How do I make my short, stumpy legs less stumpy?

September 23, 2009 4:27 PM

What are some exercises I can do that *won't* strengthen my calves?

The rest of my body is slender and lightly muscled, but my calves are short and quite muscular beneath a small layer of fat. I know there's no such thing as spot reduction so I'm not hopeful about being able to shed the fat - and when I lost fifteen pounds last year, it all seemed to come out of my upper body anyway.

I'm female, five foot seven, and about one hundred thirty-five pounds. I walk maybe 5 miles/week, run or use the elliptical trainer 1-2 hours/week, use a recumbent exercise bike 3 hours a week, and do 2 hours of cardio involving lots of jumping jacks and kicking.

I know which exercise I can do to strengthen my calves: almost all of them! But which ones strengthen them the most, and are therefore the ones I need to avoid in order to shrink my calves? Is there any kind of intense cardio that involves a minimum of calf action?

(I'm open to suggestions about how to dress to make my calves look smaller or how to love my short, stumpy legs already, but I 'd prefer an anti-calf-bulking list to start.)

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (14 comments total)

Others with more expertise will surely weigh in, but off the top, I'd say swimming. Good all-over exercise, but doesn't involve lifting your body weight with your legs.
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:41 PM on September 23

Is there any kind of intense cardio that involves a minimum of calf action?

swimming
posted by mpls2 at 4:42 PM on September 23

I'd recommend exercises that work endurance and not strength, thus increasing the proportion of long-firing muscle cells (is that the correct term)? You can also try doing isometric or slow pressure changes under full muscle extension, to lengthen the muscle fibers and prevent bunchiness.
posted by Araucaria at 4:45 PM on September 23

On the extreme end, they have machines that are arm-based cardio. I always think of them as "arm bikes" but they may have a more formal name. I've found, though, that you'd have a hard time burning as many calories as you would with normal full-body cardio.
posted by mercredi at 4:55 PM on September 23

When I started running for most of my exercise, my calves went from big meaty chunks to long slender muscles. I kinda miss them.
posted by advicepig at 5:17 PM on September 23

I'm almost positive the bicycle (real or stationary) works the thighs far more than the calves, so that might be a good option in addition to swimming. Even the eliptical doesn't really seem to do too much to the lower leg...again, it's mostly upper-leg action.

If you're looking to minimize what you've already got, I am in the same boat and have found some tricks that help:

* don't ever, EVER wear any shoe/boot that stops at ankle height;
* try mary-jane style shoes with the strap alot closer to the toe than normal; I find those very flattering
* if you can get boots with a wide enough circumference, something that comes up over the largest part of your calf can be particularly slimming, especially in a dark colour
* skirts that fall about mid-thigh; avoid skirts that fall to your knees or, worse still, to just below the knee
* now that it's (almost) winter, embrace the hose! Darker shades will provide camouflage.

Good luck!
posted by Pomo at 5:19 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]

Kayaking? Since you're anon, don't know if you're near a suitable body of water, but it's alot of fun and you mostly use your legs for stabilization, and the work is all done by your core, shoulders, and arms. Might balance out the muscle on your lower half.
posted by slow graffiti at 5:48 PM on September 23

Rowing machines are pretty abusive cardio at the gym that doesn't involve your legs.
posted by meowzilla at 6:29 PM on September 23

Uh, if you aren't using your legs on a rowing machine you are doing it completely wrong.
posted by Loto at 6:43 PM on September 23 [3 favorites]

Agree with advicepig: running. Disagree with Pomo: cycling will build muscular calves. Frankly, I think that's a fine thing, but I'm trying to stay on topic here.
posted by adamrice at 7:17 PM on September 23

Rowing does involves the legs, but not so much the calves. Running involves your calves more than using the elliptical, but I don't think your calves are getting really big because of your running, although you could stop running and see. I think the way you're approaching this question is a little backwards though. You're already not doing any calf-specific exercises. One thing you might consider is doing exercises to build your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, which will make your calves look smaller. And for that you can't beat doing squats and deadlifts. Power lifters who specialize in squats and deadlifts sometimes look disproportionate because they have huge muscular thighs compared to their normal-sized calves. Not that your thighs will get huge, but hopefully you get the picture.
posted by ludwig_van at 7:50 PM on September 23

Someone once told me that George Balanchine was a fan of women with "hewn oak" lower legs and I decided to believe it was true - if that helps you love your legs.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 7:59 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]

Once I started biking to work, my legs went from "normal" (soft-looking, a touch of fat) to well-defined, definitely the look you're looking for, I think (I'm male, but--you know what I mean). They did not get noticeably bigger; you can just actually see the muscle definition beneath.

I believe the change isn't due to cycling per se as it is to the intense cardio 30 minutes at a pop two times a day. It's like that "abs are made in the kitchen, not the weight room" thing. You burn more calories, those lovely calf muscles will show more. I do see that you're already doing a fair amount of cardio, perhaps your calorie intake also increased to make up the difference. It probably doesn't help that you just lost weight as it seems to be more difficult to move people away from where they were, weight-wise, than just keeping them at the same place.

My wife has muscular lower legs; I'm a fan of them. I understand there are plenty of other fans of the form. I recommend shorts, personally--more of a "I'm fit and you can tell" look.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 7:37 AM on September 24

I believe the change isn't due to cycling per se as it is to the intense cardio 30 minutes at a pop two times a day. It's like that "abs are made in the kitchen, not the weight room" thing. You burn more calories, those lovely calf muscles will show more.

The point of saying "abs are built in the kitchen" is to say that diet, not exercise, is the more important factor in fat loss. You're talking about exercise, not diet, so it's not really the same. Doing cardio can lead to fat loss, but as the OP is aware, you can't spot-reduce -- working your calf muscles doesn't necessarily lead to fat loss in the calves.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:48 AM on September 24