Legs and calves: Ott Kiivikas’s workout
Legs take a direct hit in this Achievers’ Workout: Ott Kiivikas shows how to train the quads and calves so that the muscle does the work, not the ego. This isn’t a pretty story about an easy workout. It’s two hours of work where the weights, the feel and looking after your knees count in every set.
Why do legs need separate attention?
It was time for another Achievers’ Workout. Fitness.ee readers wanted to see the leg workout of one of the achievers, and the choice was a logical one: Ott Kiivikas. Ask who has some of the strongest legs and calves in Estonian bodybuilding, and Ott’s name comes up quickly.
Joker had leg problems of their own, and their calves just wouldn’t grow. So this workout was also a very practical experiment: not just watching, but joining in. Honestly, in a workout like this you find out pretty quickly whether your technique holds up or not.
Ott started with leg extensions. This wasn’t just a casual intro; it got the muscles and joints warm. The day before, Ott had injured a knee, so it was an open question whether a proper leg workout would happen at all. After the warm-up sets the pain disappeared and the workout carried on without worry.
How do you get your legs working in the workout?
Front of the thigh
Leg extensions. Ott always does these first, so that the knees, joints and muscles are ready. If the rep count in the following sets is 8-12, the first warm-up sets can have more reps.
Single-leg leg press. The idea is simple: you don’t need to pile on mystically huge weights if you can feel the leg better by working one leg at a time. The pyramid principle was used, adding weight from set to set. Each exercise had 3-4 sets, depending on feel. The final weight was 300 kg. Ott did 6 reps with it, while Joker strained out 3 reps. Not bad at all. Just half as strong.
Hack squat. For this you need a hack squat machine. Reval-Sport had one. This time the exercise was done facing the backrest. That isolates the front of the leg better, although finding a comfortable position takes time. Keep an eye on your lower back so you don’t injure it. At the end Ott had 280 kg on and Joker 230 kg. Was that 230 kg completely clean? Well, more or less.
Walking lunges with a barbell on your back. You put the barbell across your upper back and take long steps forward. Essentially, you walk around the gym with the barbell on your back. The exercise hits the glutes and hamstrings hard, especially if you let the movement go deep enough. Balance matters here as much as strength. Joker stuck to a 60 kg barbell, while Ott used an 85 kg barbell.
Single-leg leg extensions. This was a return to the first exercise, only one leg at a time. The last isolation work gave the leg workout its final polish. Ott doesn’t use particularly heavy weights here and wonders why “macaroni men” sometimes go for huge weights. The logic is clear: compound exercises make the muscle grow, isolation exercises finish the job.
Calves
Three exercises were done for the calves, three sets each. Since the legs were already warm, one warm-up set was enough. After that it was a matter of adding weight and getting the work done.
Seated calf raises. This is one of the most common calf exercises. The weight was around 80-90 kg. The movement has to be controlled, not just bouncing up and down.
Donkey calf raises on the machine. In Joker’s opinion this is one of the most effective exercises, because the calf gets a constant stretch. According to Ott, keeping the knees bent is a big mistake. The tension then leaves the calf and goes elsewhere.
Calf raises with a barbell on your back. A Smith machine was used for this. A thick block was placed under the toes, the barbell was taken onto the back and the calf raises were done. Once again the same rule: the knees must not bend. The last exercise, the last bit of effort, and that was it. It took only 2 hours.
A practical leg and calf plan
If we sum this workout up as a plan, it looks like this. Choose the weights to suit your own level, but the idea behind the sets and reps stays the same. Feel before numbers.
Front of the leg
- Leg extensions 4 x 8-12
- Single-leg leg press 4 x 8-12
- Hack squat 4 x 8-12
- Walking lunges with a barbell on your back 4 x 8-12
- Single-leg leg extensions 4 x 8-12
Calves
- Seated calf raises 3 x 8-12
- Donkey calf raises on a machine 3 x 8-12
- Calf raises with a barbell on your back 3 x 8-12
Weekly split
- Sun. Quads, abs
- Mon. Back, rear delts
- Tue. Chest, abs
- Wed. Hamstrings, calves, lower back
- Thu. Biceps, forearms, abs
- Fri. Shoulders, triceps
To sum up: it was a good workout. The legs got a proper hammering. During the walking lunges the glute muscle started to cramp a little, and by the time we got to calves, the tank was already quietly empty. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Oh yes, one more thing. After the workout Joker drove to the Prisma in Mustamäe, stepped out of the car, let out a roar across the parking lot and dropped to their knees, because their legs cramped up. A little massage, and Joker could finally hobble into the store.
FAQ: legs and calves in training
Are single-leg exercises worth doing?
Ott’s experience is that with single-leg exercises you feel the muscle working better. It also helps if you don’t want to just keep chasing ever heavier weights.
Why keep your knees straight in calf exercises?
When the knees bend, the tension moves away from the calf. Ott stressed this several times. Calf training is technical, a bit like the biceps: if you just go through the motions without feeling the muscle, the results won’t come.
What did Ott say about this workout?
Ott’s comment was blunt: in their opinion, Achievers’ Workout is still one of the best columns on Fitness.ee. Ott usually trains alone, because it’s hard to find the same rhythm with someone else. But the chest and legs workouts done with Joker showed that you push noticeably harder when you train with a partner. 2 days later, Ott could barely walk, because their legs were terribly sore.
Ott added that leg workouts have been a favorite. They are extremely draining, but the feeling after a proper leg workout can’t be compared to the feeling after training any other muscle group. The knees have been the main concern. Ott wears “warming socks” on the knees and, when using heavier weights, knee wraps underneath them. Ott used to chase heavier training weights, but now focuses more on feeling the muscle, because heavy weights always came with injuries.
On the subject of calves, Ott said their calves are genetically well developed. Calf circumference standing and relaxed was 46cm, and seated and flexed 51cm. Current weight is 95 kg. Since the last Achievers’ Workout, the chest workout, 3 kg of body weight had been added.
Author: Joker
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