Why the Donkey Calf Raise Was Arnold’s Favorite

This calf raise variation will build muscle… if you’re brave enough.

Last updated: September 6, 2024

There are deleted scenes Forging Iron (1977) 7-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger Sweaty, scantily clad bodybuilders were bent over the equipment, bouncing up and down, while Schwarzenegger worked on his calves.

• Schwarzenegger wrote in the 2023 edition of his newsletter, “Arnold Pump Club”: Donkey calf raises It’s his favorite calf exercise.

But there is a catch. “Try this and you’ll be causing a stir at the gym,” wrote Austrian Oak.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donkey Calf Raises

As story goWhen Schwarzenegger first came to America to pursue a career in bodybuilding (what a ridiculous idea; the son of an Austrian police officer couldn’t do that…), he was a bit surprised by the importance of calf training to American muscle culture.

Though Schwarzenegger is known for his distinctive barrel chest and sleeve-pushing arms, his calves have always been a bit of a weakness. Schwarzenegger is famously competitive Hated The idea is to give yourself an advantage over other bodybuilders. So he set out to solve the problem.

• “I worked my calves every day. I walk every day, so with every step I’m doing nonstop calf pumps,” he wrote. Newsletter.

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This leads to the raising of donkey calves.This variation on the calf raise gets its name from the position of the performer: Schwarzenegger bends over and does the calf raise with one or three grown men on his hips, as if they were beasts of burden.

Schwarzenegger didn’t just rely on donkey calf raises. Raise a calf to become a cow. According to To Muscles and FitnessOak’s calf training routine looked something like this:

• Donkey calf raises: 5-6 x 15-20
• Standing Calf Raise: 5-6 x 10-20
• Seated Calf Raise: 4-5 x 10-15

It worked. After several stumbles and failures on the American bodybuilding stage, Schwarzenegger ushered in a golden age of bodybuilding, winning the Olympia seven times and cementing himself as the world’s most famous muscle-smith.

From the donkey’s mouth: “To maximize your calf strength, you need to perform each rep through a full range of motion,” Schwarzenegger said of his calf-training philosophy.

How to do donkey calf raises

If you don’t have access to a bodybuilder’s arsenal Don’t worry, you can still work your calves like Schwarzenegger did in his heyday with donkey calf raises. There are four options for this exercise:

1. Get your gym partner to straddle your waist
2. Use a dip belt with weight plates
3. Smith machine with the help of a helper
4. Find a professional donkey calf rearing machine

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There is a donkey calf-raising station. (Schwarzenegger himself has one in his home gym.) But it’s a very unusual piece of gym equipment, and for practicality’s sake, we recommend the dip belt.

1. Stand with your toes on a slightly elevated surface, such as a low platform or bumper plate.
2. Bend at the waist and lean forward, placing your elbows on something stable for support.
3. Lower your heels toward the floor to stretch your calves, then press through your toes to lift your legs without bending your knees.

Do you take work home with you? Schwarzenegger has become so obsessed with raising donkey calves that he now has a pet donkey named Lulu. crash He sometimes trains at home.

Why it works

Donkey calf raises are completely impracticalBut it does work. Bodybuilders generally consider the calves to be one of the hardest muscles to grow. Some particularly superstitious bodybuilders will even go so far as to say that bulking up your calves is a myth.

No, you don’t need a training partner to straddle you in the weight room. But you do need to stretch your calves, and donkey raises are a great way to do just that.

• Research has shown that calf raises with straight knees are much more effective at building muscle than calf raises with bent knees or seated calf raises.1)

Of course, the usual standing calf raise You could probably achieve just as much, or even more, but it wouldn’t be as much fun. One thing that Schwarzenegger made a point of during and after his bodybuilding career was making bodybuilding training fun.

Try the donkey calf raise exercise (It would be even better if you could find a partner who will cooperate with you) Please give it a try.

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References

1. Kinoshita, M., Maeo, H., Kobayashi, Y., Eihara, Y., Ono, M., Sato, M., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, Y., and Isaka, T. Muscle hypertrophy of the triceps surae increases after standing. versus Seated calf raise training. Front Physiol. 2023 Dec 13;14:1272106. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1272106. PMID: 38156065; PMCID: PMC10753835.

Featured Image: @schwarzenegger / Instagram