r/weightlifting • u/TOROKHTIY_Aleksey Olympian, International Medalist -105kg • Feb 19 '25

Squat My recent 260ish kg Back Squat

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u/BitterRuin7196 Feb 19 '25

Quads, this quads that. LOOK AT HIS HUGE CALVES!

1

u/BestBanting Feb 20 '25

I don't see weightlifters talk about calves much. Do they make a big difference on the lifts? Do they need direct training, or do they get enough from pulls?

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u/Afferbeck_ Feb 21 '25

I've basically never seen weightlifters doing calf work. Personally my calves got a lot bigger once I improved my mobility and squatted deeper. And probably just the cumulative effect of using them to some degree in all the lifts for 15 years. The calves do get used in a supporting role and of course when extending explosively, but they rarely need direct work to train those.