Podcast host Joe Rogan and Derek from More Plates More Dates shared their insights on growing calves in a YouTube video posted on December 5, 2024. They also highlighted the dangers of neck training, often practiced in sports like boxing and MMA.
Joe Rogan is known for his many talents, including comedy, acting, and UFC commentary. Over the years, he has become a powerful voice in the fitness community, largely through his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, where he frequently discusses topics like performance-enhancing drugs, diets, and workout routines.
Joe Rogan, Derek of MPMD Discuss Bodybuilders Struggling to Grow Calves and the Dangers of Neck Training
Joe Rogan has a deep understanding of the fighting industry, having practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for years. This experience gives him a unique perspective on the dangers and risks athletes face during training. During episode #2239, Rogan was joined by Derek of MPMD, and they discussed why bodybuilders have a difficult time building their claves along with the dangers of training the neck.
First, Derek of MPMD opened up on neuromuscular electrical stimulation and why it’s not a replacement for actual training.
“I don’t think it’s a replacement [neuromuscular electrical stimulation], I would speculate that the time it would take to stimulate yourself, if it’s for hypertrophy if you just worked out more, you’d probably get better results,” says Derek of MPMD.
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Rogan says the neuromuscular electrical stimulation is meant to complement training efforts not replace them.
“Perhaps. The idea is that it’s enhancing you past what you would normally get because you’re in this very unique state of constant contraction. So, there’s no contract, relax, contract, relax, you are just contracted.
You’re just [screaming], then you’re going through all these exercises so you have to force your way through the exercises while you’re contracting, it’s difficult,” shares Joe Rogan.
Having talked to and analyzed bodybuilders’ training, gear, and eating habits, Derek of MPMD says this device probably wouldn’t help Pros trying to break through a training plateau. Rogan, however, underlines that it can be useful for those aiming to grow the calves, even though it’s exceedingly difficult to do so.
“I’d be highly suspect of it being used for a guy trying to break a plateau who is a veteran lifter for example. And no bodybuilders I know attribute any success to something like this,” said Derek MPMD.
“Right, well, this guy was telling me that some bodybuilders use it to target areas that they have had a difficulty [training], maybe your calves. People have a difficult time growing calf muscles,” explains Rogan. “Look at Jon Jones, that’s the craziest things, one of the best kickers in the sport, no calves. They are like non-existent.”
Derek of MPMD says calves are mostly determined by genetics and pointed to Olympia-caliber bodybuilders who can’t grow them despite knowing the movements needed for hypertrophy.
“It’s so genetically pre-determined seemingly, you’ll have guys that are top Olympia-caliber bodybuilders and if they haven’t had calves for their whole career, they don’t suddenly develop them even though they obviously know how to train,” said Derek MPMD.
“It is a very very difficult to locally [grow] if you don’t have the genetics for it and the muscle bellies, it’s very difficult to make a bad-looking calf look good.”
They also noted that the neck is another difficult and sometimes dangerous body part to train.
“Neck maybe? But that’s pretty easy to train actually, it’s just not many people do it,” said Derek MPMD.
“With neck, you got to be careful though. I use an Iron Neck, which I really believe in. It’s like the only thing that I’ve ever done that’s strengthened my neck and not caused me any neck problems whereas I think those other ones, like those things, the leather helmet and chain, I think that’s an unusual movement for your neck,” explains Rogan.
Rogan stressed that neck training has to be done carefully as he’s seen wrestlers as well as boxing legend Mike Tyson damage his neck from neck bridges, a common exercise in combat sports settings.
“I know a lot of wrestlers including Mike Tyson who fucked their neck up from neck bridges,” Rogan shared. “This wrestler bridge does strengthen your neck but at a cost.
And I don’t think it’s at a cost for everybody. I think it can be done safely but I think you have to scale up very slowly and very carefully and make sure that you have the supporting tissue and strength around that to not compromise your discs when you’re in these weird positions.”
Joe Rogan and Derek of MPMD are never shy about diving into taboo topics, particularly when it comes to steroids. Derek, known for his expertise in exercise mechanics and extensive knowledge of performance-enhancing drugs, has a keen eye for determining whether an athlete is ‘natty’ or not. When discussing figures like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to bodybuilder ‘Mike O’Hearn,’ both Derek and Rogan agree that PEDs are likely to factor into their incredible physiques.
Regardless of the topic, Joe Rogan and Derek of MPMD always offer valuable insights on a range of fitness topics. They believe calf growth is largely determined by genetics and that it’s best to cautiously train the neck.
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