Q: I will get right to the point: My calves stink. They refuse to grow. I think I’ve tried everything, but I thought you might have something cool for me to try. Can you help me, please?

A: I’ll be honest: My calves also stink. What a genetic nightmare. So as you can see, I feel your pain; I’ll never have calves that will threaten Mike Matarazzo’s. Still, I’ve managed to add a few inches to them in the past couple of years so that now at least they’re respectable. How did I do it? With FD/FS training.

Rather than go on and on about it, how about a look at my exact program:

Standing calf raises
(5/2/X tempo) 3 x 4-6
Leg press calf raises
(2/4/X tempo) 2 x 7-9
Seated calf raises
(1/0/1 tempo) 2 x 30-40


I followed that plan twice per week for two straight weeks and then returned to P/RR/S calf training for six weeks before again attacking them with FD/FS. In a year I added a solid 1 1/2 inches to my calves. Good luck.