we've got to be doing something wrong with calves,
It makes absolutely no sense to think calves are special and that they just don't react to proper stimulation, like the rest of the body.
Maybe we have been targeting calves the wrong way, with the wrong approach, maybe that calf machine is just not enough or not even efficient, at all. I have no idea, I just think that there HAS to be a way to build up any part of the body properly and efficiently, anything else makes no sense and goes against the law of nature.
It's really not a mystery.
The calves' primary function is helping push your entire body weight up and down while walking or running. Throughout the day. Everyday. They really are big stabilizer muscles (that phrase just made me puke a little in my mouth).
It's why fat people who strength train and lose weight, generally, have amazing calves. As they get more and more plump, their calves get more and more of a work out. Then, when they lose all that weight, they still have bigger calves after years of training due to their years of just being fat.
It's not magic. It's saying to yourself "this muscle looking bigger is important enough to me to put 100s of reps into it each week." If you don't care, don't worry about. I'm about 100% sure there's never been a situation where a job or sex was on the table and "no" was the response to the proposition for either due to your calves' circumference.
Except, possibly, bodybuilding shorts model. You need calves for that. In that case, though, find a better 'roid dealer if your lacking in any muscular department.
EDIT: Also, genetics. I really think it's one of the few muscles, like the legendary eight pack, that you just need solid genetics to get freaky looking.
