How to Build Bad Ass Calves
December 10, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Jason Ferruggia
By Jason Ferruggia
How to build big calves… it’s a question that I pondered for many years as a kid, being born with calves like string beans. After much experimentation, what I finally realized was that high volume works great for calves. They are probably the hardest muscle to build. Just doing a few sets for them never did anything for me. Since I had no desire to train them and preferred to focus on strength, athleticism and bigger compound lifts they stayed that way for years.
The only time they finally responded was when I hit them with very high volume. I usually do this for about a month and then I am bored to tears and stop training calves again for another year. Also, you can’t really tolerate the high volume loading for too long before you will start to develop some ankle/achilles problems. If you are an athlete and run or jump a lot, don’t even consider doing high volume calf work.
But if how to build big calves is a question that you obsess over, and you just want to get them jacked then you need to really increase your volume and frequency. I once put two inches on my calves in just over a month! Now, don’t get me wrong, my calves are still nowhere near huge, but the point is you can add significant size to your calves if you really want to.
They were Arnold’s worst bodypart and he dedicated all his time and effort to bringing them up. He even cut all of his pants off at the knee so he had to suffer the embarrassment of having his calves exposed wherever he went.
One option is to do a set of calves between every set of every exercise you do at each workout. Be sure to go heavy, get a good, deep stretch and hold it for a second (and up to ten seconds) at the bottom and get all the way up on your big toe at the top while flexing your calves hard. When you do standing calves your knees should be slightly bent on the way down and then locked out on the way up.
Another option is to start each workout (or each lower body day) with calves. One day per week would be heavy standing calf raises for 5-10 sets of 5-8 reps and the other day would be seated calf raises done for 4-5 sets of 15-30 reps.
You should also consider training the tibialis anterior muscles. These are the muscles that run down the front of your shin. Some people develop imbalances from too much ankle extension and not enough ankle flexion. When this happens and becomes a problem, the calves will not grow. So train these muscles by hanging your feet off the end of a bench and holding a dumbbell or DARD device between them and flexing your feet up toward you for a few sets of 10-20 reps, twice a week.
After you finish up with standing, seated and donkey calf raises and the tib raises, try doing farmers walks for up to five or even ten minutes while remanining on your toes the entire time. This will absolutely smoke your calves.
Finally, finish up your workouts with 10-20 minutes of jumping rope.
The above strategies should definitely get anyone’s calves to grow rapidly in a couple of months. Just be sure to ease into the extra volume slowly and gradually and take a step back if your ankles start to bother you.
If you are currently doing only 3-4 sets of calves twice per week you should slowly add a set or two at every workout until you get to about 10 or so. Ten hard, heavy sets plus the farmers walks and jumping rope should be more than enough for most people to add an inch or so in a month.
Now you know how to build big calves. For more information on adding size to the rest of your body check out http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com now.
Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com/
Powerlifting vs. Strongman Training
May 29, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Recent Posts, Strong Body, Strongman Conditioning Exercises, Strongman Exercises
Lately, I have become intrigued by the idea of a truly HYBRID TRAINING PROGRAM! The idea of combining Strength, Power and Endurance (almost like Strongman Training) to develop a NEW type of muscle fiber and energy system that allows an athlete to display the quality of SUSTAINED STRENGTH!
In the next several months I am going to do a load of research in delve into this topic deeper. Stay tuned as I use myself as and athletes as “lab rats” for these experimental workouts!!!
This may very well change the face of Strength and Conditioning for ever!
Below is a video given to me by Jim Smith of http://www.AcceleratedMuscularDevelopment.com
This workout is a pretty good example of the type of Hybrid Training that I am talking about.
PS - Jim Smith has a great program at http://www.AcceleratedMuscularDevelopment.com that he is currently offering at a discounted price…
BUT THERE IS A CATCH!! – This program is ONLY available at this specical price for the next 14 hours or so, basically until early tomorrow. If you love strength training and are looking for a program that eliminates all of the “pretty boy” BS that most muscle building programs promote, than you’ll want to get your hands on this SOON!
Here’s the link again ==> http://www.AcceleratedMuscularDevelopment.com
Muscle Mass Training For Strongman
May 7, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Bodybuilding Exercises, Motivation, Recent Posts, Strong Body, Strongman Exercise Database, Strongman Exercises
Since earning professional status as a Strongman through 2 years of intense training and mental labor, I am WHOOPED!!
Burned out physically and mentally! — I need a break.
Yet, every where I turn the number one question that is rifled in my direction is… “Elliott, when are you gonna compete in your first pro show?”
Now, if you have been reading HulseStrength.com for some time and have become familiar with my philosophies, you know that I acknowledge the rotation of “SEASONS” in life as well as in training. There are “SEASONS” for kicking ass as well as for recovery.
This PRINCIPLE is present all around us and in nature, just look… Night & Day, Winter & Summer, Planting & Harvesting, Rain & Drought, Anabolic & Catabolic — Yin & Yang! These opposites are expressed naturally in our surroundings and are dictated by “God” or “Mother Nature” (whichever you choose to call it).
The interesting thing about Man is that we have the choice to acknowledge and adhere to the eb and flow of this natural rhythm OR to completely ignore it and FIGHT nature (which is a battle we can NEVER win)!
So for right now, and perhaps for the next 2-3 months I will be taking time to mend my bones and joints, deload my nervous system and invite a more ANABOLIC state from my endocrine system.
But interestingly — My muscles will not get a break!
In fact, the kind of training I’m doing right now implements much higher volume and extremely short rest periods. As for the intensity, it’s completely different. At the end of the workout I’m exhausted, but I never push a set to muscular failure.
Like I said in my last video, this is burning fat pretty fast for me. It pays to be at the top of your weight class for strongman, but I don’t need to carry that extra weight all year long. I know, I know….pics are coming soon 
This style of training is nothing new and no it’s not something I invented. It’s based on German Volume Training techniques and a lot of the bodybuilders from the Golden Era swore by it.
I’ve been reading a lot about it lately the guy Doberman Dan’s Hyper Growth Program. He sent me a review copy of his “Hyper Growth Muscle Mass Training” program last week and so far from what I’ve read and tried out in my own workouts, it’s LEGIT!
http://hulsestrength.com/recommends/MuscleGrowth <<<<—— Check out the Hyper Grow Program
What the heck was the Golden Era?
The bodybuilders of the Golden Era from the 50s, 60s, and 70s produced bodies that resembled Greek Gods (or those guys in the 300 Movie)! The symmetry and proportion untainted by the humongous drug bloated waists of today’s pro bodybuilders explains why even young men of today’s generation are inspired by the men of this past generation.
NOT this…
I’ll be posting more videos and talking more about this kind of training. If you’re thirsty RIGHT NOW, than check out Doberman Dan’s new program called, Hyper Growth Muscle Mass Training.
==> http://hulsestrength.com/recommends/MuscleGrowth
You guys know I hate hype and this program has been getting a lot of it lately. But the truth is Dan’s offering it a discount right now during the Pre-Sale which is going on TODAY Thursday May 7th through May 9th.
So definitely head over and read his website ==> http://hulsestrength.com/recommends/MuscleGrowth
Strongman Log Clean & Pressing
May 1, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Announcements, Football Training, Recent Posts, Strongman Exercise Database, Strongman Exercises, Uncategorized
It never ceases to amaze me how many sports and strength coaches think that they need to teach their athletes the incredibly technical skill of The Olympic Clean & Press! These well meaning coaches sometimes forget that exercises like the Clean & Jerk as well as The Snatch are OLYMPIC EVENTS!! — The men and women who receive the greatest benefit from executing these movements have generally spent several years, sometimes decades learning how to perfect their skills. Also, I have discovered that in order for our training programs to be effective, they have got to be FUN. No 16 year old football player, who is full of “piss and vinegar” is going to want to stall his strength efforts in order to “learn” how to execute a lift. He wants to “hit it hard… NOW”, and within the bounds of safety, it is our responsibility to let him go for it! This is why I love Strongman Training so much. The movements we use are very functional, based on “Primal Movement Patterns”, create incredible strength and explosive capacity AND it fun to do. Among several substitutions for Olympic Lifting movements like the clean and press is The Strongman Log Clean & Press. This movement requires very little skill but a SH*T LOAD of Attitude! Also, it puts such an immense demand on the bone and muscle tissue that it literally forces the body to release a flood of testosterone and other naturally produced anabolic hormones directly into your blood stream. Below is a video of me doing Log Clean & Presses with over 300 lbs. I move lots of weight with this movement, granted that I am a Professional Strongman ;). If you see me lifting like this and are thinking to yourself, “there is NO WAY that my that my young, skinny punks will EVER clean and press like that” — please rest assured that my athletes use about 1/4 of the weight displayed here and are usually performing sets of 5 reps.
One of the problems with Strongman Training and exercises like the Log Clean & Press is getting your hands on the equipment. Well, fret no more! — Below is a description of what I have discovered to be the Strongest and most Rugged Strongman Training Log ever constructed. Check it out. 
Click Here To Order Now ==> The Strongman Pressing Log
PS - If you order The Strongman Log by clicking the link or the images above before the end of this weekend, I will send you a FREE digital copy of my Gridiron Strongman Training System as well as 1 free month on our new Strength Camp Member’s Only website accessable only by our Strength Camp DVD Members… but, we’ll let you in for a few weeks — Just send me your receipt via e-mail and I’ll hook you up!
Click Here To Order Now ==> The Strongman Pressing Log
Kettlebells for Strength and Conditioning
February 5, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Strength and Conditioning for Sports, Strong Body, Strongman Exercise Database
It is EVERY mans responsibility to seek and discover all of his in-born and latent strengths, talents and faculties.
These capacities were given to him as a gift from The Creator.
Man is not only derelict in his duty to himself but, also to The Creator and to mankind as a whole when he lives his life well below that which would allow the full expression of his endowment.
It is my contention that man MUST train his body to emit the glow of his soul in the same fashion that a diamond is exposed through the pressures fixed upon the rough and ugly piece of coal.
(enough of my amature poetry) - Here is a cool tool that will help you do just that
Hey, if you are sick and tired of being mediocre… then you’ve got to get your paws on this free DVD:
Go Here Now ==> www.StrengthCampDVD.com
Real Strength, Fitness & Achievement Results (no BS)
January 30, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Announcements
It has NEVER been easy for “the individual” to live a life indicative of his TRUE potential.
When living in obedience to the “still small voice within”, the individual is often coerced, cajoled and eventually castrated in order to keep him “responsible” and “upright”.
In your life…
are there goals that are still unmet?
desires unfulfilled?
passionate words or messages, bottled within and STILL unspoken?
We’ll - I have never been one to keep my mouth shut… in fact, many folks don’t appreciate my honesty and, well arrogance.
But, I STILL I speak… and should you.
You have listened to my disapproving rants on what is currently termed “fitness” and how it only represents the most empty, shallow and superficial aspect of aesthetics.
I contend, that REAL MEN love to exercise because we desire the gifts of Muscular Strength, Healthy Bones & Organs, Sound Mind, Thoughts and to honor “The Temple” that acts as a host to our spirit.
They called me crazy and laughed when I showed them this…
Click The Link Below:
Elliott Hulse Strongman & His Mini Van
January 12, 2009 by Elliott
Filed under Strongman & The Mini Van
Every so often I receive an email from one of my fans who reads HulseStrength.com and watches my Strength Camp TV shows asking me…
“Elliott, how do you do so much? Your business, your training, your family… how do you get it all done?”
Well, instead of my typical, arrogant rant about how everyone should live - I’ll just show you HOW I live on a day to day basis.
This is the first show in my new Strength Camp TV series called “The Strongman & His Mini Van”.
Ok, I can’t help it… I’ve got to relieve at least one “rant” (confession) about priorities on you.
Guess what? - As much as I love football, I have ZERO clue who is in the playoffs this year… the Superbowl will be in my city and I have absolutely no idea who is a contender. I don’t even know how my beloved NY Jets have done this year with Brett Favre.
This, not because I don’t love football but because instead of spending hours watching games on Sunday and viewing countless re-runs of SportsCenter… I work on my business, train my body and care for my family. (the things that matter MOST to me)
I have the same 24 hours a day that everyone has, I just choose to JAM PACK it with constructive, creative and resourceful activities that yield a high return… a life I love!
How have you PRIORITIZED your life to meet your goals for 2009?
Tell me by posting comments below!
Here’s the show:
How To Get Super Strong & Fast at the SAME TIME
December 22, 2008 by Elliott
Filed under Strength and Conditioning for Sports
When I was 14 years old my uncle taught me how to weight train for football using mostly Power Lifting and Body Building… this helped me get super strong and packed several pounds of muscle mass on my skinny frame.
In college I learned about plyometrics or jump training.
A few years ago my friend Tom Mitchell taught me how to train for Strongman.
Today, I shout in the face of conventional strength training wisdom and combine ALL of these modalities to get myself and my athletes BRUTALLY STRONG and Blazing Fast… at the same time!
When designing quality results-producing strength programs for athletes you’ve got to consider the several means by which you achieve increased strength & speed.
You’ve also gotta understand how to modify your reps, sets, rest intervals and intensities to benefit from the gifts that each of these training methods have to offer.
Here are a few of the secrets to Strength & Speed development:
Discover my secrets for building super strong and massive athletes with Strongman & Power Lifting Systems http://www.FootballStrengthProgram.com
Also check out my Gridiron Strongman Clinic in January!
Strength Camp Keg Training For Football & Fitness
December 11, 2008 by Elliott
Filed under Strength and Conditioning for Sports, Strongman Exercises
One of the most versatile pieces of trash that we use at Strength Camp for getting members strong and conditioned is THE KEG!
There are about 5 different training drills and exercises that we use the keg for… in the video I will teach you how to MAKE A TRAINING KEG and how to get fit using it.
Also I invite you to join us for our first Christmas Keg Party, I call it Santa’s Sled Drag, this Friday at 9pm… live band, 3 kegs and good times in Florida
Oh, and tell me what you think of my new video backdrop…. I’m trying to make them more interesting (mostly to entertain myself). I almost did the whole show with my shirt off but I decided to keep the goods hidden for Colleen.
For more keg training drills and how to make other strongman training tools you might want to check out the DVD’s that come with => http://www.FootballStrengthProgram.com
How to build HUGE traps like a Strongman
October 12, 2008 by Elliott
Filed under Strongman Exercises
Listen to me interview Strongman Carlos Blackman about gaining mass, grip strength and keg exercises for conditioning.
Also, listen up for his secret for building HUGE traps!
