When you wear short-shorts or a skirt for that matter, having fat calves is one way to stand out in a crowd. Okay, maybe that's not the sort of attention you are looking for. I wish I could tell you, “no one is looking at you calves.” That would be nice if it were true. Now you are on the edge and wondering, how to lose weight on your legs fast. Don’t worry. You are not alone. By the way, have we met before? There is something about you that I can’t put my finger on. If my memory serves me right, the last time we met you were wearing baggy sweatpants.
Luckily enough there are better ways to handle this sort of attention grabbing situation shifting focus to the fact that you may have fat calves than hiding the curves of your legs in baggy sweat pants.
As it turns out your calves have more going on for them than just looks. It may not seem this way at first glance but your calves are sometime referred as "second heart.” That is there is still hope to dehydrate connective tissues in your legs to reduce the swelling in your calves making your legs look fat.
If you want to skip ahead, here we will show you 5 ways to get slim calf legs. Otherwise, continue reading for simple tips to reduce the size of your calf muscles.
Are you doing it all wrong? Tips to make calves smaller
The reason you have fat calves may depend on your body fat and how tone your legs are. However, there is another reason that your trainer always forgets to leave out, you have naturally large calves.
Even if you are perfectly healthy with large calves that still doesn’t change the fact that you have calves that make your legs appear larger than they really are.
At this point you are probably thinking, “What can I do?”
For starters, here is what you can start doing right away (or stop doing before it makes your calves huge).
Skip direct calf work
Check yourself before you wreck your chances of slimming down your calves.
If you are climbing steps, that’s direct calf work that doesn’t help you make your calves any smaller.
Exercising you calves directly is going to increase the size of your calf muscle.
So if you are really looking to reduce the size of your calves, you should avoid exercises like climbing that exercise your calf directly. Note that this includes exercise like box stepping that people tend to do unnecessary calf work as they get tired as well.
Skipping direct calf work is one way to reduce the size of your calves making your muscle appear smaller, learner, and longer.
Get on top of cardio
Reduction of fat will make you look skinnier, especially if you have fat calves. To do that it will require light weight training, watching your diet, and fat burning cardio.
Just keep in mind that when doing cardio, you have to stay away from direct calf exercise. This can be achieved by watching your form. A prime example of working your calves when you are not supposed to is doing step exercise. Although stepper exercise is meant for your exercising your quads, as you grow tired you naturally start to shift you weight to other areas like your calves. This is where you may be getting too much direct calf work.
How can you be sure-sure that you don’t have fat calves
When you tap your calves, are they hard?
Lack of tone in your legs may be reasons you have been worrying about the size of your calves. So before you do anything else, it is beneficial to you to figure out that ratio of fat versus muscle in your legs.
Here is what you should probably start doing.
1. Set the date
The first step to get yourself to do something you would have a hard time doing otherwise is setting the date. Mark your calendar and start counting the days until it is calve measuring time.
2. Measure your calves
Take out a piece of measuring tape and wrap it around the largest part of you calf. This is the area making you calves appear the biggest. Write down the measurement you just made in your notebook. Note that you want to keep track of the change in your calf size over time to know if your routine is making a dent in your calf muscle size.
3. Lift and wiggle
Sit on the floor. Relax. Just lift your leg up like you were about to do a low kick to inflict the final blow in your game, but stop before anyone gets hurt. Here you will give you calf a nice slam, nothing that would hurt. If you observe unnecessary wiggling action, then that may suggest you have more fat than muscle in your calves.
4. Pinch but be gentle
Pinch the skin around your calves just to grasp how much layers of insulation you have between your skin and calf muscles.
Note that in order to make you calves smaller you need to watch your diet in addition to exercising regularly. In this case, you have to figure out how much calories you need to eat to lose weight. Then, set a goal.
Calf slimming exercises to make calves smaller
Not all calf exercises are going to make your calf muscles bigger. Although it is important not to activate calve muscles when doing exercises such as walking and the squats, you are better of working you calves.
There is a reason why Miley Cyrus is really-really comfortable with no pants besides the fact that she would wears thigh high boots instead. There's no malfunction in her wardrobe. She's just got sexy legs.
Rebecca Louise shows you how to get Miley Cyrus legs in the Miley Cyrus Workout that will help you tone up your legs. She does a great job in showing you how to work your quads, hamstrings, and just a little bit into those gluts. Definitely a workout you need to fit into tiny little shorts.
So can you make your calves smaller?
Here are the exercises you can do without making your calf muscles big.
Calf raises
You know the drill; after all it is just calf raises. But just make sure not to slam down on your heels on the way down. Make a brief pulse after reaching the top. Maintain your form by tensing your abdominal muscles throughout the exercise. Bend knees slightly to prevent your knees from locking up. Keep your arms in front of your body slightly bending at the elbows. It is a body weight exercise. That means no weight. Note that using weight may increase the size of your calf muscles. Do 3 sets of 10.
Seated calf raises
Sit on a low chair or steps you can use to adjust the height of the surface you will be sitting on. Place between 5-10 pounds of dead weight on your legs, maintaining the sitting position. From here you are going to do calf raises, lifting the weight you have resting on your legs. Doing seated calf raises lowers the intensity of you calf work. This translates into making you less prone to build large calf muscle making your legs look big.
Checkpoint Don’t forget to stretch between each calf work exercise
Hops
Hop, don’t jump. These little back and forth movements give you great calf work. What you are going to have to do is find a spot giving you enough space to stretch your arms out without hitting anything. Then, you are going to start to hop. First, forward in front of your body. Then, then back to where you started. Do 30 seconds to 1 minute each set. And don’t forget to give yourself enough time to recover between sets.
Skater hops
These hops are going to require a little more coordination than regular hops. You may be tempted to have to choose between hops and skater hops, but just know that they completely different areas of your calf. That is why you should use regular hops as an excuse to skip out on skater hops.
Squat to calf raises
Leaning over too for when you squat and doing squat to calf raises are two entirely different animals. So, instead of paying attention to your form squatting you may just want to alter you exercise. What you are going to do is after completing a squat without activating your calf muscles is activate your calve muscles by finishing with a calf raise.
Yoga
Doing yoga is good for stretching and toning your muscles. I know. I know. You are probably thinking, “Save it for the birds.” One thing that people who practice yoga like to boast about that it works the body mind and spirit as a whole in addition to helping you deal with emotions. On the other hand, if you’ve ever sat in on yoga class, you would notice how most yoga poses require a considerable amount of effort from you calves. That is you get the calf work you need to make your calves smaller, all while you stretch.
The importance of dehydrating connective tissues to slim calves
The main reason why your calves may be swelling up is due to water retention, also known as edema leg swelling. The number of women suffering from calf swelling late in the evening, especial right around the time you get off work, is not few. That is why it is so important to dehydrate the connective tissues in your legs.
That is why when you are trying to slim down you calves, dealing with edema leg swelling is the only way.
What causes fluids buildup in the connect tissue of your legs making your calves look bigger than they really are
Another major cause of calf welling is related to poor circulation in your legs that may be affected by the following.
Poor circulation in your legs mainly due to distance between your legs and heart.
Decrease in leg muscle affects the circulation in your legs. That is blood circulation isn't solely dependent on your heart. Leg muscles help with the circulation of your lower extremities.
Illnesses that can cause you calves to swell up
Calf swelling can sometimes be caused by certain illnesses. When the reason is edema leg swelling and you are not able to treat the swelling in your legs, going in for a check-up is highly recommended.
5 ways to get rid of fat calves: eliminate leg swelling
Ways to get slim calf legs
4. Moderation of salt and water to stop swelling
5. Things to do right before going to bed
1. Exercise your calf muscles no matter where you are
Although wearing diet slippers around the house might help, standing on you tips down your heels off the floor is one way to train your calf muscles.
As you know your calves help out circulation in your legs in addition the work done by your heart. This is why it is important to maintain enough calf muscle mass to prevent fat calves.
Do this calf exercise when you are riding the bus, brushing your teeth, waiting, or whenever you have time to spare.
Building up your calf muscles
Exercise to slim your calves!!
It may look fun, but is quite effective. With this exercise you don't have to worry about spending more time than you need exercising. Just do it whenever you are free.
2. Massage acupuncture pressure points in your legs to slim calves
BL-40
BL-40 (also known as Bladder 40, weizhong, and ichuu) is the acupuncture point located right in the middle of the depression in the back of your knees.
Once you've got a feel of where BL-40 is located, apply pressure for 3 seconds while exhaling. Then, release your fingers for 3 seconds breathing in deeply. Repeat 3 times to complete. (Counting "1 2 3, 1 2 3" as you perform this exercise may help improve constancy.)
BL-57
BL-57 is also called Bladder 40, chengshan, and shouzan. It is located bellow BL-40 between your ankles and knees. To be more precise, it in the middle of the lower section of your calf muscle. In the same way you pressed through BL-40, apply pressure for 3 seconds; release for 3; and don't forget to time your breathing. Do 3 times.
Instructions for massage
Starting by grasping the back of your leg at your heel, gently massage the area from your heal to the back of your knee. Be gently and take your time. Repeat 3 times.
This method can be done while sitting in a chair. That means you can get it done in the office if you want to.
To prevent leg swelling in the evening, I recommend doing it periodically throughout the day or whenever you have 30 seconds to spare.
In addition, doing it while bathing or whenever you are relaxing is not a bad idea.
3. Eat foods high in potassium to work from the inside
To help out with edema leg swelling and eliminate fat calves, there is always getting more potassium in your diet. Potassium helps absorb sodium, one of the causes for leg swelling. The role it plays in balancing your electrolytes is related to the reduction of leg swelling.
However more importantly, you are going to want to watch your sodium. While you are doing that, don't forget that it helps with leg swelling, which is going to help you slim your calves.
| Name of food | kCal / 100g | Potassium content per 100g | Potassium content per serving size |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPINACH | 25 Cal | 490 mg | 390 mg (80g) |
| EDAMAME | 135 kcal | 590 mg | 800 mg (138g [1 bag]) |
| AVOCADO | 187 kcal | 660 mg | 1000 mg (140g [1 avocado]) |
| BANANA | 86 kcal | 360 mg | 320 mg (90g [1 banana]) |
| SATOIMO Taro | 58 kcal | 640 mg | 260 mg (40g [1 satoimo]) |
| KING TRUMPET MUSHROOM Enrigi | 24 kcal | 460 mg | 230 mg (50g [1 mushroom]) |
| NATTO | 200 kcal | 600 mg | 330 mg (50g [1 pack]) |
| CHICKEN BREAST FILLET | 105 kcal | 420 mg | 180 mg (43g [1 fillet]) |
Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2010; Ministry of Japan via Calorie Slism
4. Proper hydration: drink less water while lowering your daily salt intake
Drinking too much what with high consumption of salt is one way to make your leg swell up before you know it. Both water and salt consumption are a part of your daily life. To control the affect it has on your body, it is dire that you moderate the amount in your diet.
Hold the salt, pepper
If you are getting more than 8 to 10 grams of sodium per day, you need to start watching your salt consumption. It is said that the average consumption of salt in Japan is around 12 grams a day. This may be why many Japanese women worry about leg swelling.
Drinking 2 liters a day is wrong!?
Just because you are told to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, doesn't mean you have to go and drink it. When you factor the water content in the food you eat, you don't necessarily have to drink 2 liters a day. However, when it is hot out or you've been exercising you may need more to make up for loss of fluids. Just know that overdoing it, drinking too much water may cause leg swelling if you are not careful.
In addition, to eliminate leg swelling and slim your calves you are going to want to drink lukewarm water over cold water.
5. Things to do before you sleep to make your calves smaller
What you do before going to sleep may make the difference between fat calves and slim calf legs. That is in are to get the most out of these leg slimming techniques there are a few things to remember to do before going to bed.
Ankle rotations
From a sitting position, slowly rotate your foot about your angles doing 10 full circles per leg.
This helps improve the circulation in your feet before sleep. It is highly recommended for people suffering from cold sensitivity.
Note that you want to avoid doing too much stretching and massages before going to bed because it may have a negative impact on the quality of the sleep you get at night.
Elevate feet while sleeping
Elevating your feet while you sleep helps deal with leg swelling. However, you should know that bringing your feet too high of the level of your bed can place unnecessary burden on your knees. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't raise your feet higher than 10-15 centimeters of the bed.
