Which exercise can you do to lose inches on your calves ?

cstraughter

Been at the fitness thing for 3+ years now, but having trouble losing those inches on my calves. Any suggestions on what I can do?

AnvilHead

It depends on what your body composition is like. If you're carrying a lot of fat on your calves, a calorie deficit will help lose the fat and slim them down. If you're fairly lean and mostly muscle, then you just genetically have large calves and about the only thing you could conceivably do about it (other than just embracing the fact that you have strong, muscular calves which many people would envy!) would be to put casts on your lower legs and get around in a wheelchair for a few months to let the muscles atrophy. There's no exercise that makes existing muscles smaller.

cstraughter

Thx

Machka9

There's no such thing as spot reduction, even though I think we all wish there were.

However, if you want to shape your calves and develop the muscle, you might take up stair climbing, hiking, and long walks especially uphill, in sand or in snow.

canadianlbs

which 'fitness thing'? there's so many of them . . .

i've got big calves too, which is partly about how much muscle 'belly' you're born with relative to the amount of tendon. short tendons and a lot of muscle, and you'll have 'big' calves compared with someone whose tendons extend fairly far up the leg.

fwiw, i thought lifting would make it even more-so, but it actually seems like it's balanced things out. it's hard to do things like back squats without gaining some elasticity and length in everything below the knee, and it seems to show, especially through the back of my ankles. i've been a cyclist for > 10 years, and i was a walker before that, so i was sort of surprised that it turned out lifting made more of a difference than either of those things.

all the usual caveats about body fat and so forth do apply. but fat's just a layer that sits on top of what's underneath, so in my case it seems like the underlying shape still shows through regardless.

AnvilHead

canadianlbs wrote: »

which 'fitness thing'? there's so many of them . . .

i've got big calves too, which is partly about how much muscle 'belly' you're born with relative to the amount of tendon. short tendons and a lot of muscle, and you'll have 'big' calves compared with someone whose tendons extend fairly far up the leg.

fwiw, i thought lifting would make it even more-so, but it actually seems like it's balanced things out. it's hard to do things like back squats without gaining some elasticity and length in everything below the knee, and it seems to show, especially through the back of my ankles. i've been a cyclist for > 10 years, and i was a walker before that, so i was sort of surprised that it turned out lifting made more of a difference than either of those things.

all the usual caveats about body fat and so forth do apply. but fat's just a layer that sits on top of what's underneath, so in my case it seems like the underlying shape still shows through regardless.

True. You can most certainly get rid of the fat over a muscle, but you can't lengthen/shorten it. Muscle origins and insertions are fixed points and the only way you alter that is through catastrophic injuries (tendon/ligament tears, etc.), which is kinda not recommended.

Which is why it's BS when people say things like "Pilates gives you long, lean muscles". Your muscles are what they are - you can make them bigger (hypertrophy) or you can make them smaller (atrophy), but you can't make them longer or shorter. They're attached where they're attached and about all you can do about it is thank your parents for your genetics, lol.

ninerbuff

You can't beat genetics. If your parents have big shapely calves, then you likely inherited it. Another issue is that people who put on a lot of weight over a period of years, can also have "built up" their calves due to progressive overload (gaining weight provides more resistance on them) and surplus. And as mentioned, the only way to have them atrophy is to NOT USE THEM at all for a good period of time. And that's not doable for hardly anyone.

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

fattothinmum

I've learned to live with the calves my mother blessed me with. I hated them as a teenager, and with shorts, I still hate them. Now there's no fat and more or less, just muscle there, they have good shape, but I'll always hanker after lean calves. Never gonna happen, sadly. They look fine in jeans though.

mcraw75

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

KatieJane83

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

That's an interesting question. I have decent-sized calves, but I wouldn't say super large. I've always had problems with keeping my heels down, when I was dancing (ballet, etc), and when trying to squat. But I've always felt that I just have short Achilles tendons, so am lacking in flexibility in that area.

autumnblade75

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

http://themovementfix.com/the-best-kept-secret-why-people-have-to-squat-differently/
It might not be her calves that are the limiting factor.

OTOH, I do find it easier to do wider squats, and my calves are pretty solid.

Kamnikar64

Thank you everyone on this thread, I just thought I was fat (well I am.) But my calves have always been large and I never attributed part of that being the fact that I'm short and my legs are short. Thanks, I feel better.

Leadfoot_Lewis

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

It's most likely a mobility issue (tight calves/ankles) - very common. I have pretty big calves for a chick (130lbs w/almost 17" calves) and my heels are planted to the floor when I squat.

kshama2001

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

Nope, I have large calves but am flexible due to yoga.

My mom squats when she gardens, and she gardens a LOT, so has what her trainer calls flat-foot, full-depth squats.

DopeItUp

I recommend a wheelchair for extended periods of time.

megemrj

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

I'm short (5'1) and find it near impossible to do a back squat. Once I began doing sumo, the skies parted and I heard angels sing! My squats are all good now and I don't feel like I'm going to fall on my kitten.

canadianlbs

mcraw75 wrote: »

Question to those with large calves. Do you find it hard to do normal squats without lifting your heels? My wife has large calves and has to do sumo squats to keep her heels on the floor.

no idea. i have mobility stuff that makes it moot in my case.

i lift once a week with a guy whose calves are as big as my thighs though, and he squats beautifully with his heels really close together.

natasor1

Try get rid of water retention. Less salt, more water more potassium and magnesium. Also running is good way to make your calves very trimmed.