Could wearing heels be working my calves?

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Cytherea
Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Totally random question. But anyways, lol... I hate wearing shoes. I wear flip flops all the time if and when at all possible. When I lived in New England, I wore flip flops until the first snow. Now, I live in Southern California, so I wear them year round. But this semester, I'm teaching a course, so I obviously need to wear something nice/professional when I do. I have a few pairs of wedge sandals that I take with me to the office, put on before class, and then take off right after class again (LOL). I've started to notice that I can handle walking in them a bit further than I used to, which is great, so some days, when I know I don't need to be walking a lot, I'll just wear the heels. And what I started to notice when I did that is that my calves get REALLY sore later on in the day or the next day, and it feels just like that after-workout ache/burn/soreness that you get late in the day or the next day. So is it possible that walking in the heels are actually toning my muscles? And if not, what is going on then??

Replies

  • beylover
    beylover Posts: 39
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    Same problem here. I still cannot even wear heels! i live on sandals and trainers until my body will be light enough to jump on heels, lol I guess those heels are doing you a great job because you can only have that feeling when you are toning up but i could be wrong
  • khskr1
    khskr1 Posts: 392
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    I've seen reports that wearing heels for extended periods can actually shorten your muscles in your legs. They say to stretch your calves at least once an hour when wearing them. Try that. Couldn't hurt!
  • avalonfloyd
    avalonfloyd Posts: 44
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    I don't know if they are really toning your legs. My grandmother wore heels every single day, all through her working life and after. Now all she can wear are those house shoes or similar flats. She says now, if she knew, she would never have worn heels that much. I think they are actually really bad for you. You are basically walking around on tip toe all day, putting all your body weight on your toes, which in the end will lead to a lot of problems.

    I'm not saying that you aren't getting some toning, and heels do make a lady's legs look great, but I wouldn't suggest wearing them all the time. I wear Shape Ups everyday now. I don't really think they are doing what they advertise (I haven't seen my behind getting any firmer!), but they just feel great to walk in, like walking on sand (the firm kind!).
  • Amandac6772
    Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    I have this problem. I wear heels every day because, well I'm short...lol! My calves are so tight that it has began to give me problems with exerecise. I'm doing yoga to hopefully slowly stretch them back out.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    Totally random question. But anyways, lol... I hate wearing shoes. I wear flip flops all the time if and when at all possible. When I lived in New England, I wore flip flops until the first snow. Now, I live in Southern California, so I wear them year round. But this semester, I'm teaching a course, so I obviously need to wear something nice/professional when I do. I have a few pairs of wedge sandals that I take with me to the office, put on before class, and then take off right after class again (LOL). I've started to notice that I can handle walking in them a bit further than I used to, which is great, so some days, when I know I don't need to be walking a lot, I'll just wear the heels. And what I started to notice when I did that is that my calves get REALLY sore later on in the day or the next day, and it feels just like that after-workout ache/burn/soreness that you get late in the day or the next day. So is it possible that walking in the heels are actually toning my muscles? And if not, what is going on then??

    Hi

    Be very careful wearing heels for hours on end. The reason is that, let's say, you wear a pair of heels that are 3" high. You are, in effect, walking on your toes, this shortens your achilles tendon.

    You then get home and decide to go for a run, you stick on your trainers and off you merrily go. You now have a potential problem, because whereby you have been wearing your heels all day and your achilles has been shortened for hours, now it will be stretched as you are in flat trainers (hope so anyway, what a weird sight that would be to see somebody running in trainers with heels :laugh: ).

    Treat your achilles with the utmost respect if you wear heels and then exercise later on, make sure you very gently stretch it and don't be a skinflint with the warm-up - it could mean the difference between staying fit and doing your exercise or being out of action for months.
  • ivyjbres
    ivyjbres Posts: 612 Member
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    They can be very bad for your joints and back it you don't go out of your way to take good care of yourself and compensate. That said, I caught a late night talk show once, they were talking to a tranny, and s/he commented that the best workout for calves thighs and butt was vacuuming in heels, because you have to constantly bend and move and at the same time all your muscles are flexed to keep you from falling over. And he did have great legs......

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