Twenty-ones are an intense training method aimed at forcing the maximum amount of blood into the muscle; this gives you a better "pump," so you should be cautious delving into them. This technique can be used with various exercises, but for the sake of argument, I'll describe it in terms of standing barbell curls.
Grab the bar, hands about shoulder width apart. The weight should be probably 50-60% of your usual working weight. Curl the bar all the way up, and lower it until your arms are at right angles. At this point, stop, and curl it back to the top again. Repeat this motion for seven reps. On the seventh rep, continue the motion to the bottom, then raise it only until your arms are ninety-degrees. Go through this partial motion another seven times. After the seventh rep, do seven more through the full range of motion. By using the training principle of partial motion, this exercise places a greater workload on the individual fibers of each part of the bicep (or whatever muscle you're working).
As far as always doing twenty-ones at the end of a workout, it can indeed be beneficial. However, doing the same thing every workout is a quick way to plateau. Therefore, I would advise against using twenty-ones to finish up every arm workout. Save them for once or twice a month. Substitute other finishing movements for you arms in between the times when you use twenty-ones.
My calves are stuck. What can I do to shock them into new growth?
I looked online for a truly intense calf workout, and I came up with this one from musclemaster.com. Here it is, in a six-week program, assuming you train calves twice a week:
Day 1: Warm up calves thoroughly. Get on the standing calf raise machine (or the Smith machine in Gantcher), and put about 1/3 of your normal working weight on the bar. Do 100 reps at this weight. It will burn like crazy, and at a point you won't be able to continue because of the searing pain in your calves. Rest for ten seconds or so, and continue until you reach 100. After this intense set, go over to the seated calf raise machine. Do 3 sets of 20 reps, being sure to stretch between sets (by this time, your calves may be cramping up).
Day 2: The first exercise is toe-presses on the leg press machine. The rep scheme should be heavy, with rep ranges going from 20, 10, 8, to 6. As always, don't sacrifice form for weight. Make sure your form is good, or you will not gain as much benefit. Next, go to the standing calf raise (or Smith machine). Do 20 reps with moderately light weight, then go really heavy for 6 reps. Follow that with a set of 15, then a final heavy set of 8. Stretch, and finish off the workout by doing calf raises with your body weight (one leg at a time) until failure. Stretch again, to keep your muscles from seizing up.
If you follow this program for the six weeks prescribed, you should see significant development in your lagging calves.
My workout consists of mostly cardio, followed by about half an hour of weight training. However, a lot of times I can't get on a machine in the gym. What else can I do that is cardiovascular and would benefit me without having to wait for the treadmill or stairmaster in the gym?
I see this problem in the gym frequently, but the solution is pretty simple. If the bikes/treadmills/stairmasters in the main gym are all occupied, just go into Gantcher. There are a good number of spinning cycles in there, as well as a few rowing machines. All of these machines will give you cardiovascular workouts similar in intensity to the machines in the main gym (plus, you won't have to deal with people asking you if you're going to be finished soon).
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