Exercises to Slim Your Calves & Do’s and Don’ts to Slim Your Calves

Wondering how to make your calves slimmer? There are a lot of people, especially women who are unhappy with their calves’ size and many of them are pretty serious in considering calf reduction surgery. However, there are other, less invasive means to slim down calves. One needs to find out the causes of large calves and then find out ways to lose weight and slim calves. Here in this article, we will talk about some of the ways to slim your calves.

Take a Look at the following exercises to slim your calves and follow the workouts. However, do not forget to stretch after the calf workouts. You can add pilates, yoga, stretching etc to the workouts in your efforts to slim your calves.

1. Standing Calf Raise and Pulse Exercise to Slim Your Calves:

   To do this exercise, you can also make use of a machine at the gym.

   • Begin from a standing position. Stand up straight with your hips width apart.
   • In order to keep balance, hold your core tight.
   • Now, slowly raise up on the feet balls so that your heels are lifted off from the ground and do ten pulses at the top.
   • Then, return back to the starting position.
   • Repeat 10 raises and then go for stretching.

2. Seated Calf Raise Exercise to Slim Your Calves:

   You can also use a machine at the gym for performing this seated calf raise exercise.

   • Begin by sitting on a chair, with your feet on the floor. Put some light weight on top of your knees.
   • Slowly raise your toes up as high as you can. Here you can feel a stretch in your calf muscles.
   • Once you reach the top position, hold for a count and then return back to the starting position.
   • Repeat this for 10 times and the stretch.

3. Sumo Squat With Calf Raise:

   Sumo squat with calf raise can be one more excellent exercise to slim your calves.

   • For doing this, stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart, with your toes slightly turned out and hands on your hips.
   • Bend your knees over your toes and then lower your body in to a squat position. Hold this position and lift up your heels (without raising your hips) and then, again press them back down.
   • Return back to the starting positon.
   • Perform 10 repetitions, shake legs and then stretch.

4. Skater Jump Exercise:

   Skater jump is one more exercise that would help you slim your calves.

   • To begin with this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart, and arms by sides.
   • Then, hop to the right, landing on right foot while sweeping left foot diagonally behind right leg and swinging your left arm across body and the right arm behind back.
   • Soon, jump to the left, switching legs and arms for completing 1 repetition.
   • Repeat this skater jump for 1 minute.

5. Side To Side Jump:

   One more exercise to slim your calves is side to side jump.

   • Stand straight and go for small jumps side to side as if you are jumping over an invisible line.
   • Keep your legs as close together as you can and swing your arms to aid you jump.
   • Repeat this for one minute.

6. Calf Stretching Exercises:

   There are some calf stretching exercises, which can be done along with the above mentioned workouts. Follow the below mentioned calf stretching exercises to slim your calves.

   1. Standing Calf Stretch:

      • Stand about 3 feet from a wall and put your right foot behind you, making sure that your toes are facing forward.
      • Keep your heels on the ground and lean forward keeping your right knee straight. You can feel the stretch here.
      • Hold this for at least 30 to 60 seconds.

   2. Toe-up Calf Stretch:

      Below are the steps to do toe-up calf stretch.

      • Stand with your one knee bent and the other leg straight out in front.
      • Point your toes towards your body and the lean forward.
      • Here, keep your back straight and rest your hands on your bent knee.

   3. Foam Roller Calf Stretching:

      There is one more calf slimming exercise known as foam roller calf stretching.

      • Begin by sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out, resting on the foam roller at your ankles. You can also optionally keep your ankles crossed for added weight.
      • Place your hands on the floor behind your back for support.
      • Now, lift your buttocks up off the floor slightly and push yourself down so that the foam roller rolls up towards your knees.
      • Continue this for about 60 seconds and the switch the cross of your ankles for repeating on the opposite side.

   4. Downward Dog Calf Stretch:

      This is one more calf stretch you can perform to slim your calves.

      • Get down on all your fours with your hands under your shoulders on the floor. Walk your hands slightly forward on the floor.
      • Then, bend your right knee; keeping your left leg as straight as you can. Here you will be feeling the stretch.
      • Hold this position for at least 20 to 30 seconds and then switch your legs.
      • Repeat this for 2-3 times.

7. Ankle Circle Moves To Slim Your Calves:

   Ankle circles moves are also great moves that would help you to slim your calves.

   • Sit on a chair, keeping your back straight and firmly against the back of the chair.
   • Slowly, circle your left foot clockwise and do this for six times.
   • Then, repeat the same counter-clockwise for six times.
   • Repeat the exercise with your right foot.

Running is a potential tool that allows you to slim down your legs and your calves. Sprinting develops the calves; however, endurance running does not and will in fact slim down your calves. Go for endurance running, by running slower and going for longer distances. Run on flat terrain when outdoors to slim down your legs, thighs and calf muscles. This can actually help in reducing the size of the actual calf muscles and reduce the fatty tissues present around it that usually makes the calf look bulky.

Stretching makes big muscles actually appear longer and leaner. You can try stretching, yoga or pilates to slim your calves. Pilates is a wonderful tool for shaping and elongating your calves, legs and your body.

It is essential for you to find out the causes of your big calves. Find the cause and address it so as to have slim calves.

You need to avoid activities that primarily call for strength, power and speed from your leg muscles as they will develop bigger and bulkier muscles. For example, short intense cardio workouts, or workouts that require strength and exercises that involve resistance, incline etc. steep inclines on the treadmill, especially will develop calves and make them even larger.

Avoid high-impact jumping movements like rope jumping. It must be mentioned that walking, swimming, cross-training and the elliptical trainer are wonderful to slim your calves.

Do not go for the step machines and other types of climbing exercises as they target the calf muscles to increase in size.

Resistance exercises that target the calves will tend to increase the size of the calves and not slim down. In other words, resistance training is more likely to give you larger calves and so, avoid this area in order to slim your calves.

Above we talked about some of the ways to slim your calves. If you are worried about your larger calves then try out these exercises to slim them up. It is always advisable to consult with an expert fitness trainer in a gym center and know the best of trainer advices to get the best and the most effective benefits from the specific or targeted workouts.