The 2017 World’s Strongest Man champion Eddie Hall is known for being simply a beast… and he’s also pretty funny and entertaining too (which you’ll see plenty of in the workout video).
But let’s not let that distract us from a recent leg workout he did where he shared with us his routine for building his massive legs, and he also gave some tips for building the most stubborn muscle of them all… the calves.
Note: Now, before you think you can implement Eddie Hall’s techniques to build huge calves yourself, it’s important to know some people will not be able to build huge calves and some will. You either have the genetics to grow them huge, or you just don’t. However, most people can likely improve them to an extent with some intense training and consistency.
Ok, so after Hall introduced viewers to Jim (pimple on his forehead) and talked a little bit, he started the workout with some squats where he began with 180 kgs/397lbs. He then jumped into 280kgs/485lbs before moving on up to 260 kgs/573 pounds which is pretty darn heavy. But then, he had a decision to make… take a risk and go heavier or don’t and potentially save his back. Well, he didn’t get to his level by playing it safe, so he took it up a notch to 300 kg (661 pounds). Well, it seemed he made the right move, successfully completing the set although he did need a few spotters just in case.
The leg press was the next exercise in Hall’s big leg workout and before started he explained that he will continue to pyramid up in weight until he hits his max… “leg press is a little different. It’s always good to work up to a good 5 or 6 tough reps“. He says he will do a little more each week to progress in his training.
In between his super heavy sets of leg press, Eddie Hall took a few seconds to explain how the throbbing from his forehead friend Jim was what was hurting the most.
Then things started to get serious, and very personal…
“It’s always a tough decision at this point in the training session, it’s whether I go for a poo now I shit myself a little bit on the last set.”
What he said next is a little bit gross so we’ll let you hear what he has to say… but he did decide to hold it in after explaining how training legs makes you feel like you need to poo but many times it’s rather underwhelming.
He then continued on with the leg press and then the unexpected happened (or was it unexpected?)… yep, he shit himself. He then took a little bathroom break and came back to resume his intense leg workout with the standing hamstring curl.
The next test was to see if he could touch his toes which he did successfully before trying to balance on some strange contraption to do the same thing. Well, that one didn’t quite work out.
Then the last upper leg exercise was leg extensions to finish off where he did four sets of 10-12 reps really controlled to really take advantage of time under tension.
Ok, and now time for the calf training. Eddie Hall explained that he doesn’t train calved predominantly. But he did offer up some tips for the people looking to grow their calves… “I suppose the best advice I can give to anybody out there wanting big calves is to do squats, do leg press, and try to do it without any support.”
“So, for instance, you don’t want to be squatting in a Smith machine, these assisted machines where you put weights on and change the pin are no good because you’re not training the core muscles in your legs.
Free stand squats are probably the best thing you can do to train your calves… leg press as well.”
His technical advice for the leg press was
“If you get it in the right position you press on your toes quite heavily. If you really want to go all out you can probably do a few isolation exercises but trust me on this the best way to train calves is to not train calves.”
Watch the video below
This workout was 3 hours in duration all condensed into about 12 minutes.
So, the takeaway is that the freestanding barbell back squat and the leg press is what Eddie Hall recommends for calf training. He also explained to alternate the way you walk by sometimes shifting your weight onto your toes which is good for promoting calf growth and good posture as well.
This pretty much concluded the video and we’re sure there will be a lot more entertaining videos from Eddie Hall in the near future. In the meantime, we’re still trying to figure out what to make of the potential boxing match between Hall and Hafthor Bjornsson, both who have engaged in some back and forth recently.
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