After winning two competitions, Arnold Schwarzenegger's son, Joe Baena, has developed enough understanding to spot an impressive physique. Using the same, Baena highlighted a major flaw that he has witnessed in the calf muscles of multiple classic physique bodybuilders.

On May 25, Baena caught up with the former MMA fighter and fitness coach, Axel Guerra, for a YouTube video on the latter's channel. Besides going through a workout session comprising various exercises, the pair also exchanged their views on several topics, including the calves of classic physique bodybuilders.

However, Baena revealed a rather untoward observation while discussing this topic. Besides calling calf muscles a "game changer," he said, "I think there's a lot of classic physique guys, even, that their calves are so small."

After being asked whether smaller calves can be the difference between winning and losing a contest, Baena responded negatively. But he also detailed how they can ruin the appearance of a bodybuilder whose other muscles look appreciable.

Baena said, "I think they would just look so much better [with bigger calves] cuz every time that I see a lot of these guys on stage, I'm like, the upper body looks great, the legs look good, but then the calves. But then I'm like, wait, what happened to the calves?"

Well, Baena may have refrained from taking the names of the classic physique athletes who, according to him, have small calves. However, the problem isn't limited to just the classic physique division of the sport.

Even the 4x Mr. Olympia Men's Open winner, Jay Cutler, had a humbling experience due to his calves.

Jay Cutler reveals how he got 'destroyed' for having small calves

Yates is easily one of the most renowned bodybuilders from the early 2000s' Mass Monster era, where athletes focused on extreme muscle size, vascularity, and deep density. In one of his YouTube videos, he revealed that he had startling, 20-inch calves.

But while Cutler's calves became one of his strengths while competing actively, the scenario was completely different earlier. A YouTube video from @musclemindmedia displayed one of his old interviews, where he disclosed that he was derided for having calves that didn't match the rest of his body's symmetry.

Cutler stated, "I had, like, really big legs. I squatted 700 [lbs] at 19. And I remember [thinking], 'Man! I'm making such great progress. My legs were so big, and my upper body was [also] getting there.' And my sister had to ruin the show. She said, 'Man! Your legs are so big, but your calves are really small.' And it destroyed me."

Cutler also disclosed how his sister's words hardened his resolve to build bigger claves. He said, "I'm like, 'Never again that's gonna happen.' And so, I started training my calves like crazy."

Well, Cutler probably could've never built his 20-inch calves without the subtle taunt from his sister. However, his sister's observation validates Baena's views about several bodybuilders having smaller calves.

Which actively competing bodybuilders do you think have smaller claves compared to the overall symmetry of their physiques?

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Written by

Souvik Roy

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil