I have big calves.. I need some help!!

krystlpierce
krystlpierce Posts: 71 Member
edited October 4 in Fitness and Exercise
This is probably really stupid and I'm sorry.. but I have really big calves. Like, I naturally have big calves. It's not good. And the fact that I gained a super amount of poundage last year made it much worse. Well now I've lost some weight and I can tell that the fat has burned away some, but they're still big. I have a hard time wearing any type of shoe or boot that even tries to go that far up my leg. I was wondering if anyone knew of any exercises that can tone them down a bit? Lean them down? Make em' SMALLER!! lol I need help and I need to know what exercises to avoid so I don't bulk them up unintentially. Can someone please give me some advice? It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!
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Replies

  • Maria_Goose
    Maria_Goose Posts: 247
    Awww you poor thing! I know EXACTLY what you mean. I have really big calves too. :(
  • marylou1976
    marylou1976 Posts: 106 Member
    Sorry no advice but I have the very same problem so I sympathise with you, I'll keep an eye on the replies for tips!!!
  • InvictusPheonix
    InvictusPheonix Posts: 129 Member
    I'm convinced it's mostly genetics. I squat like a beast and have "thunder thighs" (in a good way) but awkwardly scrawny looking calves in comparison (embarassingly so) Even though I do calf raises all the time!
    Best suggestion? Run/walk uphill
  • kandyjo
    kandyjo Posts: 4,493 Member
    Own those thick legs!!!!! :laugh:
    they HAVE to shrink if you loose all the weight you want to lose... I can't imagine your legs staying big when everything else gets smaller... I'm sure they will keep shrinking....

    That said, me and my friends were having a conversation about women's body types the other day and I TOTALLY think that the thicker bottomed girls are attractive... I said that if I were a lesbian, that is what I would go for :laugh: I am totally straight, but still think that the thicker bottoms are more attractive... maybe it's just because I'm made that way.... I have thick thighs and junk in the trunk even when I am at my desired weight (which I AM NOT at the moment :sad: )
  • wendyannie1976
    wendyannie1976 Posts: 205 Member
    I have big calves too, they are 16 inch - size of some peoples thighs but they are solid muscle but whether i worked out or not they would still be big, i have to shop around and get boots that nearly go up when new and stretch them until they go round, means have to have a tight fit all up the calf otherwise they look odd.

    i can only sympathise as no matter my weight have been almost 2 stone underweight too and they still didn't shrink much, we are all given a body shape we have to learn to love and work with x
  • ShelleyD81
    ShelleyD81 Posts: 237 Member
    I have that problem too, I can't get boots to fit me either!
    That's one of my goals, if you find the secret to slim legs please let me know :)
  • LisaWeir74
    LisaWeir74 Posts: 88 Member
    Some companies make boots for people with wider calves-I bought a pair from Eddie Bauer .

    I have big calves no matter how much I weigh. They have always been big. I think it is genetic.
  • ahsongbird
    ahsongbird Posts: 712 Member
    I doubt it, at my lowest weight 117 lbs I wasn't able to fit my calves into knee high boots :/
  • MummyOfSeven
    MummyOfSeven Posts: 314 Member
    I have the same problem. I have a beautiful (seriously, they're gorgeous!) pair of boots that I've not been able to wear since I gained weight :grumble:
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
    I've got big calves, too. They have shrunk a bit since I lost weight, but the boots I had (that were tight), now just comfortably go over them, lol.
    I just went to DSW and spent about an hour trying on every pair of boots until I found one (well two, but the other pair cost too much!) that fit and looked cute. If you go to their website, there is an icon that alerts you to the extended calf sizes.

    Unfortunately I don't think there is much we can do about it. Just avoid calf raises like the plague, lol.
  • geri1955
    geri1955 Posts: 106
    WALK walk and walk some more!!! keep ur heels down and avoid walking on the ball of ur foot...run or walk to slim ur calves! Dont do hills or any strength training on the legs -like no inclines or resistance training!! just flat ground walking or running!
    avoid the step machine and other types of climbers!! low resistance is what u wanna do!! hope this helped a bit!!!:flowerforyou:
  • geri1955
    geri1955 Posts: 106
    WALK walk and walk some more!!! keep ur heels down and avoid walking on the ball of ur foot...run or walk to slim ur calves! Dont do hills or any strength training on the legs -like no inclines or resistance training!! just flat ground walking or running!
    avoid the step machine and other types of climbers!! low resistance is what u wanna do!! hope this helped a bit!!!:flowerforyou:
  • LBlake12
    LBlake12 Posts: 16
    Only thing I've ever found on the subject (with a lot of looking, because even when I'm very thin, most boots won't fit) was things to make calves bigger: stair climbing, calf raises... that sort of thing. I look at athletes' body types, and it seems like distance runners have the skinniest calves, though. Smaller muscles, in general. So I figure there's something to that.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    I've been using the stepper/crossramp machine at my gym a lot. I set it on the lower settings for step-distance (the Precor one at my gym shows that level to be working ALL the major leg muscles). Between that and the weight I've lost, I have lost inches in my calves, and can tuck skinny jeans into boots that used to be hard to zip up without anything tucked into them.

    Good luck!
  • krystlpierce
    krystlpierce Posts: 71 Member
    I have big calves too, they are 16 inch - size of some peoples thighs but they are solid muscle but whether i worked out or not they would still be big, i have to shop around and get boots that nearly go up when new and stretch them until they go round, means have to have a tight fit all up the calf otherwise they look odd.

    i can only sympathise as no matter my weight have been almost 2 stone underweight too and they still didn't shrink much, we are all given a body shape we have to learn to love and work with x

    I was reading your post and my co-worker says "16 inches!! wow!! Really?" So i pull out a tape measure... mine are 16 inches as well!! lol she's like holy cow! I've been accepting and living with my darn calves for a long time. I'll just have to keep on keepin on I guess :)
    Thanks for your input!
  • ahsongbird
    ahsongbird Posts: 712 Member
    I have big calves too, they are 16 inch - size of some peoples thighs but they are solid muscle but whether i worked out or not they would still be big, i have to shop around and get boots that nearly go up when new and stretch them until they go round, means have to have a tight fit all up the calf otherwise they look odd.

    i can only sympathise as no matter my weight have been almost 2 stone underweight too and they still didn't shrink much, we are all given a body shape we have to learn to love and work with x

    I was reading your post and my co-worker says "16 inches!! wow!! Really?" So i pull out a tape measure... mine are 16 inches as well!! lol she's like holy cow! I've been accepting and living with my darn calves for a long time. I'll just have to keep on keepin on I guess :)
    Thanks for your input!
    mine r 15.5 inches ... smh. lol
  • AnexRavensong
    AnexRavensong Posts: 262 Member
    Mine are 16.33 inches.. I hate it. I LOVE knee high boots etc! When I was in high school I intentionally asked to be relocated to another area of my job which had me going up and down stadium stairs over and over to AVOID the big calves. Now, I have been living on the 4th floor of a building with a steep winding staircase and no elevator. It's gotten worse :( I can't find boots anywhere! D:

    I found this thread hoping, but somehow I KNEW it wouldn't be possible to slim them down more than what I'm doing to lose fat and inches and my calves generally stay about the same -_-
  • swaistle
    swaistle Posts: 119 Member
    I have big calves too, back in college times I joined a gym and asked a trainer for some advice and they said it's mostly genetics :/ I really wanna wear boots too and it's a shame :( I don't wanna fork out more money for the "wider" fit ones :(
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    If you have big calves, you're pretty much stuck with them. You can't change genetics. The only way to "atrophy" them is not to use them at all. And once you get up on your legs, you're using them.
    So either accept them, or hate them, but either way you're still going to have them. IMO, if you got them, make then as pretty as you can.

    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
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    CELEBRATE THEM! I get compliments all the time on my large muscular calves (see my profile pic). People are jealous of how they look. I feel blessed with them now!
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I have 16 inches calves and I am only 4'11" tall.....so yea, I still have fat on them but my body refuse to let go of that fat. I've learned to accept them the way they are and when I find boots that fit, it is like angels singing
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Keep losing body fat and they will get smaller.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    WALK walk and walk some more!!! keep ur heels down and avoid walking on the ball of ur foot...run or walk to slim ur calves! Dont do hills or any strength training on the legs -like no inclines or resistance training!! just flat ground walking or running!
    avoid the step machine and other types of climbers!! low resistance is what u wanna do!! hope this helped a bit!!!:flowerforyou:

    Really? I have big calves, lost 66lbs after my 2nd baby and fit into knee high boots! I did strength training, and I love the stepper!

    I had my third baby 5 months ago and those boots don't do up now :sad: but I'm sure when I lose the weight they will do. I think your calves are the last place you lose weight from, but it does happen eventually.
  • MrsJuli4B
    MrsJuli4B Posts: 27 Member
    I have big calves and they have not changed in size since I lost weight (one 16" and the other 16.5",. I would love to wear high boots but it's not an option. My weight loss has been from the top down, so I live in hope that one day the will shrink a little.

    The big positive I have seen is that now that they are toned they look better on me, more in proportion to the rest of my body.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I have big calves too, as I lost they went down a little (the fat on them) but they are still relatively large due to muscle. But I have learned to embrace them, they give me power... they allow me to jump higher, run faster... I don't want to lose that
  • jsokolow3
    jsokolow3 Posts: 16 Member
    Yanicka1, I'm also short and in addition to the wide calf problem, I've held off on buying boots because I'm afraid they'll go higher than my knees. But I love the look of knee high boots and had been thinking of rewarding myself with some when I reach goal weight. I'm hoping my calves will get a least a little smaller when I lose the weight, but I'm sure they won't get any longer. ;-) Can you share a brand or brands that have worked for you?

    Thanks!

    Jennifer
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    This is probably really stupid and I'm sorry.. but I have really big calves. Like, I naturally have big calves. It's not good. And the fact that I gained a super amount of poundage last year made it much worse. Well now I've lost some weight and I can tell that the fat has burned away some, but they're still big. I have a hard time wearing any type of shoe or boot that even tries to go that far up my leg. I was wondering if anyone knew of any exercises that can tone them down a bit? Lean them down? Make em' SMALLER!! lol I need help and I need to know what exercises to avoid so I don't bulk them up unintentially. Can someone please give me some advice? It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!

    Lose more fat.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    A lot of companies make wide calf boots:

    http://www.zappos.com/women-boots~P#!/women-boots/CK_XARCz1wE6AogOwAEB0AEB4gIFARoYAgc.zso?s=isNew/desc/goLiveDate/desc/
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
    I'm another with 16" calves - I do have some boots that barely zip over them, but it's rough. I imagine they'll stretch some if I wear them enough, but damn it's annoying. I believe they'll get a little smaller with some more weight loss, but I have my doubts that they'll ever be 'normal' - genetics *smh* :huh:
  • fraghag
    fraghag Posts: 2
    I have big calves as well. 15.5 and 15.75" (left side is the larger one). They are solid tissue, not soft. I also have underdeveloped glutes. I mean, the glutes are plenty large, but very little of it is muscle. I think I have used my calves to compensate for weak glutes. For example, when I climb stairs I notice that all the spring of my step comes from my calves and not the glutes. Since noticing that I have made more of an effort to work on glutes but it isn't exactly a fast process. I'm hoping that over time my glutes will become stronger and I will use my calves less.
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