Questions about calves.

H

HeathaBee

0
I'm a 24 year old female and although I am told over and over again that "women dont bulk up" it's a lie. Just because most women don't bulk up, does not mean all women dont bulk up. I bulk up.
I love cardio, I feel like a million bucks when I have a steady cardio routine going. My problem is as I do my steady cardio routine, I notice that my calves are extremely large. They have always been large but my thighs are thinning and my calves are still big.

Although I do cardio, mostly running, because I enjoy it and not for results really, this does not mean that I don't care what I look like! I dont know what to do to reduce the muscle bulkiness while not losing strength.

There is debate whether this can be done. I've read that low weights high reps changes the muscle fibers from fast twitch muscle fibers to slow twitch muscle fibers thus keeping the strength and lessening the bulk. Also have read that not eating protein for 3 hours following a work out will minimize bulk.

Does any of this work? I feel like I have calves a man would die for lol I love being toned but I really dont feel comfortable wearing shorts or skirts with these monstrous calves.

Help, please? :confused4:
 
I hate to say it, but there's very little to do to change how your body decides to bulk up and trim down... Running is going to work your calves, and there's really no way around that. Avoiding protein for three hours after a workout might minimize bulk, but it will also impact your ability to recover.

I wish I could offer more advice, but if it helps - I think runner's calves are sexy!
 
I pretty much agree with SkianS40. You might find that a lot of long distance running will eventually make your calves a little smaller, but not much. If you are genetically predisposed to have big calves you are pretty much stuck with them. Some people find that by putting a little shapely muscle on their thighs, back and shoulders with smoe strenght training they balance off their large calves some and they tend not to stick out as much. ANd as SkianS40 said a set of lean muscular legs is pretty sexy on a woman!
 
You are contradicting yourself in your post. You said that you are bulking up, but then you said your legs are trimming down. To me, that's saying you have always had big calves, which is genetic...not because you are bulking. The only reason they seem extra big now is because they are more defined...which is by no means a bad thing. The leaner you are, the bigger your muscles look. Like the others, I like some muscle and some definition on a woman.
 
I don't know if she's checking back - either way, I say we need pictures of these "monsterous calves". I've never seen calves on a runner that are too big...
 
I would guess that ff you want thinner calves at this point you probably need to have weaker calves, so (hypothetically at least) the running would need to stop.
 
Runner's legs

I am a 31 year old woman and like you I have always had thick, muscular legs. This used to bother me because I wanted thin dainty legs. However, I soon learned to appreciate my legs because they were strong. I can lift very heavy objects, bike and run for long periods of time, and look good in short shorts and skirts. What I did discover is that when I was just running my legs did look kind of bulky. Then I started doing squats, lunges, leg curls, calf raises, and dead lifts on a regular basis. This really did make a difference because then my legs were thick, but they had definition. I am planning on doing some weight free exercises on my blog soon.

I hope this helps and you have a great day!
Brianna
witnessforfitness
 
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