Calf Downsizing

lgriffithschall

I've been at this for a while - 60 pounds down in a little over a year. I alternate 60 minutes of running or step aerobics 6 nights per week, plus add an hour of cardio sculpt (a Firm dvd) every other day. I'm getting really great results everywhere, but my darn calves. 18 inches & won't budge. I still consider myself a novice when it comes to fitness, so any advice would be appreciated on how to get these tree trunks smaller.

uconnwinsnc1

Weight comes off in different places! You can't control it.

ninerbuff

Unfortunately lots of people who are 50+ pounds overweight actually gained muscle in their lower extremities. Like weight lifting, the calves carry the brunt of resistance put on them and like weight lifting, calorie surplus will build muscle on the muscle that's stress. It's not uncommon to see muscled up calves on people who have a lot of weight to lose. Unless you have a lot of fat to still lose on them, then there's not much you can do to downsize them. Not training them at all will help them to atrophy a bit, but basically that means not walking, running, stepping, etc.
At this point you may just have to learn to love them.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

DopeItUp

You don't look like you have a lot of weight left to lose (if any), so:


Wheelchair to atrophy them (or literally no exercise that involve the legs, do a lot of sitting and laying down).

or

Accept them, love them and move on.

Lots of people would kill for bigger calves. Calf size is largely genetic so you're one of the lucky ones. As a 6'3" 245lb male my calves are a meager 16" if I'm lucky.

amusedmonkey

Having been 300+ for way too long, I have developed huge calves. I have lost nearly 100 pounds so far but my calves have not shrunk much (currently at 17.7"). This is normal and I have noticed it on quite a few of the people I know who have lost a considerable amount of weight. Of course genetic plays a big role, and I've always been cursed with being unable to wear skinny jeans because they would need to be quite loose around the waist to fit my calves. Just accept it. You will grow to like them soon, I promise!

chloeelizabethm

This may not be very helpful but.

You look awesome. Your upper body. I want it!

misskris78

I think you look very proportional, but maybe try yoga to elongate the muscle? You probably think it's worse than it actually is. I think you look great.

singingflutelady

you can't elongate muscle without radical surgery

jemhh

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Just accept it. You will grow to like them soon, I promise!

This. I think that we all have a tendency to want what we haven't got and/or want to get rid of whatever it is that we have. You've got a great shape and look really fit. Work on loving those strong calves.

SueInAz

My calves and thighs have always been large for my size, so I definitely understand your plight. I skip calf workouts when I lift because they just don't need to be any larger, darn it! However, I also know that they are one of my better features because they are defined and there's hardly an ounce of fat on them.

Over time, if they aren't being stressed as much by the extra weight, yours will shrink a bit. I know mine are definitely not as large as they were when I was younger and competing in gymnastics and karate.

auddii

chloeelizabethm wrote: »

This may not be very helpful but.

You look awesome. Your upper body. I want it!

Agreed.

lyttlewon

I have big calves. Super definition, it doesn't look like a bit of fat is on them. I notice heels make them look awesome. I understand to a point because some women's pants I can't wear without Hulking out the legs. I tried a skinny pair on once and couldn't even pull them up. They are powerful though. It's genetic, because my grandmother used to tell me I had her German workhorse legs.

jgnatca

Two thoughts.

My husband has spectacularly muscled calves. Guys at the gym ask him his secret. He shrugs. He's long-bodied in proportion and I suspect those superior calves were bred to ride steppe ponies across the plains. Doesn't help you much of course unless you take up horseback riding.

I'll never forget a life-drawing experience where a heavier woman modeled for us. Every body is beautiful in its' own way and of course if I am spending an afternoon drawing her nude form, I am going to become intimate with it. I loved her calves, so well-muscled. And I realized, necessary to support her frame.

You are no longer heavy, of course. You are beautiful.

ninerbuff

misskris78 wrote: »

I think you look very proportional, but maybe try yoga to elongate the muscle? You probably think it's worse than it actually is. I think you look great.

No exercise program elongates muscle. Since it's permanently attached to the ends of the bones, the "elongated" look is usually because one is low in muscle mass to begin with.
Not saying yoga is bad for exercise. Just saying doing yoga isn't going to elongate any muscle.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

queenliz99

Please embrace what you have. I think you look terrific Personally I am glad that we don't all look the same.

stealthq

Like several of the other posters, I have relatively large calves for my size. Same issues with skinny jeans. But, I was never particularly heavy, so mine are purely genetic. Oh, and I'm about 50% German descent, so maybe there's something to that

Personally, I think the best way to make them 'blend in', as it were, is to increase your thigh and hip muscle mass. Create a proportion you like better. THAT is actually doable.

VegasFit

I think you look great but I understand how you feel. I have always felt that my calves were too large for my liking. I've just learned to live with it. I still work them like any other muscle group because I still want them to have definition.

Sam_I_Am77

Congrats on all of your progress so far. Sometimes genetics is just the way it is and there's nothing you can do about it. If you only had a butt-shot of my grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law, aunt-in-law, and wife you would be hard-pressed to tell them apart. LOL.

I think you look very proportional, but maybe try yoga to elongate the muscle?

Unfortunately Pilates and Yoga have clever marketing programs that feed on the general fear that women have of getting bulky. To Niner's point all muscles have specific insertion points and are innervated by specific nerves, exercise cannot change that physiology.