Jumping jacks question

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mehreen_xo
mehreen_xo Posts: 78 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys so I'm onto my last 15lbs of weight loss and I maintain a deficit everyday and workout and all is working fine. I was wondering though, do jumping jacks cause an increase in the size of calf muscles? My calves are a problem area for me in that I store a lot of fat on them . I've lost 50lbs and they've reduced greatly in size but I still want to reduce them further. I want to implement jumping jacks but I don't want my calf muscles to get any bigger as then they'll look huge! Thank you!!!! :)

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Jumping jacks will not increase the fat stores in your calves.
  • mehreen_xo
    mehreen_xo Posts: 78 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Jumping jacks will not increase the fat stores in your calves.

    Yeah ofc because it's cardio but I mean will it work out my calf muscles enough to make them bulky.. I don't want muscly calves as well as having fat on them.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Um no. It's cardio
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    mehreen_xo wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Jumping jacks will not increase the fat stores in your calves.

    Yeah ofc because it's cardio but I mean will it work out my calf muscles enough to make them bulky.. I don't want muscly calves as well as having fat on them.

    If you're eating in a deficit your calves are not going to get bigger.
  • klrenn
    klrenn Posts: 245 Member
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    As long as you're still losing weight your calves will still continue to slim down. You may see them looking more defined as the underlying muscle is revealed, but they won't get any bigger. Working the muscle with jumping jacks will just mean that once you lose the fat, then your calves will be shapely.

    The shape of calf muscles is genetic - I have very small calves and though I loved the shape of them when I was running, when I was actively trying to build muscle through weightlifting and extra calories, they stayed small (but still defined and muscular)

  • archishaganguly23
    archishaganguly23 Posts: 6 Member
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    Okay listen, I lost 20 kgs and I didn't exclude jumping Jacks or calf raises and my legs have become toned , less flabby and slimmer. I guess it's a win -win situation here. Simultaneously losing weight and doing jumping Jacks won't make your calves bulky.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    There is this belief in weight lifting circles that it is really difficult to build the calves. And, that comes from people who are actively trying to build their calves.
  • broseidonkingofbrocean
    broseidonkingofbrocean Posts: 180 Member
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    GiddyupTim wrote: »
    There is this belief in weight lifting circles that it is really difficult to build the calves. And, that comes from people who are actively trying to build their calves.

    The calves are mostly slow twitch muscle fibers so the protential for growth is limited. They are built for endurance not strength. It's a fact that they are difficult to build. The main thing with calves is genetics and either you have large calves or you don't. If you don't you are going to be working your butt off to add even a small amount of muscle to them.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    mehreen_xo wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Jumping jacks will not increase the fat stores in your calves.

    Yeah ofc because it's cardio

    It's not as simple as many would have you believe.

    All activities have both a resistance and cardiovascular effect. For what your talking about there is a muscular effect in both lifting yourself off the ground and landing. There is also an effect on bone structure in landing. Both of those are minor in isolation.
    but I mean will it work out my calf muscles enough to make them bulky.. I don't want muscly calves as well as having fat on them.

    You won't bulk the muscle, but plyometric activity should help you as you lose weight, and you should reduce the fast.

    Essentially as you're in deficit your body doesn't have fuel to bulk the muscle. Anything being expended is just repairing. That's the materiality to the question.

    To illustrate the "cardio doesn't build muscle" question. I'm a marathon runner. When I increased my mileage to run the number of races I run in a year I gained about an inch in circumference in my lower leg and just less than two in my thigh, just from running.

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