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How to Get Smaller, Slimmer, Leaner CALVES - Success!


mariS

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I know Soompi has a lot of threads regarding this topic, but I've finally found an answer that really works! Hence, I started this thread to share it. 

I've always been really self conscious about my bulky, muscular calves - they were bigger than my dad's O__O I scoured the internet for 2 years looking for ways to reduce their bulkiness and size, I tried losing weight, exercising, stretching, massaging and slimming/compression socks but nothing REALLY produced permanent results. 

soompicalves.jpg
                                   37 cm                                                            35 cm (and still shrinking!)
My calves were slightly bigger than the actual before picture shows. Now onto the 'magical calf slimming method' with which results can be seen in just a week (at least in my case)
*Note: I've lost 7kg between the before and after pictures, however my calves were still the same size until I tried this method (don't have a before method pic sorry :| )

ENDURANCE CARDIO TRAINING (no secret here!)
Yes, exercise can build muscle, but not all exercises! I can imagine your faces cringing if you hate endurance exercise, but if you really want slimmer calves, you have to work for it. 
Endurance training uses different muscle fibres to high intensity power training, in fact, it shrinks muscle fibres. This is why sprinters have bigger muscles than marathon runners. Cardio endurance burns off FAT and makes the MUSCLES LEANER! So it doesn't matter if your calves are mostly fat or muscle :)

  • Jog at a moderate pace for as long as you can (at least 20 min) WITHOUT STOPPING at least 4 times a week (the more consistent you are, the faster you'll see results). It should be fast enough to get you panting and sweating after 10 min. IMPORTANT TIP: Don't let your knee bend over your ankle too much or it will put stress on your calves and make them bigger! Keep this in mind even when you're usually walking too. I used to take massive steps and walk really quickly. Me: I run on the treadmill at least 7.5km/hr for 25 - 30 min (some days 40 min) at least 5 days a week and I saw a difference in 7 days. 

    I'm not a fit person, I couldn't run even 1km without stopping before, and now I can run more than 3 times the distance and faster too. When it comes to endurance your MIND is more important than your BODY - you are stronger than you think! If you're not dead, you're not allowed to give up! If you still have limbs, you have to keep on running! PUSH yourself!! 
calvescomparison.jpg
                      MARATHON RUNNER                                                       SPRINTER 
PILATES (Blogilates)
I've been following Cassey's pilates videos on her Youtube channel Blogilates for a few months and it's really helped tone up and make my muscles leaner. I no longer have the 'bulge' you get at the back of your thighs when you stand and tense. Plus, it helps burn extra calories! :)

These are the two things that really did the trick, but that's not all! I have extra tips in my blog post: 
http://themarihypothesis.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/how-to-get-smaller-leaner-calves.html
I'm a new blogger so feel free to subscribe/follow me! :D 

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Just found this recently from Hanie's blog - http://myau-club.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/kibou-chans-2-months-diet-2.html
I have low blood pressure, so my legs tend to swell a bit and become tense and rigid if I sit for too long eg. 3 hr uni lectures, studying ect. I found these tips really useful so even if you're sitting down in class, on the bus, on the couch or at your study desk, you can do these massage techniques too! 

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Your post just gave me an extra boost of motivation :) You said you followed Blogilates for 2 months now and I was wondering which type of videos have you tried from her? A few days ago, I tried a couple of of them (Glad you cam challenge & drive by inner thigh challenge). Oh boy, it was the most I ever worked out in quite a while. For the next upcoming days, I had a hard time walking properly because my calves were sore. I was planning to wait it out until they felt okay and then continue her videos. I was hoping you could give me some advice? Is it okay to go ahead with my plan? How did you cope with Blogilates' workouts?

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@Girl41831  I do her cardio workouts! Especially the ones involving lots of squats and lunges which is really good for toning the calves and thighs eg. Fat Burning Cardio Warmup (my favourite), Pop Cardio: Summer Sweatfest, One More Night Cardio Challenge ect. I would try to avoid the exercises involving going on tip toes, jumping and high intensity running because those tend to make muscles bigger. Also, even if your muscles are sore, I think it's better to do the exercises consistently to see results and your muscles can adapt better to fatigue :)

While pilates helps shape up your muscles, only endurance training will decrease their size :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

May I ask if there's a visual or video demonstration to get an idea of what you mention here?:

"IMPORTANT TIP: Don't let your knee bend over your ankle too much or it will put stress on your calves and make them bigger!"

Also, may I ask if this works for arms, as well?

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@imtoghai If you look at the comparison picture between the marathon runner and sprinter above, you'll notice the sprinter bends her knees slightly more than the marathon runner. Higher speed = greater impact which is why the knees need to bend more to absorb it, hence more stress on calves. So basically, whilst running, keep your back straight and don't take big steps :) 

Technically, endurance training should reduce muscle all over the body, including arms. However, jogging focuses more on leg muscles than arms so the reduction won't be as much. 

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Elliptical Machine - new exercise added to routine This really only slims your calves if you do it at a moderate-high resistance (at least 3). I started on resistance 1 for a week, but didn't really see a difference until I used the machine at resistance 3 - 4, and I'm gradually working my way up (not too high!) for 30 minutes straight after jogging, or if you're too tired to jog, just use this machine. Power should be at least 70, speed at least 100.  

I noticed my friends and people at the gym who regularly use this machine have lean, nicely shaped calves and once I tried it for a week at resistance 3-4, I definitely noticed a difference. I'm on my third week now at resistance 4. Use consistently to see results. 

smooth-fitness-trainer.jpg

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Guest flipz

Good stuff, but I think you are forgetting the eating portion of the routine(which I find the most important imo). Also, since you are getting used to your exercises(similar routines), your body is getting used to it and exerting less energy to burn off fat. I would resort to HIIT to make your body work more if you are still looking to lose weight. 
While you are focusing on slimming your calves per se, in hindsight the actual goal is just losing the excess fat in the calf. Spot reduction doesn't exist, but losing overall weight is what makes your goal a success. The High Intensity Interval Training will increase your heart rate and metabolic rate to keep you going. Doing a routine over and over again will just make you plateau and you'll have to work out way longer. P.S.
Nothing wrong with running on tippy toes or the ball of your foot. Striking with your heels is a terrible idea, a good way to get shin splints and achilles tendonitis.
Also, the reason long distance runners are less muscular than sprinters is because long durations of running results in loss of BOTH fat AND eventually reaches the point where the body gets its energy by eating away the muscle. Secondly, sprinters do a lot more strength training(including lifting) as opposed to long distance runners because power improves speed. You can see in your photo that the sprinter has effectively worked on her upper body, her core, and to proportionate her body. 

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@flipz Thanks for adding more detail! Just to clarify, I didn't say these methods were for spot reducing, I just meant that calf reduction was just one of the many overall benefits. I did mention on my blog I lost 7kg, but I didn't specify that I lost it through diet (might talk about that in a later blog post). However, I didn't really notice a size in calf difference until I started endurance exercise. And dw I've been gradually building up the speed as my body is adapting so that I'm still 'panting and sweating after 10 min' as mentioned on my blog :)

For me it's most comfortable to run on the balls of my feet, not on the toes and not on the heels. I used to sprint and play tennis on my toes so my calves always felt tense. Sprinters tend to run on their toes, hence why, I suggested avoiding it, but everyone's body is different.

Also, just to add to your explanation, endurance traning uses slow oxidative muscle fibres and fast oxidative muscle fibres which can cause muscle fibre diameter decrease, whilst sprinting focuses on fast glycolytic muscle fibres which can cause muscle fibre diameter increase.

Thanks for your tips and feel free to add more! :D I will definitely try out HIIT. 

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Guest lilazn1004

oooh~ thanks!  a gf and i have been looking for topics like this hehe~  definitely going to have to try these tips! =D

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks, this thread has been really helpful! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been conscious of their calves before >__<;;My friends all have "proportional" calve sizes while mines feel like they're nearly the size of my thighs lol. I was always afraid of running because I worried that it'll just turn all the fat in my calves to bulky muscle x__xI will definitely give the endurance-training a try!
Also, blogilates doesn't seem to help me much. ): I do love her cardio workouts but when I followed her calender for beginners I found that my thighs didn't change much (if at all) and I only gained weight (probably from the toning workouts).
Another recent thing I have been trying is yoga! Personally, I heard a lot of success stories from people around me so I decided to give it a go. (: After a week of it I already started seeing slimmer calves! :D  Of course the hard part is staying motivated & committed ^^;;

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Guest Tofu_Cloud

But your legs just look straight now.... what are you gonna do about your thighs? If you have nice calves and nice thighs it would look sexy and proportionate.

Honey thighs will not only be sexy but will also make it look like your calfs are smaller too otherwise you will be left with straight gap thighs. 

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Here is a progress photo from week 6 :) This shows my thighs as well, which my shorts covered in the first photo. There isn't a huge difference, but my endurance and resistance to fatigue has improved a lot. I've also lost 1.5 kg. 
f943fb66-4e1d-4669-adde-db1a67274b41.jpg

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Guest midnigh-t

@Joyce what yoga workout do you do?@mariS all you did was jogging and training endurance and the machines? I have muscular calves too but I wanted to try HIIT since I wanna burn fats fast but scared of building up calves muscles instead :( 

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@midnigh-t yep pretty much, exercise is what affected my muscles. However, to effectively lose fat, I also follow a healthy diet since weight loss is 80% diet. I don't really think pilates helps make muscles smaller, just tones them :) HIIT and cardio however, helps burn fat. I haven't tried HIIT yet, but while it does burn fat quickly, I don't think it will decrease muscle mass, but it won't increase it by much either.  

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  • 1 month later...
Guest carrieanne

Hello All
I am new to this forum so not sure how to start a new post? lolI found a conversation on this website in regards to calf reduction surgery with Dr Park at the Oz clinic in Seoul, Korea and wanted to speak to anyone that knows of this clinic or has had the procedure done?I live in Australia and I am thinking about going to Korea early next year to have this procedure done :)
I would love to speak to mism who posted this:

  • I've been emailing the doctor, his English is perfect in writing so I'm assuming his not using like google translator as those things are pretty doooodge and its obvious you're using them loool

    I think I mentioned before that my boyfriend and I did tones of research. He found a lot papers (like proper medical papers, I'm not sure where he found them though) and things that doctors of this surgery have wrote. They talked about possible complications and they compared different methods of calf reduction and all these things and they only reason my boyfriend is ok with me doing it is because they have never had a single complication with this surgery to date. The recovery time takes forever though. I'm talking MONTHS to be able to walk as per normal. So if you have a job or something that requires you to be walking heaps then, yeh, probably something thats going to be a problem.

    But I will definitely let you guys know how I go!! And yes, I will definitely take before/after pictures ^_^
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