I used to be a sprinter from middle school to high school. Prior to that, I was a hardcore gymnast. So needless to say, I've built up quite some bulk on my calves and thighs. But recently, because I just sit in front of the computer and or go to school/work most of the day, I've realized that my legs are getting thicker. I do get out for a light run 3x a week, but I'm worried that my legs will just get bulkier. How do you make them thinner? Particularly the calf part? Thanks.
It depends on how you run. I suggest that you run some long distance, 3-4 miles, for you workout. Long distance running will shrink the size of your muscles without decreasing strength. What happens is that your muscles reduce its volumetric size to increase metabolism. This is why long distant runners are skinny even though they pack a lot of muscle.
I run 3x a week, 3.5 miles each time (30 minutes). I can't do it every day because I don't have the time to get out to run 30 minutes and then stretch for another 30 minutes. Okay, so I'm already doing what you've recommend... I guess I'm a lost cause?
male or female? You could genetically large calves. Otherwise... Lowering your overall body fat will help you "shrink" your calves. CArdio 2-3 times a week. some light weight training depending on your goals and some tweaking of your diet will help.. Whole grain foods, and fiberous veggies w/ lean meats/protiens eg. Whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes broccoli, cabbage, spinnach, romane lettuce chicken breast, tuna, beans
she's rite.. continue exercising.. running but NO EXTREME.. cut down on the intensity.. to maintain the muscles strength and shape etc.. then overtime.. it'll get bac kto shape.. no worries yea
Well I have big calves from sports too (soccer). And I still do, although I've stopped playing it for a long time and changed diets. I think, like Akademik said, you just need to lose overall body fat. But then again, when you lose weight/fat, it goes from head to toe. So losing weight/fat in the lower half of the body may take some time.
the calve contains two major muscles the gastronemius (power and speed) and the soleus (endurance), the gastronemius is the outer muscle and soleus is the deeper muscle. to get your calves thinner without losing strength, you need to reduce your work load on the gastronemius, try yoga
i think running wouldn't help much.. probably need to try other cardio such as skiing machine / stairmaster... it works!
if your gastronemius is toned and defined, the girth doesn't matter - its sexy if its "larger than you like it to be" and toned/defined its pretty hard to lose size in that area if you've got it already - especially if you've already defined it
when I went to try on ski boots this lady told me women has larger claves than men. I have thick calves too which sux because I can't wear nice knee length boots!
