Slim down calves
bronagh679
Posts: 22 Member
Firstly I completely understand that you cannot spot reduce fat in a particular area on your body!
I am a slim toned female but my calves are just so big, bigger than my thighs!!!
my diet is good and I am fit doing strength training and cardio
Is there any exercises or techniques to reduce my calf muscle size
Also what is the best types of HIIT workouts
I am a slim toned female but my calves are just so big, bigger than my thighs!!!
my diet is good and I am fit doing strength training and cardio
Is there any exercises or techniques to reduce my calf muscle size
Also what is the best types of HIIT workouts
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Replies
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I'm sorry but if you are aware that you cannot spot reduce, why are you asking how to spot reduce? There is no magic answer. To have your muscles atrophy, you would have to stop using them and well, that's just unrealistic.0
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sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I'm sorry but if you are aware that you cannot spot reduce, why are you asking how to spot reduce? There is no magic answer. To have your muscles atrophy, you would have to stop using them and well, that's just unrealistic.
I'm aware you cannot spot reduce, in the sense I mean is there something I'm doing wrong that is making my calves larger maybe......
Only asking lol I'm a beginner to this0 -
bronagh679 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I'm sorry but if you are aware that you cannot spot reduce, why are you asking how to spot reduce? There is no magic answer. To have your muscles atrophy, you would have to stop using them and well, that's just unrealistic.
I'm aware you cannot spot reduce, in the sense I mean is there something I'm doing wrong that is making my calves larger maybe......
Only asking lol I'm a beginner to this
Calf size is predominantly genetic. I mean, you can grow them by doing leg exercises and eating at a surplus, but a lot of the time, it's just genetics.0 -
I can't speak to the calves, although I think it'd be super interesting to see if they're really bigger than your thighs. I think the best HIIT workouts are Tabatas because the 20 second sets force you to do legit HIIT, going 100%. Obviously just my opinion, though.1
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Unfortunately your genetics are going to determine your calf size. Like you stated there's no way to spot reduce.
The only thing I could recommend to "reduce"the size of your calves is stop exerciseing them. it might make them smaller but then on the other hand you may not like the look of that either. Learn to embrace what you have.
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You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!0
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bronagh679 wrote: »Firstly I completely understand that you cannot spot reduce fat in a particular area on your body!
I am a slim toned female but my calves are just so big, bigger than my thighs!!!
my diet is good and I am fit doing strength training and cardio
Is there any exercises or techniques to reduce my calf muscle size
Also what is the best types of HIIT workouts
Do you walk or cycle?
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skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
What would you be trying to lengthen? That doesn't make sense.
If you got big calves, you got big calves. If there is a decent amount of fat to lose then they will slim a little as you lose but...yeah. My calves are huge too.0 -
skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
What would you be trying to lengthen? That doesn't make sense.
If you got big calves, you got big calves. If there is a decent amount of fat to lose then they will slim a little as you lose but...yeah. My calves are huge too.
I never understand that. If we could actually lengthen a muscle, it would just hang there all slack, right? The only way it wouldn't would be if your bones lengthened along with it.0 -
skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
What would you be trying to lengthen? That doesn't make sense.
If you got big calves, you got big calves. If there is a decent amount of fat to lose then they will slim a little as you lose but...yeah. My calves are huge too.
I never understand that. If we could actually lengthen a muscle, it would just hang there all slack, right? The only way it wouldn't would be if your bones lengthened along with it.
It is very dumb indeed. It's why pilates pisses me off. Aren't they always talking about "lengthening" things?0 -
skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
What would you be trying to lengthen? That doesn't make sense.
If you got big calves, you got big calves. If there is a decent amount of fat to lose then they will slim a little as you lose but...yeah. My calves are huge too.
I never understand that. If we could actually lengthen a muscle, it would just hang there all slack, right? The only way it wouldn't would be if your bones lengthened along with it.
It is very dumb indeed. It's why pilates pisses me off. Aren't they always talking about "lengthening" things?
Looong leeeannn muscles!1 -
You can't spot reduce. Those who lose weight often see a reduction in calf size, but you said you're not needing to lose. Learn to love your calves & build the muscle.0
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You CANNOT lengthen muscle. Muscle length is already set at birth, so there's nothing you can do to lengthen them unless you somehow increase the length of your bones in the process. And only a surgery can do that.skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
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
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Not much you can do except maybe not work out so the muscle atrophies! Not that I'm advocating that..but if you don't use it, you lose it. I have muscular calves too but nothing I can do about it. And maybe they're not as big as you think anyway.0
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OP, if you have big calves and don't have a lot of fat around them, they AREN'T going to get any smaller unless you stop using them and let them atrophy. That would entail, not walking, running, jumping, dancing, skipping, etc. Movement starts from the calves on up, so any activation at all will keep them from atrophying. And I'm betting you're not going to sit in a wheelchair for a year or so.
So your choice is to learn to love them or just hate them. But hating doesn't help IMO.
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 0 -
If they truly are bigger than your thighs and don't have much fat to shed, another option would be to build the muscles in your upper legs so that they are more proportionate with the rest of your leg.1
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skinnyinachubbybody wrote: »You can also try doing lengthening exercises to see if that helps!
What would you be trying to lengthen? That doesn't make sense.
If you got big calves, you got big calves. If there is a decent amount of fat to lose then they will slim a little as you lose but...yeah. My calves are huge too.
I never understand that. If we could actually lengthen a muscle, it would just hang there all slack, right? The only way it wouldn't would be if your bones lengthened along with it.
It is very dumb indeed. It's why pilates pisses me off. Aren't they always talking about "lengthening" things?
The same thing drives me nuts about yoga, because doing those exercise will somehow modify your attach points or muscle fat and beat out genetics.
OP, like others have stated, if there is fat on top, you can help eliminate that, but outside of that, genetics will win. But out of curiosity, how big are your calves?0 -
Learn to love your calves. Us gals that are cursed, ah..blessed
with large calves are simply living with genetics. I actually remember when I was in 10th grade, walking down the street looking at my legs, thinking, "Wow I have a lot of shape to my calves. I'm gonna have great legs when I am finished growing!". LOL. I've been a regular gym-goer for over 30 years, and stronger is better than weak. So calf-size be damned....I will keep on working them. 2 -
I have big calves too. And I'm very short so that just accentuates their size. Nothing I can do about big calves any more then being short. Accept yourself for who you are. There is no ideal body shape. Being healthy is more important.1
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