have big thighs and small calves

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  • runner2runner
    runner2runner Posts: 1,937 Member
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    A lot of it is genetic, unfortunately. I have big thighs (23-23.5") with pronounced quads....BUT...my calves are itsy bitsy in comparison (I think they are measuring at 14.5" right now).

    Here's a pic... - if it comes up - (these are a couple months' difference as I was trying to build a bit more muscle while eating at maintenance since I still have a lot of fat on my body though they look the same, boo). Actually I think it's more noticeable when I have on my workout pants but whatevs:
    legsba.jpg

    Awesome legs! Your calves don't look too bad. From here, your legs seem to have good proportion. On average, the calves are usually smaller than the thighs. It's only on rare occasions that both are the same size and in very extreme cases where the calves are bigger than the thighs.
  • rachaelr22
    rachaelr22 Posts: 32
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    A lot of it is genetic, unfortunately. I have big thighs (23-23.5") with pronounced quads....BUT...my calves are itsy bitsy in comparison (I think they are measuring at 14.5" right now).

    Here's a pic... - if it comes up - (these are a couple months' difference as I was trying to build a bit more muscle while eating at maintenance since I still have a lot of fat on my body though they look the same, boo). Actually I think it's more noticeable when I have on my workout pants but whatevs:
    legsba.jpg
    you can have some of my calves they are 17.5". Don't mind if I lose a little
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    12 inches calves are small? My calves are 12.25 inches and I think that they are too big. Wow!
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
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    A lot of it is genetic, unfortunately. I have big thighs (23-23.5") with pronounced quads....BUT...my calves are itsy bitsy in comparison (I think they are measuring at 14.5" right now).

    Here's a pic... - if it comes up - (these are a couple months' difference as I was trying to build a bit more muscle while eating at maintenance since I still have a lot of fat on my body though they look the same, boo). Actually I think it's more noticeable when I have on my workout pants but whatevs:
    legsba.jpg

    Love your muscles!!! Wow:) beautiful ! (Squats? Deads? What are you doing to get this?)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Genetics plays big role here. If the insertions of your gastrocnemius are high, then you'll have an appearance of a "club". There's NOTHING you can do to change that.
    While working them hard can increase the size, the shape won't change.
    IMO, you do what you can with what you got.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • werewolfbeastmode
    werewolfbeastmode Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi.

    Genetics play a role in your calf development just like any other body part. I have small calves and big thighs myself. Look at a person with humongous calves and look at where the muscle actually ends(usually near their dam ankles lol). If you have a high insertion then there is only so much that you can do.

    If you would like to add some size be consistent with your workouts and experiment with different rep ranges. I've worked my calves religiously and the only thing that improved was my strength. It may suck because people will judge your leg size by your calves because that is all that they see.

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