than any other exercise.

One could simply slow the reps down too....or do more.

I hate calves. :mad:

"The problem is the amount of weight I have to put on the machine makes it very awkward on my knees."

Off topic, but I saw this guy power lifting once on TV, and when he got the wieght up his leg snapped. OUCH!!!!

I think Health for Life had a product out on training the calves and another on forearms years ago. Two areas notorious for slow gains. They are the famous Synergy Abs people.

i don't like the seated calve raises either. what i do is i stand on a block of wood and do standing toe rasies on the smith machine with the barbell on my traps.