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I'm fairly new to Body Pump (just a couple of months now), but I've noticed that there are no exercises that include the calves.  I realize that the lunges work the calves to some degree, but as most of the exercises tend to isolate a certain muscle, I was hoping there might be one for the calves.  The quads and hamstrings do a great deal of holding the knee in place, but the calves also play a role in keeping everything aligned in the leg.  Shouldn't the leg be worked proportionally?  Maybe its just that I'm too new and there are other tracks that have isolated this muscle and I missed them.  If so, apologies.

 Thanks!

-Liesebet

Some lunge tracks include a set of calf raises (usually cued standing on the edge of the bench holding the bar for stability).

Squats also work the calf muscles directly.

Although not directly targetted, the calves are engaged/recruited in maintaining ankle and knee stability in any of the weighted tracks while standing, esp while in split stance.

There are plenty of other muscles that aren't worked in isolation, but are included in the many compound exercises.

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Recently published - my review of BodyPump 73 is available on my blog at:
http://rickinoz.com/2010/03/07/bodypump-73-review

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The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

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Calves get a pretty good work out while walking from your car to the BP studio.

This means there is no way to have enough time or intensity in BP to significantly augment this.

Actually there are several points during BP where calves are recruited to stabilize or maintain a postition or motion and therefore are exercised just as they are needed to be in order to achieve your stated goals.

For anyone looking to build their calves bigger (¡Buena Suerte!) here is a link to a past post for guidance.

Rex

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liesebet:

I'm fairly new to Body Pump (just a couple of months now), but I've noticed that there are no exercises that include the calves.  I realize that the lunges work the calves to some degree, but as most of the exercises tend to isolate a certain muscle, I was hoping there might be one for the calves.  The quads and hamstrings do a great deal of holding the knee in place, but the calves also play a role in keeping everything aligned in the leg.  Shouldn't the leg be worked proportionally?  Maybe its just that I'm too new and there are other tracks that have isolated this muscle and I missed them.  If so, apologies.

 Thanks!

-Liesebet

Some notable calve raises tracks :) 

Darude Sandstorm (Bodypump 38.) - Begining
Ganbareh - Sash (Bodypump 45.) - Begining

HTH!

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From love and the gift of eternal joy comes peace and love!

Cheers :)

if you're looking for calf exercises for function - they're not necessary... you use your calves for everything... and they'd be perfectly functional to the degree your legs need for stability (unless you've had a serious injury and had alot of muscle atrophy) the only time you'd need to work calf "strength" is if you're doing a sport that requires a tonne of "explosive" strength (ie. power lifting etc) even as a gymnast we dont do calf strengthening exercises because they're extraneous and just make you feel more gassed :)

if you're looking to build calves for aesthetic reasons pump probably isn't the place to do that :)  

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"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on... What am I on!?! I'm on my bike, busting my ass 6 hours a day. What are you on???"

I'm with you Bexi
My viewpoint is some lunges and squats tracks work that part but not as much as one can think.

Ask your fitness instructor for a specific machine to workout on that part of body

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Another BP, BA, BC, BJ and RPM freak Quarterlies in Paris, March : 03/12-13-14/2010 http://animoto.com/play/zB4oi9QgG0qnUSWmFPYi3A? On twitter : Tiger75Paris

Here are the rest of the tracks with calve raises:

Stand by Me - Chelle - Bodypump 32 - Begining
Mysterious Times - Sash Bodypump 31 - Begining
Stay - Sash - Bodypump 27 - Begining
Let it Rain - East 17 - Bodypump 26 - Begining
Don't Stop Movin - Livin Joy - Bodypump 23 - Begining
Pride - Johan - Bodypump 21 - Begining
Stay - Sash - Bodypump 48 Best of BP - Begining
Darude Sandstorm - Bodypump 38 - Begining
Ganbareh - Sash - Bodypump 45 - Begining

Interesting that Glen has none? Where as Mike has all the above!

Interesting.

 

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Coming soon a new concept no one has ever done before and it has been in the planning for the past 4 years.

Check out the Latest 1/4 Releases at: Tracklist Central!

Check my profile the truth is out there - X-Files :)

Check out my Training Fitness and Exercise and Higher - University Vocational and Educational Qualifications Here!



From love and the gift of eternal joy comes peace and love!

Cheers :)

Bodypump 58, Breathe. Still chored by Mike.

A memory was triggered (after some time ... while thinking about something completely different ... as is often the way) that we have discussed calf raises before.

A few people were quite opposed to the concept on the following threads:

Change the lunge corri - please

Sad to see poor calfs getting left behind

Which should prompt the debate - does a set of calf raises actually provide sufficient challenge to merit inclusion, or would we get more benefit from doing more weighted lunges or squats instead?

Bat on.

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Recently published - my review of BodyPump 73 is available on my blog at:
http://rickinoz.com/2010/03/07/bodypump-73-review

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The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

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I shall pose a question here..but before I do, Breathe I use as pole dancing display ( to many sniggers..c'mon, it's done to fit the music).

In my own way, and we shall hope that people cross train,as opposed to BP only to achieve their goals. The average person in this day and age needs to lengthen their calf muscles as opposed to shorten them.

BP is a workout,and it has been said before on this thread, that your calves are used as stabilisers in the majority of tracks.

If you were/are either attending BA/BC/RPM/BS or any freestyle versions of these, your calves are getting worked.

If you run,on the road or a treadmill,or even walk, to increase your cardio(again, cross training), there is no specific need for BP to provide a "calf" workout.

I would hope that the majrity of people out there would participate in some way,shape or form, another exercise discipline.

Just my thoughts.Let's not get into a Mike vs Glen debate please.

 

 

mandy76:

Bodypump 58, Breathe. Still chored by Mike.

I forgot about that one.

I am not debating Mike against Glen :) that was not my intention :)

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Coming soon a new concept no one has ever done before and it has been in the planning for the past 4 years.

Check out the Latest 1/4 Releases at: Tracklist Central!

Check my profile the truth is out there - X-Files :)

Check out my Training Fitness and Exercise and Higher - University Vocational and Educational Qualifications Here!



From love and the gift of eternal joy comes peace and love!

Cheers :)

I had fairly decent size calf before i started pump, and after I strarted they got noticbly larger. Granted I teach RPM also, the bigh jump in size was after pump. So I guess my only point in saying this is that that I agree with the previous posts that they get pleanty of workout, between pump and "life"  

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“A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone. else thought they could.” -Zig

Teaching RPM™ and BODYPUMP™ in Bowie Maryland!!

Yeah, and driving a car during a traffic jam works them indeed the left one..

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Another BP, BA, BC, BJ and RPM freak Quarterlies in Paris, March : 03/12-13-14/2010 http://animoto.com/play/zB4oi9QgG0qnUSWmFPYi3A? On twitter : Tiger75Paris

tiger75:

Yeah, and driving a car during a traffic jam works them indeed the left one..

 

AHHH TRUE THAT!! :D 

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"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on... What am I on!?! I'm on my bike, busting my ass 6 hours a day. What are you on???"

tiger75:

Yeah, and driving a car during a traffic jam works them indeed the left one..

Only if you have a manual

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Recently published - my review of BodyPump 73 is available on my blog at:
http://rickinoz.com/2010/03/07/bodypump-73-review

---

The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

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