[dreamyxxx]

I have REALLY big calves and thighs.
they're very muscley but I also seem to be really flabby
I have no idea how this even happened.
I never did any exercise so I guess that's why the flab is there, but where did the muscle come from?!
I've tried jogging and DDR but my calves just ended up getting bigger
Walking doesn't work at all.
I also tried stretching but I didn't see any results.

I really want to try jump roping but I've heard mixed comments
So I just wanted to ask, what exercises should I avoid
and also what exercises I should be doing?

[apple-snapple-YUM]

im in your position as well...
i dont know what to do to slim down my calves..

jump roping just made MORE muscles in my calves! and therefore, they
bulked up alot

[AhhMehh]

omfg... im in the same position..
i tried walking/jogging/biking..
none worked.. it made MORE muscles.. ]:

[meilove]

same. i just want to lose muscle ugghhhhhh

[loudsilence]

Most, if not all, exercises which involves your calves will contribute to some muscle there. Controlling what/how much you eat coupled with certain exercises (google or look up soompi for those) can indirectly slim your calves by eliminating fat, giving it a more chiseled look in the process. Aside from that, I don't know of other healthy or safe methods to get slim calves, but that is due to my lack of knowledge, not the absence of viable options.

[laris]

absolutely stay away from walking.

[suzushii]

What I'm trying right now is over-execising them. BUT just the calves. It's not good to over-execise in general because it makes you LOSE muscle, but in the case of calves, I got enough to spare

So - if you're doing strenght training, do LOTS of reps. Like a LOT. The more you do, the leaner the look
.
If you're walking, walk AT LEAST 2 hours a day. Anything less, and you'll get bulk. If you're running, run AT LEAST 30 minutes. Prefferably more. Once I get enough money for a treadmill, I'm gonna do a mock-training for half marathon. Have you seen those guys, their muscles are LEAN. And their legs are SKINNY. And yet they're superfit. It's obvious you need longer distance/time for that lean look. For sprints you get the bulk.

STRETCH. Cannot be emphasised enough.

Do it everyday. You know how they say you should train every OTHER day not to lose muscle? Well, I wanna lose muscle. So I do the routine each morning.

Me: I'm currently doing 1000 jump rope, and planning to increase to 2000, maybe 3 (1500 morning, 1500 evening).

Right now even with 1000 my calves are BURNING. They're not slimmer just yet, but guess what, they're not bigger either. And my ankles look slimmer, so that's good. What I do si - 100 jump rope, stretch for 10 sec each calf, 200 jump rope, 10 sec etc till 1000 total.

[Soshii_love]

Yeah I had huge calves and my mom would always make fun of me, saying mine's bigger than her.
Then i started eating pretty healthy, and exercised 2-3 times a week, like jogging. Yeah it got slimmer and yeah there might be muscles but at least there's less fat.
haha (:
but then i got lazy again and eating like whatever i want. it got bigger sadly.. but yeah!

[jkim0107]

im not a fitness expert or anything but i HAVE tried many many different exercises and many different forms because i used to be a gym rat in high school.

And just like the topic poster, my body's physique makes it so that just a bit of exercise makes me really muscular.

I used to be a part of cross country and track and field in high school and noticed that i would be more on the lean side during cross country season.

So...long distance running + slow pace = leaner legs; basically cardio.

But I've also noticed that after I stopped running and hitting the gym (used to stay at the gym for hours on the cardio machine), i reduced my calorie intake to normal standards and I'm noticeably leaner.

Some people might comment that no exercise is a big no no but that's what ive noticed just with my body.

AND im not even undereating by normal standards because i used to eat 3000-5000 calories a day when i was in cross country. i just consume from 1500-2000 now.

My legs are still pretty buff compared to other girls but...its alot leaner than before - , -''

Sorry I dont have alot of leg shots because ive been more into working out my stomache recently since summer is rolling around! eeeek!

[suzushii]

Um....

what are you talking about your legs are skinny as heck!


The only way they would be skinnier is if they'd be sticks. Notice how your leg is one streamlined contour from bottom to up. You leg barely increases in size when comparing lower thigh with upper thigh. Please go fish for compliments somewhere else

[ertylu]

LOL
A very typical girl complaint. Big calves. I wonder if you're surprised to know that the calves are the hardest place in the body to gain muscle in? The only way you can decrease the size of your calves is to continue calve exercises and try to lose the subcutaneous fatty tissue. This is probably the stuff that you're mistaking for muscle because in calves, the fat there is usually quite packed.

But seriously speaking, do not try to lose muscle. It is dangerous and stupid. Your muscles are one of the last things your body breaks down when it does not have enough nutrients so if you're losing muscle, you'll have to lose a lot of other stuff before that happens.

If anything, you'll want to gain muscle in the calve area because *wait for it* Muscle is more dense than fat. Which means a muscular calve is slimmer than a regular one. *gasp!* Shocking isn't it? at the same weight, muscle takes up half the space fatty tissue does.

Anyways, I hope that helps.

[misskrazy]

I have the same problem lol. I don't really mind it as much because my thighs are pretty fat.. The only problem i have with my musclely calves is that i ALWAYS get muscle cramps when i sleep at night ITS SO FRIGGING PAINFUL!

[Makaveli]

im not a fitness expert or anything but i HAVE tried many many different exercises and many different forms because i used to be a gym rat in high school.

And just like the topic poster, my body's physique makes it so that just a bit of exercise makes me really muscular.

I used to be a part of cross country and track and field in high school and noticed that i would be more on the lean side during cross country season.

So...long distance running + slow pace = leaner legs; basically cardio.

But I've also noticed that after I stopped running and hitting the gym (used to stay at the gym for hours on the cardio machine), i reduced my calorie intake to normal standards and I'm noticeably leaner.

Some people might comment that no exercise is a big no no but that's what ive noticed just with my body.

AND im not even undereating by normal standards because i used to eat 3000-5000 calories a day when i was in cross country. i just consume from 1500-2000 now.

My legs are still pretty buff compared to other girls but...its alot leaner than before - , -''

Sorry I dont have alot of leg shots because ive been more into working out my stomache recently since summer is rolling around! eeeek!

Sound advice from an athlete. You're looking very lean btw .

[l3lo]

its more difficult for girls to lose that bulk in their leg since females have more fat glands around our calves than males.
someone posted a similar question just like this months ago in the beauty thread. maybe you should go check it out since
i posted some options for reducing or at least lessening the bulky leg issue.

[emacs]

what exercises I should be doing?

high intensity (or long duration) low impact exercises may help.

[deathangelxd]

I would suggest NOT doing jumprope. Jumping rope will only put a lot of stress on your knees and also, if you're pushing off your toes, that causes you to flex your calf muscles therefore causing them to strengthen and get larger. I think you should use the ellipticals. They're fun. Or like, stationary biking/biking.

[jkim0107]

Sound advice from an athlete. You're looking very lean btw .

Thank you! I feel sort of guilty sometimes because my gym membership is still active, but I'm just so lazy.

Sorry for going off tangent.

Anyway, try not to work out too hardcore or for too long because that isnt always the answer. You'll also lose motivation to work out if you do too much and start dreading the work out session.

So basically, if you don't want to bulk up...easy does it. And it's a must to watch what you eat.

Just do something real simple everyday and youll notice small but definite and lasting improvement.

Also, you need to regulate two important things that my coach made me do :[

1) Make sure you regulate your calorie intake but DO NOT undereat. This means to eat alot of indigestibles (greens/vegetables/fruits have fibers that our bodies cannot process so a bulk of them becomes waste). If you undereat, you wont have frequent bowel movement. Good bowel movement (pooing) is positive in many many ways...esp. to health and diet. Try to take a multivitamin everyday.

2) Hydration. Try to keep a bottle of water with you at all times. You'll notice that the more you get into the habit of drinking water, the more often you are able to recognize when you're thirsty. Hydration helps bowel movement and health as well.

While you work on regulating those two things as a part of your diet and maybe a brisk 10 min speed walk around the block everyday, you'll see a leaner meaner you in 3 months' time. You won/t be bulking up from exercising, you wont dread exercising and give up halfway, and you wont yo-yo you're weight because it will be a lifestyle instead of a diet.

AND because you're shedding the fat (keep in mind this is also the HEALTHY and LASTING way to lose weight), you'll see your calves lose weight. Everyone loses weight differently (My arms are the last to go) so you might not see it soon...but keep it at. and ur calves will go bye bye.

Quick fixes are exactly that. A quick fix.

Right now I'm working on doing just 5 sit ups a day because 10 was too hardcore HAHAH. But ive been seeing results in 2 weeks' time. Trust me. Easy does it.

[jamiebelly7905]

im not a fitness expert or anything but i HAVE tried many many different exercises and many different forms because i used to be a gym rat in high school.

And just like the topic poster, my body's physique makes it so that just a bit of exercise makes me really muscular.

I used to be a part of cross country and track and field in high school and noticed that i would be more on the lean side during cross country season.

So...long distance running + slow pace = leaner legs; basically cardio.

But I've also noticed that after I stopped running and hitting the gym (used to stay at the gym for hours on the cardio machine), i reduced my calorie intake to normal standards and I'm noticeably leaner.

Some people might comment that no exercise is a big no no but that's what ive noticed just with my body.

AND im not even undereating by normal standards because i used to eat 3000-5000 calories a day when i was in cross country. i just consume from 1500-2000 now.

My legs are still pretty buff compared to other girls but...its alot leaner than before - , -''

Sorry I dont have alot of leg shots because ive been more into working out my stomache recently since summer is rolling around! eeeek!

I think your legs look great. So are you saying that not working out gave you slimmer legs? How much do you weigh btw if it's ok to say.

[jkim0107]

I think your legs look great. So are you saying that not working out gave you slimmer legs? How much do you weigh btw if it's ok to say.

thank you! yeh, basically being a lazy ass gave me slimmer legs. but this was only because even a little bit of cardio makes my legs buff up instantly. in high school, people would feel my legs to see how hard they were....then call over their friends to feel it....it was pretttyyyy embarrassing.

i still sortttt of work out. clubbing :] but most of what i do now is looking after what i eat/drink and my daily 5 sit up routine.

People say I give off a taller appearance because I have a shorter upper body and smaller head? but i'm 5'2 and last time i checked, i was 102lbs.

[angel_cutie]

how do you not walk?!?!
i walk everyday to school @_________@

or you can get a wheelchair but probably get muscley arms instead xD