Increasing kicking power? Calves?

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iohc86

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Ive noticed that a lot of posters here do minimal to no calf(not the baby cow) training. I was wondering why? Wouldnt bigger calves be beneficial in improving kicking power? Large calves would add mass to your legs which means more impact force. You kick with your shin. And since your calves are right behind your shin, wouldnt the added mass help to improve kicking power? Like how a 15 pound sledge hammer moving at 20mph hurts more then a 10 pound sledge hammer moving at 20 mph.

Obviously calves play no part in generating the velocity of your kicks. So wouldnt a bodybuilding style of calf training be beneficial? And by bodybuilding style I mean a calf routine that solely focuses on mass with strength and explosiveness being irrelevent. I see no point in having explosive fast twitch calves because kicking velocity is not dependent on the strength or explosiveness of your calves. Only size would matter for your calves.

Heres what I do weekly to improve kicking power.

stretching, cardio warm up followed by bag kicking/punching
Olympic lifts
5x3 Band box squats immediately followed by bag kicking(complex training)
3 sets or low set reverse lunge immediately followed by sprinting or vertical jumping
hip and abdominal training(full contact twist, reverse hyper and others)

I havent devised a calf training regime yet but I found a few exercises that looked interesting.

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html

barbell calf raises
seated calf raises
reverse calf raises

I would save time by super setting calf workout with other exercises. For example ill do push presses followed immedieately by barbel calf raises with no rest in between. Any input on improving my regime? Because I can tell already that the sample calf work out I made seriously sucks.

Any advice on improving my kicking regime would be appreciated..
 
squat
 
iohc86 said:
Ive noticed that a lot of posters here do minimal to no calf(not the baby cow) training. I was wondering why? Wouldnt bigger calves be beneficial in improving kicking power? Large calves would add mass to your legs which means more impact force. You kick with your shin. And since your calves are right behind your shin, wouldnt the added mass help to improve kicking power? Like how a 15 pound sledge hammer moving at 20mph hurts more then a 10 pound sledge hammer moving at 20 mph.

Obviously calves play no part in generating the velocity of your kicks. So wouldnt a bodybuilding style of calf training be beneficial? And by bodybuilding style I mean a calf routine that solely focuses on mass with strength and explosiveness being irrelevent. I see no point in having explosive fast twitch calves because kicking velocity is not dependent on the strength or explosiveness of your calves. Only size would matter for your calves.

Heres what I do weekly to improve kicking power.

stretching, cardio warm up followed by bag kicking/punching
Olympic lifts
5x3 Band box squats immediately followed by bag kicking(complex training)
3 sets or low set reverse lunge immediately followed by sprinting or vertical jumping
hip and abdominal training(full contact twist, reverse hyper and others)

I havent devised a calf training regime yet but I found a few exercises that looked interesting.

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html

barbell calf raises
seated calf raises
reverse calf raises

I would save time by super setting calf workout with other exercises. For example ill do push presses followed immedieately by barbel calf raises with no rest in between. Any input on improving my regime? Because I can tell already that the sample calf work out I made seriously sucks.

Any advice on improving my kicking regime would be appreciated..
Click to expand...

You're looking to add mass to your legs to increase the impact right?
Force = mass x acceleration

But you have to remember you want your bodyweight behind that kick. So making your leg weigh more is one way to approach it, but you'd be better off learning to get your bodyweight behind your kick. If you have mastered this, and still seek power, then gain weight everywhere. A 300 lb kickboxer will kick harder than an equally skilled 200 pounder. So maximize your kicking technique, and then add mass to your whole body.

The only other way would be to have your lower leg, ankle, and upper foot bones copied out of titanium, and replaced with it.
 
how about actually practicing your kicks?
 
I practice my kicks all the time. Ive got the technique portion of kicking down to satisfactory levels,although theres always room for improvement. Its just that I want every tiny advantage that exists when it comes to power and ability.

Take two people with equal kicking velocity and technique, and the one with more mass behind his or her kicks will hit harder. The size of your calves will not play as important a part in kicking compared to the hips and hamstrings but they still play a part regardless.
 
I can see where having bigger, stronger calves would help with stability, but I'm not sure you need to do all the gay shit you listed to get there.
 
I don't know. Maybe having gold balls inserted in his foot would make the kicks heavier. I'd say lead, but the body tends to accept gold, and gold is dense. You'd walk funny, but kick like a mule.
 
I never thought training your calves was important until i learned about their role in shock absorption and support of the knee and ankle.

I just wanted to share my revelation.
 
there's absolutely nothing that prevents you doing a few sets of calf raises here and there....calves do play a significant role as kaboom pointed out so it is worth training them but you still want to focus on the bigger picture of squats and deads...
 
Having larger calves can actually make you slower.

I'll stick with just doing a few calf raises here and there.
 
Unilateral Leg Work is going to help most for kick power. Most people can kick way harder than they do but they dont have the balance to really launch their leg at 100% power and commit to the kick without falling over. Thats how I see it anyway.
 
Skip and run more


edit- A lot of the thais I know having cannon ball like calves though.

This is because they run long distances on the balls of their feet. Their body has adapted to the training and enhanced something that will help (boucing in and out of range..well, in theory. Mainly they stand there and war but thats another matter). BBesk calfs, while visiually the same, will have a different attribute which might not be good for the ring.


Also, a lot of hard kickers (always exceptions) have small thighs but their core and waists are MASSIVE.

Food for thought if you want to increase your kicking power (I'm not saying don't do some strength work for the thighs, but if you add the size, you need to work on speed a lot more)
 
synthol...it's what you crave.

syntholdouche4yz.jpg


muskel.jpg


base_calfImplants.jpg
 
hunto said:
I don't know. Maybe having gold balls inserted in his foot would make the kicks heavier. I'd say lead, but the body tends to accept gold, and gold is dense. You'd walk funny, but kick like a mule.
Click to expand...

Cause of death: too many gold chains.

soulsucka.jpg
 
I'd usually skip threads like this, but..

iohc86 said:
Like how a 15 pound sledge hammer moving at 20mph hurts more then a 10 pound sledge hammer moving at 20 mph.
Click to expand...

but it's harder to move a 20 lbs sledge, so in reality, you need to compare a 15 lbs sledge @ 20mph and a 20 lbs sledge @ 10 mph or whatever. in the end, it's the speed that wins. just think of on Fight Science when they tested the impact of two sumos smashing into each other and then Rampage throwing a punch--the punch won, but it's smaller. It was faster.

Big muscles or strong muscles don't make the kick. The kick is how fast you can turn your hips over and the technique about everything else. Throwing a kick isn't about flexing your leg; it's about relaxing your leg and throwing it.

I watch my students kick (thai kicks aka roundhouse) a shield for the first time. The shield is thick and they can kick as hard as they want. Everyone is thinking "strong" and trying to kick hard, but it's not right. It's when I get them to relax, exhale, and think "speed" is when they crush the pads. Plus, if you tense up, you won't be able to make the flexibility for head shots.
 
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