CALVES:

Developing those diamond back calves can be a very frustrating process. You will either fall into one of two groups: Those guys who don't seem to workout much and still have great calves or those guys who workout constantly and don't seem to get anywhere with their calves. You have probably heard that to develop your calves to their full potential that you have to increase the intensity of your workouts or decrease the rest between sets or lift very heavy. Well, the truth is that you may just have to make a few changes to your FORM with the following tricks:

DONKEY RAISES:

CORRECT FORM:

Place your toes and the balls of your feet onto the calf block with your heels hanging over. Grasp the supporting bars and straighten your knees. Raise yourself up by raising your heels to their highest position possible and roll inward onto your large toes. Hold and then slowly lower yourself back down past the starting position to the lowest position your heels will go and feel the stretch. Repeat the movement. Ensure that your knees are straight throughout the full movement.

TRICKS:

1. Perform donkey raises in your bare feet. This is the only machine-based exercise which I will suggest performing in your bare feet as we all know how dangerous it is to be walking around a gym with no shoes on, so be careful. The reason I suggest doing donkey raises in your bare feet is so that you will have no support under your feet and this will allow the calf muscles to fully stretch out. You will not be able to support as much weight as you would normally with shoes so start with a lighter weight.
2. As you raise up, the normal movement is to shift your weight outwards to your outer toes as your ankle slightly turns. What you want to do is alter the movement so that your weight shifts inwards and onto your large toe. This way it acts more like a peak, bicep contraction as if you were turning your wrists so that your little fingers move around to the centreline of your body. It will allow for a much greater contraction of the calf muscles.
3. Stretching the calf muscles through their full range of motion is difficult when using machines and/or heavy weights so use the time between sets to raise yourself up (without any weights) onto the tips of your toes. Use a fixed bar for support if necessary or position your back against a wall. Hold your position at the top of the movement and then slowly lower yourself back down. Feel the stretch deep inside your calves.

As with any exercise, FORM is the key. Concentrate on correct form and make slight alterations to your form to feel the differences. Once you have that mastered then you can start lifting heavy and develop those diamonds.