Bigger-than-average calf muscles could be the result of genetics, indulging in too many salty foods, carrying excess body fat or doing the wrong kinds of exercises for your body type. Are your calves looking puffier than normal? Interestingly, though, it's also worth noting that bigger calves can equal greater health: According to a study of 6, people that was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association , the bigger people's calves were, the fewer fatty deposits or plaques they had in their arteries, regardless of age, sex or body mass index.
This means that, of the people in the study, those with bigger calves were less at risk for strokes and carotid artery disease. In other words, bigger doesn't always equal unhealthy. If you want to avoid bulking up your calves, however, there are several measures you can take.
First, it's crucial to avoid certain exercises that are designed to build calf muscles: This includes doing too many calf raises, jumping rope and box jumping we're looking at you, Crossfit! Like most Americans, do you spend eight hours or more sitting at a desk every day? If so, it's crucial to get up, walk around and stretch regularly to prevent fluid buildup which can cause big calves in your legs.
Take it one step further by doing calf-specific stretches. The Mayo Clinic advises you to:. Maintaining a healthy body weight is also one of the most important ways to prevent thick calves. You've probably heard it all before, but the truth is that nothing beats a well-balanced diet, really good sleep and regular physical activity 30 minutes of cardio a day, five to seven days per week, according to the U.
Department of Health and Human Services when it comes to reducing excess fat, staying trim and healthy, and keeping your calves slender. Donkey calf raises are arguably the best calf exercise because the position fully stretches the muscles in your calves and builds even more growth than standard calf raises. You can try donkey raises as bodyweight calf exercises, or you can make the move more difficult by wearing a weight belt to add resistance.
You will also need something about waist height to lean on, we usually grab a bench or a plyo box, but anything that will stay in place whilst you hold it and execute the move will be fine. During this move, your legs are extended but the knee is partially flexed so we advise that you do reps per set.
To really target the Gastrocnemius, you need to add bent knee calf exercises into your exercise routine. To get the most out of this exercise, grab a heavy weight and do reps per set at a slow tempo. The seated calf raise is one of the best calf exercises to recruit the Gastrocnemius because you sit with your knees bent as you execute the move.
Find a sturdy chair. For a weighted variation grab a heavy pair of dumbbells. Or, for an elevated variation, find a sturdy step or block to rest the balls of your feet on. Pushing down on your hand during the calf raise will add resistance to the move. To add more, you can try a seated dumbbell calf raise. For this weighted variation, place a dumbbell on top of each thigh, just above your knee, and hold them down.
To increase the intensity of this movement, you can do an elevated seated calf raise. For this variation, all you need to do is sit with your feet on a step platform and position yourself so that your heels are hanging over the edge of the back of the platform. Then, exercise the dumbbell seated calf raise as explained above.
This slight tweak will work your muscles even more thanks to the extra stretch, and it will increase the range of motion of your joints. With a heavy weight on your lap, we recommend reps per set for the seated elevated calf raise. Become a Personal Trainer with OriGym! Set up the seated calf raise machine and adjust the resistance so that the weight is heavy but manageable. The box jump is a really easy plyometric exercise that will strengthen and tone the muscles in your calves, particularly the Gastrocnemius.
In the gym, find a plyometrics box. Start off with a shorter box and increase the height of your jump as your calf muscles get stronger and you become more confident.
Aim for reps. As well as the standing calf raise machine, the leg press machine can be used for one of the best calf exercises.
As well as the a calf press, this exercise is commonly known as a toe press or a calf raise on the leg extension machine. This is definitely our favourite exercise for building bigger calves. The knee is partially flexed during the movement, but it mainly uses the soleus muscle. Wondering how to get bigger calves on the leg press machine? Here is our step-by-step guide:. If your leg press machine has safety bars, we recommend that you put them in place. Above are some of the best calf building exercises that target the Soleus muscle and the Gastrocnemius.
There are also some more generic movements that are really effective for building and benefitting your calf muscles. Jumping rope is a really effective cardio workout that targets the majority of the muscles in your leg, including your calf muscles. Step-ups are another compound move that mainly targets your leg muscles. As well as being really effective for muscle building and toning, step-ups are really versatile meaning there are tons of different ways that you can change them up.
Finally, as well as the benefits of calf exercises for running, jumping and sports like football, these exercises have benefits for your calf muscles, too. We recommend swimming for anyone who is looking for calf exercises that they can keep up with whilst recovering from an injury.
Now you know how to get bigger calves, try these exercises for yourself! Let us know how you get on by giving us a shout on Facebook or Twitter. Sometimes, the hardest and smartest workers actually come out ahead of the genetically gifted. This means that you need to absolutely attack your calves if you want to see any increase in size and strength.
Conventional training simply will not work—so here are 6 unique methods for sending a wake-up call to those stubborn calf muscle fibers. Note: Do not use all of these methods at once, or your calves could end up over-trained, which will of course not contribute to growth. Pick two or three items from this list and change things up every few weeks. Train your calves on a daily basis for a period of consecutive weeks before returning to your normal program.
Use about sets per workout, using a different exercise each day. Every night before you go to bed, do a set of slow, hard-squeezing standing calf raises with just your bodyweight. Do this in addition to your normal program.
Go for maximum burn! Wherever it is possible, walk around on your tiptoes rather than your flat feet.
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