i have HUGE calves?

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  • srslybritt
    srslybritt Posts: 1,618 Member
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    Golly, I hope the mommy cow is okay.

    ETA: Serious answer, I've always had big calves, even when I was 50lbs lighter. It has to do with genetics and also body composition. I swam a lot and as a result have large, strong leg muscles. Even now that I'm overweight, they're pretty solid.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    Golly, I hope the mommy cow is okay.

    Well, if the rancher is worth his salt, he'll start a heifer out with what's called a heifer bull. That's a bull that's known for throwing small calves, making the first birth an easier one. Then after that, they breed physically experienced cows to bulls with a history of throwing larger offspring.

    I call my husband a heifer bull because our son was tiny.

    And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Some are born with calves, some are born with bulls. Embrace them.
  • Limeycat
    Limeycat Posts: 249 Member
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    I'm 5'1" and have slim ankles but what I've always thought of as really thick calves, which I put down to muscle built when I was doing gymnastics as a kid - my nickname in high school was chicken legs :laugh:

    Fast forward to today and they're still pretty well defined when I flex, but feel a bit flabby when relaxed. Having said that, I've just measured and they're 14.5", so maybe not as big as I thought. But more definition would be good and I'm working on it!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    I'm 5'1" and also have enormous calves -- 16.5" at last measurement -- and small feet and skinny ankles. Combination of being overweight and of cycling a lot, I guess. Also, us short ladies not only have to deal with wide calves, but short calves -- which makes buying tall boots pretty much impossible. Since the calf muscle starts lower down and most boots are too tall and hit my knee anyway.

    One of my goals is to get slim enough to buy boots again. The height thing can't be fixed, but if I can shave an inch or two off the width, I'd have more options.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    mahatolba wrote: »
    So i'm only 5'2", but I weigh around 165lbs and my calves are HUGE. They're around 17" :( When I flex them, they feel really firm which is weird since I never used to work out at all until I decided to start losing weight. When they're not flexed, though, they're super jiggly. Could they just be big because I'm short and overweight? Or is it possible that I somehow have muscly calves without ever having done exercise or sports? Any advice is appreciated!

    Some people just have big calves. Even when I was a healthy weight, I couldn't always wear knee high boots, some wouldn't zip up. I know some here would recoil in horror, but I would like to lose muscle in my calves. LOL
  • brandi9172
    brandi9172 Posts: 61 Member
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    Just a bit of a hint...if you can't get them to zip up over your calves, put them on zipped up. Takes a minute to get your foot in but the boot will pull right up over your calf. Crazy how it works, but it does, and I have 16.5" calves. ;)
  • LazyFoodie
    LazyFoodie Posts: 217 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I've read that calf size is mostly due to genetics and there is not much you can do. Sure weight gain/loss will influence the size a bit but if you have gigantic calves now, you are not going to have small or even medium size ones by losing a few lbs. Maybe if you have hundreds of lbs to lose then you can look forward to losing inches off your calves.

    A friend who is a bodybuilder type has trained for years still has calves that look incredibly small for his frame. No amount of lifting helps him build bigger calves. His calves support his almost 200lb frame fine even when he does powerlifting competitions so I do not buy that big calf muscles are a result of having to support more body weight while you are overweight.

    At 5'4 and 160ish lbs I have 17.75 inch calves (just measured). They are hard as rocks when I flex and do not jiggle. Just from putting on skis, I have noticed that they do get a little bit smaller when I lose weight- however the difference is not by much. I go from not being able to completely clip my ski shoes vs having a hard time but eventually being able to clip it up all the way but have it uncomfortably tight on my legs at my skinniest (about 140lbs). So there is some fat in there but mostly just a disproportionately big muscle. I have never done anything to train them.

    It has taken me a while to feel okay about my calves but I've finally learned to accept them enough to not wear jeans in 90 degree weather. :smile:
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Ugh, mine are so big that I have a hellish time finding ski boots. (Downhill ski boots are a *** to fit in the first place, but try having tiny feet and enormous calves... ick ick ick!)
  • LazyFoodie
    LazyFoodie Posts: 217 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    Ugh, mine are so big that I have a hellish time finding ski boots. (Downhill ski boots are a *** to fit in the first place, but try having tiny feet and enormous calves... ick ick ick!)

    I leave the top parts unclipped and just find boots that fit my feet tight enough so that they stay in. This makes leaning forward into your boot more difficult but I find it works okay for me just doing recreational skiing on medium slopes.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited October 2014
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    nancy274 wrote: »
    I leave the top parts unclipped and just find boots that fit my feet tight enough so that they stay in. This makes leaning forward into your boot more difficult but I find it works okay for me just doing recreational skiing on medium slopes.

    Yeah, no longer an option for me, sadly. Let's just say I've probably put my bootfitter's kids through college by now and leave it at that. :)
  • LazyFoodie
    LazyFoodie Posts: 217 Member
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    I hear in Korea they will do surgery where they will remove some of your calf muscle!
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    nancy274 wrote: »
    A friend who is a bodybuilder type has trained for years still has calves that look incredibly small for his frame. No amount of lifting helps him build bigger calves. His calves support his almost 200lb frame fine even when he does powerlifting competitions so I do not buy that big calf muscles are a result of having to support more body weight while you are overweight.

    I agree with this. I was always thin and always had big calves. The weight gain came later in my life.
  • TrailRunnermn
    TrailRunnermn Posts: 105 Member
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    Huge calves are a bad thing? Dancer-like legs are a huge turn on.
  • northlandmum
    northlandmum Posts: 91 Member
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    Even when I lost weight my calf size remained large. I have inherited my mum's fat legs. They are shapeless as and I also have cankles. So I wear jeans a lot and feel really self conscious about them especially in the summer months. I can't wear scrappy shoes as it just draws attention to them. Amazingly I can cram them into knee high boots but they make my legs look even larger
  • northlandmum
    northlandmum Posts: 91 Member
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    *Strappy shoes stupid auto correct
  • loiscoles
    loiscoles Posts: 39 Member
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    I'm 5'4 and currently 154lbs but ever since puberty even when I weighed like 120lbs my calves were huge in proportion to the rest of my body. My mum's are the same. So I think naturally muscly calves may possibly be a genetic thing since neither of us has ever done much physical exercise besides walking.

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