Training Calves

N

niclyf

Cathlete
Hoping you guys can give me some perspective on training calves.

Okay .. so everyone has some element of their bods that they're not crazy about .. mine has always been my calves. I've always viewed them as being bigger and disproportioned to the rest of my leg, giving me an 'unbalanced' look. For the record, I also completely believe it's an issue of being overly critical :) I'm wanting to focus more on weight training for the legs for various reasons (training for my first 5K!), and don't want to leave out training my calf muscles, but I fear bulking them up. I'm wondering if anyone knows what their calf measurement is? (at the widest point). I'm curious if my viewpoint is out of whack with where everyone else ranks? Mine, depending on the day and how much water retention I'm toting around, is usually right around 13", or 13 1/2" .. Is that overly large?

Thanks in advance!
Nicole :)
 
Hi, Nicole:

My calves are 15 3/4". I'm 5' 7". I've had people comment on them my whole life. Usually it's good, like: "what muscular legs you have." I once had a boyfriend who called me a cabbage kicker. My hubby loves them. I coach high school girls soccer, so buff legs are definitely "in" in that group. You'll need them for that race. If you train for endurance for your race, you shouldn't bulk up unless you're especially genetically prone to. Good luck.

--Ann
 
Hi Nicole,

I'm really critical with my calves too! I feel they are too big in proportion to my upper leg, however they are muscular so that's okay. I'm 5'8" tall, and my calves measure 14 - 14 1/2" at the most. I do calf raises (with no weights for fear of bulking them up more!)

Susan
 
Uh oh. Another thread that has me running for the tape measure. I think I will leave it by the computer for the next time I need to measure something. (We just did thighs a few days ago, so I guess we are moving downward now.)

Anyway, checking in with 13 inch calves. Five feet tall, 102 pounds.

Marlene
 
How lucky you are!!! I wish I had big calves. Mines are skinny in proportion to my upper legs. I have trained my calves to increase their size but it seems imposible!
 
Well, here we go....my calves have ALWAYS been big, and riding the one speed Schwinn bike on hills when I was 13 didn't help. This is one area that is VERY difficult to downsize, especially if your calves are big because of muscle. I have to be very careful about straight leg pants, needless to say. My ankles are big, too.

My right calf is 14-1/2" and my left is an inch bigger because I have a swelling problem left over from phlebitis when I was 22. I'd love to get my veins fixed to see if it would help.

I DO train my calves to help with the muscle definition. I figure if they're going to be big, I want them to be toned.
 
A body part I currently have the nerve to measure... I measured my left calf at 13.5". I am 5'2". I have also wondered if my calves were large. But I guess not--or not compared to others who do cardio.

I think that calves are typically a good measure of whether or not a person works out. When I am curious, I check out the calves.

According to Jeff Everson, calves are the only body part that will truly respond to cardio by growing. However, I bet some women here would argue that the upper legs will also get bigger. But lets remember that he is a man talking from a true body builder perspective.

Has anyone else ever noticed how developped the muscle on the front of the leg, on the shin, is? I believe this comes from a lot of stepping because I remember how sore they were when I first started.

Jeanne
 
Hi Ladies!
I've read that calves are tough to work because they don't respond as easily as other muscles in the body. Probably because they get alot of use anyway in everyday life. I just do heel raises with weights pointing the toes in, straight on, and out. That all I do. I take spin classes so they get work there too. I think the pulling up motion during a bike pedal stroke really works the front of the calves. I feel it for sure.
If you feel they are too large I wouldn't work them except for what they get when you do cardio or other exercises you normally do. Or you could try to proportionalize the rest of your legs "up" to where the calves currently are. I don't know.....just a few thoughts.
Despite Everson's comments --I have zero respect for that guy and his junk magazine-- I bet if you did enough longer distance cardio not involving a step, I bet you could streamline them out at least a little bit.
And let me say this...large or small, in the end the one thing that I feel makes sexy calves on a woman is that "cut" that you get from working them....the "cut" that stands out when you flex your foot forward. That's hot! :) And it doesn't matter if the muscle is large or small in that regard. IMHO!
Trevor :) :-jumpy
 
I always thought that I had big legs to.. thanks to my mom's side.Although my legs are not as big as my sisters or my mothers.
So it is nice to know that I am in the average range(if there is a such thing).
My calves are a 14 and a little bit more.I try not to work my legs out to much cause I am afraid of making my calves bigger and that is one thing I don;t want.My legs are sooo much bigger then my husbands though.
So,my thighs are 21.5....my knees are 13.5..... my calves are 14....my ankles are 8...my foot is a size 7... my big toe is 3...and my baby toe is....I can't find my baby toe....oh well...lol.
Hope every one has a great day..
Lori
 
Your post killed me Lori! My calves have always been flat. Ever since picking up step as my main form of cardio, they bulked up and stayed that way. I feel like I could almost skip the calf work in PS and S&H, but I still do it because I like my calves. They are close to 15". While I was in Yosemite, we had to climb a steep hill and the guys behind me said, "Dang, look at her calf muscles!" It might not have been, but I took it as a compliment! I don't have great definition in my upperbody and abs, so I will definitely revel in the fact that my calves are big. Just think, the calf is the second strongest muscle in the body! The first is the jaw muscle and trust me, I give that a good workout everyday! Why can't I sprain that one? Just kidding. Love your calves! And have fun!
 
Mine are 15 1/4 inches, I'm 5'4", 138 lbs. I used to hate my calves. When I was younger I wanted to wear high boots and never could because they wouldn't zip over my calves. But now that the rest of my leg has gotten muscular it all looks pretty decent together and I've even been told a couple times that I have "awesome legs" (after which I had to ask my DH whether he thought that meant the person liked my legs or just thought they looked like they could kick through the side of a truck with all those muscles!). I do whatever calf training happens to be on that day's weight tape and as far as I can tell it seems to keep up my definition but not make them any larger. I seem to remember Cathe mentioning that calf size is strongly genetic and pretty tough to alter either way; I think you're pretty safe training them. --Karen
 
Lol Lori .. :) never thought about measuring my knees!!

Well .. this thread has certainly helped me to realize that my calves are quite in line with everyone else's. For a long time, I thought my calves had to be bigger than most women, however this is just proof positive that we always view things differently and usually more negatively than others!

Thanks ladies!
Nicole
 
Try 16 1/2. I also have been highly critical about my calves. I am still trying to thin them out as much as possible. I do calf raisers at least 3 times a week (3x25). I don't use weight, figure they are muscular enough. Everyone thinks (and always had thought) I am a runner. I do run now 2 times a wk (well, jog really) to try to thin them out and loose a few more lbs.
Faythe
 
Try 16 1/2. I also have been highly critical about my calves. I am still trying to thin them out as much as possible. I do calf raisers at least 3 times a week (3x25). I don't use weight, figure they are muscular enough. Everyone thinks (and always had thought) I am a runner. I do run now 2 times a wk (well, jog really) to try to thin them out and loose a few more lbs.
Faythe
 
Try 16 1/2". I also have been highly critical about my calves. At my lowest weight (which I am now aiming for) I was around 14". I am still trying to thin them out as much as possible. I do calf raisers at least 3 times a week (3x25). I don't use weight, figure they are muscular enough. Everyone thinks (and always had thought) I am a runner. I do run now 2 times a wk (well, jog really) to try to thin them out and loose a few more lbs.
Faythe
 
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