More and more often you can see girls rushing to the gym in the hope of not only getting their body in order, but also to correct certain parts of the body. Large calves are a common problem among women.
The calf muscles are the most powerful group of muscles that are constantly at work in our daily activities. Every time we walk or run, these guys are working to keep us upright and balanced. In this article we will figure out why our calves are imperfect, and also look at simple and at the same time very effective exercises that will help you get toned and slender legs. Let's get started!
Causes and solutions for full calves
The calf muscle can be of two types:
1. Thick calves. Full calves in girls are the result of several reasons:
- hereditary factor. If it just so happens that everyone in your family line is the owner of strong, fleshy calves, then you are most likely no exception! It is very difficult to bring such calves into the desired state; it requires a lot of time and effort. But if you set out to eliminate the problem, then the first and main solution is a set of exercises designed for the problem area.
- fat deposition. The peculiarity of fat accumulation in a certain part of the body depends not only on genetic predisposition. If the fat content in your body exceeds 25% - 30%, then this is another reason for the fullness of the calves; fat begins to be deposited there too. According to recent scientific research, psychological factors and the presence of diseases also affect the distribution of fat.
Those with thick calves should be patient and step by step perform all the fitness exercises that stimulate blood circulation in this area. This helps displace the hated fat.
2. Pumped calves. Girls with pumped-up calf muscles are professional athletes who daily load their calf muscles with strength training and short-distance running.
To solve the problem in this case, you should try to avoid any stress on the calf muscle. Give preference to cross-country instead of sprint. Any elevation during training, long walking, step aerobics, intense cardio training are the enemies of your goal.
Why do my calves get bigger? Why did my calf size increase?
Category: Interesting articles
Women express dissatisfaction with their legs quite often. Often, leg owners want to correct their fullness in the calf area. There may be more than one reason for this desire. And it is necessary to correct your legs, or rather the calf muscles, depending on the reason.
Legs get bigger in the evening
This is an indicator of swelling. This problem may be caused by certain diseases, for which you need to consult a doctor.
To reduce the appearance of swelling, it is necessary to limit the consumption of spicy and salty foods. In addition, you can advise sleeping and resting during the day, sometimes with your legs up.
It is quite easy to notice if you are suffering from this disease. By the evening you will not be able to fit into the shoes that you could fit into freely in the morning. Another sign is the presence of burgundy stripes from the elastic bands of the socks. Also a reliable sign will be the appearance of increased fatigue in the calves and feet.
Overweight
This disorder is most often not associated with diseases. In order to get rid of this rather problematic disease, you just need to lose weight in any way. Physical exercises that help cope with this disease include step aerobics, running, and swimming.
Over pumped
This can be caused by excessive physical activity and enlarged muscles. This is the most difficult case to correct. In addition to limiting physical activity on your calves, you will also have to take care of your diet. In this case, the diet should be vegetable and fruit, since proteins must be excluded. In addition, there are special exercises that can reduce muscle thickness. They are aimed at stretching these muscles.
Recommendations
To regain the early strength and endurance in your legs, you can use special exercises that are designed to stretch a specific muscle group. This is a rise on your toes, first on both legs, then on each leg alternately. The next exercise will be a similar rise on the toes, but the toes should be directed inward, the so-called clubbed feet.
You can also stand on a slight elevation and pull your heels down, thereby stretching your calf muscles. Thus, after more than six months of constant, unrelenting training, you will be able to defeat your body and restore it to its former strength.
Stretching is the first solution to the problem
Stretching is the first answer to the question: “How to remove calves?” Remember what people who do gymnastics or yoga look like. Slender figures with chiseled legs - all this thanks to daily muscle stretching exercises.
Before you begin stretching exercises, your muscles need to be warmed up, otherwise you could get seriously injured . If you are working out at home, then to warm up you can do a light run in place or jump rope for a few minutes. If you train in the gym, then stretching is also performed after warming up the muscles, and after training it is advisable to also do a short cool-down or self-massage to relieve muscle tension.
Bends to the shin
Place your feet shoulder-width apart and slowly lower your body. Grasp the tips of your toes with both hands and bring your head as far as you can toward your shin. Hold this position for 15 seconds. Perform 5 approaches. This exercise targets the back of the thigh and calves.
Pressing the body to the leg
Get on your knees, stretch your left leg forward, pull your foot towards you. Press your body against your extended leg as far as your muscle stretch allows. Extend your arms parallel. Hold the position for up to 15 seconds. Do the same exercise with your right leg. Perform up to 5 approaches. The hamstrings and outer calves are worked.
The One and Only Mike Matarazzo
This athlete is called the Boston Machine. Bodybuilding fans remember him for his huge hands, unrealistic calves of an original shape and the habit of sticking out his tongue during filming.
Mike never denied that he got his calves, one might say, by inheritance. While training, the athlete performed a large number of exercises, changing the number of repetitions from time to time. He could replace one exercise with another, and also set aside a special day for calf training.
Mike believed that there was an important difference in training calves from training other muscle groups: the amount of training stress, not the working weight. The calves should burn, and this state is achievable only with a large number of repetitions with a mandatory delay at the peak of compression and stretching between approaches.
In 2014, Mike died of a heart attack before undergoing another heart operation.
A set of exercises at home
Not only aerobic exercise and stretching, but also various exercises for the problem muscle group will help make your calves thin.
There are many exercises for losing weight from the calves, let's look at the most common ones that can be performed both at home and on the street.
Jumping rope
Jumping rope is the easiest type of exercise to perform that involves the calf muscles. When jumping, keep your back straight, use only your hands, and land on your toes. Jump rope starting at 5 minutes, progressing to a 30-minute workout.
Jump rope, landing on your toes, not your entire foot! This way, you soften the impact force upon contact with the floor. Jumping rope has contraindications, consult your doctor before starting exercise.
Alternating rise on toes
Place your feet wider than your shoulders, bend your knees, and point your toes out. Rise onto your toes alternately, first with your right foot, then with your left. Repeat up to 20 approaches. Internal calf muscles are involved.
Pistol
Stand straight, bend your left leg at the knee, use your hands to help maintain balance. Rise up onto the toe of your right foot and lower onto your foot. Repeat until your muscles are tired at a fast pace. Repeat up to 20 approaches. Do the same exercise with your left leg. The lower leg muscle group works.
Calf raise #1
Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your waist, feet apart. Rise onto your toes and lower onto your feet at maximum speed until your muscles fatigue. Perform up to 20 repetitions. This exercise works the inner side of the shin.
Calf raise #2
The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise, but turn your feet inward. Rise onto your toes and lower onto your feet at a fast pace until your muscles fail. Perform up to 20 repetitions. This exercise works the outer calves.
In addition to the above exercises, step aerobics is a good element for losing weight not only in the lower leg, but also in the entire body.
The video shows the basic elements of step, which can easily be performed at home:
Why do the calves get bigger? Causes of full calves and options for making your calves thinner.
The first reason is swelling of the legs and ways to eliminate the problem.
Whether there is swelling of the legs is quite easy to find out. You just need to see if in the evening there are traces of the elastic bands of the socks on your ankles. You can also simply press your finger on the foot in the dry bone area. If pressure leaves a hole that gradually disappears, swelling is present. And healthy, swelling-free tissues are elastic, they immediately restore their shape
. Another sign of swelling is that in the evening it can be difficult to put on those shoes that you put on without difficulty in the morning, and you also feel tired in the calves and feet.
Swelling can be managed with a diet that excludes salty and fatty foods, as well as using diuretics. A simple piece of advice can also make you feel better: when going to bed in the evening, place a small pillow under your feet. And during the day, if possible, lie down on the sofa, throwing your legs up on a wall or elevated surface. Attention! Only if your swelling does not go away, be sure to visit a doctor, as this may be a sign of a serious illness. When the swelling goes down, you can give beautiful relief to your calves with the help of physical exercises, step - aerobics and running.
The second reason is excess weight and correction of calves at the same time.
Only if the volume of your calves is increased due to excess weight, you need to go on a diet, start eating right and include in your complex of physical exercises those that are designed specifically to work on this area. So, how to make your calves smaller? For example, you can go swimming, jogging, or do simple exercises for your calves: walk up the stairs, stand on your toes, using a step platform or other elevation (box, threshold, etc.), jump rope, walk more or bounce On the socks.
Reason three: pumped calves and how to fix the problem.
The most severe case is if the calves are large in volume due to the fact that they are pumped up due to overly intense sports activities. There are unlikely to be effective methods that can bring results quickly. How to reduce calves in this case? Here we can recommend reducing the overall load on your legs and limiting your intake of protein foods. In addition, you will have to exclude sweets and fatty foods in order not to gain weight, therefore, you will have to eat only vegetables and fruits. You can periodically stretch your calf muscles. To do this, you need to sit down, raise your legs straight, first pull your foot towards you, then away from you. This way you can slightly change the shape of your calves, making them more elongated and visually reducing their volume.
Recommendations and exercises from fitness trainers to reduce calves.
Exercise 1. raising on your toes.
N.p. - you need to stand up straight, and put your legs hip-width apart, and your feet parallel. First inhale, and as you exhale rise up onto your toes. Repeat 25 times.
Exercise 2. Raising on your toes on one leg.
N. p. - stand up straight again, transfer your entire body weight to your right leg, while lifting your left leg off the floor, bending it at the knee. First, inhale, and as you exhale, rise onto your toes. Repeat for each leg 15 times.
Exercise 3. rise on toes with toes inward (with “clubfooted” feet).
N.p. - again stand up straight, place your feet at the width of your pelvis, point your toes inward. First, inhale, and as you exhale, rise up onto your toes. Repeat 25 times.
Repeat the entire sequence of these exercises twice.
To reduce your calves by two to three centimeters, the duration of training is at least six months.
Some more exercises for those who are wondering: “how to reduce calves? Exercise 1. Sit on a small mat on your knees, keep your back straight and your arms straight in front of you. In this position, sit on the floor alternately on the left and right sides of the thighs, do it while you have the strength.
Exercise 2: A good exercise for your calves is to stand on a small hill so that your heels hang down. Raise on your toes and lower on your heels at this height.
Exercise 3: calf stretch. Take a step forward with one leg, while placing your palms on your buttocks. Slowly bend your front leg at the knee and gradually squat forward and down, deeper and deeper, while stretching the calf muscle of the back leg and the back of the thigh. If you want to increase the stretch, you can move your front leg a little further, just don't put your hands on it.
In this exercise, the main weight should always fall on the back leg.
Performing these exercises will not be difficult, but at the same time the calf muscles dry out, and the shape of the legs changes and begins to look very feminine. Fitness@Funny. Health Funny Health * health? Be healthy!
Exercises for the gym
Leg press
This exercise uses a leg press machine. Place your feet in the machine so that only your toes are on the platform. To avoid injuring your knees, keep them slightly bent. The body and legs form a right angle.
We press the platform with our toes, the heels rise slightly. Use the platform only, no weight. Perform the exercise at high speed until the muscles fail, this will burn fat and dry out existing muscles.
The feet can be placed straight, turned inward or away from you, this changes the area of load on the calf muscles.
Calf raises with dumbbells
Take dumbbells of minimal weight, stand on any step 5-7 cm high with your toes, heels on the floor. Rise onto your toes and lower onto your heels at maximum speed, as in the previous exercise.
Below is a video with a more complete set of calf exercises suitable for the gym:
Each person has his own genetics and his own level of physical fitness, so everyone needs an individual approach to finding a set of exercises for losing weight in calves. Don't expect results in a very short time, especially in a week!
The average indicators are such that by doing stretching and the presented exercises 2-3 times a week, you can achieve the first successes after 3-4 months!
How to quickly pump up your calves
How often should you perform targeted exercises, and in general, how quickly can you build up your calves? It is a misconception to believe that these muscles need to be trained every day. Undoubtedly, this approach will lead to overtraining and interfere with muscle growth. At the same time, we should not forget about them, downloading them last. A couple of approaches once a week is clearly not enough.
It's best to work your calves once or twice a week at the beginning of your workout. Perform three calf exercises, two of them are straight-legged calf raises, and one of them is bent-legged. Each exercise in three approaches. Use low and high reps ranging from 10 to 25 until complete muscle failure. This type of training is the most effective! If you stick to just one rep range, you won't achieve your full muscle growth potential.
Sports nutrition will help speed up the process of gaining muscle mass - protein, creatine, gainer, arginine, BCAA, amino acids. These supplements are specially designed for athletes and fitness-active people of different fitness levels. Such drugs are completely safe, and their effectiveness has already been proven.
Exercises for losing weight over pumped calves
Any girl wants to have a toned, beautiful figure, and very often it turns out that along with “pumping up” the necessary area, other, unwanted parts of the body also gain growth. For girls with large muscle volume in the calf muscle, intense strength training aimed primarily at the legs should be avoided.
Any elevation in the training complex, step aerobics and even wearing shoes with heels can lead to even greater enlargement of the lower leg. Avoid protein foods as much as possible, since protein is the main building element of muscle.
In addition to the stretching exercises above, there are several exercises that can help reduce over-stressed calf muscles.
Run
The most effective way is jogging on a flat surface over long distances. With this type of running, the so-called slow muscle fibers, which have a low contraction frequency, work. They have weak growth under prolonged loads.
When running, lower your leg onto your entire foot, do not run on your toes! So, you can damage the ligaments and tendons of the foot.
Elliptical trainer
This is an effective cardio machine that simulates running. Program the machine for minimum resistance and maximum execution time. Exercises on the elliptical for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week will bring the desired result.
Swimming
This is a great workout for all muscle groups. Regular swimming will not only keep you in shape, but will also improve blood circulation in all parts of the body and help you lose weight in the right areas.
Exercise bike
An important element in your training is exercise on exercise bikes and cycling. Choose to ride on a flat surface, without weights. A light bike ride will not only lift your mood and improve your well-being, but will also help you acquire slender legs.
Help and advice from experts
K. Ilkevich, fitness expert, personal bodybuilding trainer
The calf muscles are the most difficult to develop for 2 reasons: improper selection of training exercises and a passive lifestyle.
The best option for working your calves would be 1-2 sessions per week before your main workout. Use an average of 3 calf ligaments in 3 sets. He often advises combining different execution speeds until muscle failure. This workout will allow you to achieve maximum muscle growth without feeling overtrained.
V. Berlichev, professional bodybuilder, personal trainer
A large number of athletes pay very little attention to the development of the calf muscles. Therefore, quite often, even among athletes, we can observe disproportionate figures: the torso and arms look quite powerful, but the legs seem too thin and thin. The biggest mistake is the habit of leaving pumping your calves until the end of the workout - at this time the body will get tired, and you simply will not be able to work out your shins efficiently and slowly. For this reason, I always recommend loading your calves early in your workout.
L. Ulyanicheva, sports expert, professional fitness trainer
Girls should not be afraid to pay attention to the soleus muscles. With regular exercise, your legs will not become pumped up, but will look toned. One of the simplest exercises can be called seated leg raises. Use additional weight, doing at least 15 repetitions. Calves recover quite quickly, so reasonable weights will benefit them.
General Tips
The most important rule in the problem of getting rid of large calves is compliance with all stages of the program:
- Start your workout by warming up your muscles;
- Move on to stretching and then a small set of exercises;
- Finish your workout with self-massage of the calf muscle.
In addition to a set of exercises and exceptions during professional training, an important rule for reducing the size of the calf muscles is a balanced diet , add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, and give up fatty and starchy foods. Diet combined with exercise is a surefire way to make your calves thinner.
Whatever calves you have - thick or thin, remember that every girl is unique in her own way and that part of the body that you consider problematic may actually be your advantage!
Full calves, what to wear. How to dress if you have fat legs
Often, girls with full legs are embarrassed by their appearance and begin to hide it behind bulky clothes, trying to appear more inconspicuous. However, this is not a reason to refuse stylish things that will help turn the lack of a figure into its advantage.
Instructions
1
Full legs and wide hips need to be balanced with a slimmer upper body by choosing clothes and shoes to make your figure look proportionate. To draw attention away from your legs, choose blouses and tops in light colors, and skirts and trousers in dark colors. Jackets should not end at mid-thigh, but rather at the narrower top. Tunics, tops and dresses may also be present in your wardrobe. Just choose not baggy models that will visually add extra pounds, but those that match your size. Be sure to accentuate your waist with wide belts, belts or corsets, but do not tighten them too much.
2
The choice of skirt should be given special attention. The ideal option is a model with a good cut and a straight silhouette, five centimeters below the knees. They will visually make your figure slimmer and your legs beautiful. Styles such as “octagonal” or “trapeze” will also look great. But leave the tapered ones in the store for other fashionistas, because such skirts will not only not decorate you, but will also add volume to your figure. Tights should be dark and thin, as tight knitting will only emphasize the fullness of the legs.
3
Women with full legs can and should wear trousers. A good choice would be straight or dark-colored styles that flare out at the bottom. Don't go past classic blue jeans that you can pair with tunics. The edges of the legs should end approximately in the middle of the heel, which will also make the legs look sleeker.
4
When choosing shoes, medium or high-heeled shoes will help you elongate your figure and give slender legs. Avoid shelves with flat or square toes. Mid-calf boots are also not for you.
Helpful advice
Beautiful large beads, a scarf gracefully tied around your neck, and the right makeup will not only emphasize your beauty and charm, but will also distract attention from your lower body.
