Calves anyone?

[lyz2814]

Since I see a lot of body-part threads in here, I think this goes too.

Anyways--I notice that a lot of cyclists have great calves! I have virtually no calves, and I'd like to develop them more (I'm trying to get rid of that piano leg thing, you know?). Are there any particular riding styles that hit that muscle especially? Like hills, big gears, etc?

I just started jumping rope, and that definitely creates a burn in the right place.

[LBTC]

Hi, Liz! While I've seen many cyclists with great calves, I think they all achieved them some other way (especially since I've seen many strong cyclists with spindly little calves, too)

jump rope will help. calf raises, standing repeated until you can't stand them any more....on each side, then together. I have a trick that makes this bearable in kickboxing class when we do it, and it helps develop a better defined musculature....do the first portion (say 10 reps) with your weight on the outside of your foot, the next portion with your weight on the inside of your foot, the last portion with your weight right in the middle. Make sure when you stretch to twist your upper body too to help stretch those bits, too.

If you do weights, do your calf exercises everytime, to exhaustion. and do different exercises.

I was blessed with rather "muscular" calves (that was a joke when I was 25 lbs heavier, but true now!), but I still push them hard because I want them to be defined and amazing, like my DH's.!!

good luck and have fun!!

Namaste,
~T~

[sarahfixit]

If you pull on your pedals instead of pushing it will work the calves more. When you pedal through the stroke, work your ankles as much as you can instead of your knees.

[LBTC]

hey, Sarah - cool tip! I do that already, never really thought that it works the calves more, but, logically, it must!

thanks!

Namaste,
~T~

[lyz2814]

great ideas! I'll be trying some of them today

[RoadRaven]

Lyz... I have something for you to think about... a question if you will...

If your legs are doing a great job at the moment, and taking you the way you want them to on a bike, why do you want to change the muscles to do something else?

Shouldn't our bodies be about being fit? And doesn't "fit" come in all shapes and sizes?

Forgive me if I offend anyone... (points at low post count and recent joining date) but I really do believe women should be guided by how well their bodies work, not by how they look.

[doc]

Shouldn't our bodies be about being fit? And doesn't "fit" come in all shapes and sizes?

...I really do believe women should be guided by how well their bodies work, not by how they look.

[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Hear Hear!! Yes it SHOULD be, but the reality is sadly quite different. I have 2 young daughters and I am always trying to make sure they know their worth is in their thoughts and actions not their bodies. If anyone knows a surefire way to make sure they believe it, I'm all ears.

[RoadRaven]

Hi Doc!!!
*waves and grins*
Here at the same time as another - super!


Women and their body perceptions - this is one thing I cover when teaching ... I always challenge the women in my classes to think about when they started having a "problem relationship" with food and almost inevitably it is about puberty when someone close to them (parent, sibling, grandparent etc) makes a throw-away comment about their weight.

Suddenly its time to stop eating and start believing that the models in the magazines look exactly as they are portrayed and got that way naturally and with healthy choices... therefore, if I eat less (or puke what I eat) or excercise like crazy... or whatever... I too can look like that.

And we do it to ourselves as adults, we have a baby and look at a celebrity who had a baby about the same time and we just don't recover like she does ... forgetting of course she has a nanny so she can work out with her personal trainer and eat the special diet designed by her nutritionist.

Having been victom to the puberty epiphany that I was grossly fat (thanks to my grandmother who suggested my thighs and upper arms were a bit chubby - so I stopped eating) I have been really concious that I give the right messages to my children, but most particulary my daughter...

So talk with your girls about air-brushed photos, nutritionists and personal trainers...
Talk about how Marilyn Monroe - still a part of mens fantaisies even though many are young enough to be her sons or grandsons - was a 14-16 - not a size 8...
Talk about healthy food choices and increasing physical excercise if they want to change shape, not reducing food intake...
Talk about how women put on weight around puberty (that dreadful phrase to young girls - puppy fat) but if they walk or bike and not drive everywhere, if they spend time being active rather than in front of TV or PC, then it will drop away as they near 16, 17, 18...
Treat food as normal and natural - as fuel and don't obsess about calorie counting, or fat intake - just provide the right stuff in your home...
Talk to them about how women have a higher fat to muscle ratio than men, and this is essential to their health, and that fat is an importtant parrt of their diet while they are growing...
And, once they like boys... tell them how most men prefer a woman with some curves... not a woman with no fat at all, cause a woman with a few curves is more comfy to cuddle...

Hopefully, if you keep giving these messages, they will get through being teenagers, and come out the end feeling ok with themselves.

They have you as a role model and that is a huge gift, to see mum keeping fit, and learning that food is an important parrt of fuelling the body. They are learning that exercise and nutrition are fitness... that being skinny and inactive does not equate to fitness

Good luck, Doc... western women of all ages fight a constant subliminal battle with the media images that surround us

[swlsue]

Cycling indoors and outdoors builds great legs, provided you can see the muscle under the fat. I think maybe you are referring to some of the great definition you see in cyclist legs, particularly calves.

I will tell you another thing - look around at heavyset people - some of them have awesome calves. Why? It's a function of the way they walk and the fact that they carry around alot of weight while doing it.

Calves are a tough muscle to build. If you are trying to build them, hit the weights - but be warned - to build them requires heavy heights and even then you are not guaranteed.

[bcipam]

Cycling indoors and outdoors builds great legs, provided you can see the muscle under the fat. I think maybe you are referring to some of the great definition you see in cyclist legs, particularly calves.

I will tell you another thing - look around at heavyset people - some of them have awesome calves. Why? It's a function of the way they walk and the fact that they carry around alot of weight while doing it.

Calves are a tough muscle to build. If you are trying to build them, hit the weights - but be warned - to build them requires heavy heights and even then you are not guaranteed.

I think that's it. It's a matter of weight training or weight bearing exercises that developes large, muscular calves. Mine are absolutely huge! Alot of the size and shape came from my early days of power lifting and weight training but they have also been defined further by lots and lots of riding, especially up hills and under load (lots of mountain biking). There is no way to make a muscle bigger without using weights or load in one form or another.

Great tip - if you are in the habit of stretching after a ride, do toe lifts (ie stand on the curb, use your car or a fence for balance and toes on the curb, heel dropped toward the street and using your calves only, lift. - hopefully you get the image). Also stair climbing or hiking up hills is a great way to build definition. If hiking, try always carrying a heavy backpack for extra measure.

And then again there is a whole genetic disposition to large legs and calves. Even some of our top competitive body builders have difficulty building calve muscles. Some races has more difficulty some less. I'm Asian and most Asians can build fairly muscular legs. I know of competitive lifters who have had calf implants... can you imagine?

[newbiechick]

Gotta agree with the folks who say, "Love what you've got."

I was always just a little bit heavy growing up ... then in my late teens early 20s carried an extra 10-20+ pounds. In my 30s I started exercising regularly and dropped a couple of sizes. But I still have heavy legs and a large butt, even tho' I am a healthy size 6. That's just how I'm made. If I were to try to reduce my weight to the point that my legs were "thin" and my butt "small", I'd probably be dead. So I do my best to keep my heart fit and my muscles as toned as they can be from a reasonable diet and exercise regimen. I'm not going to work out multiple hours a day in an attempt to have an unattainable "perfect" body. I'm 44 and there are still times I wish I had "great legs," but 90+% of the time I'm grateful for a strong, healthy body that's good to me when I'm good to it.

We do so need to give the girls in our culture some new physical standards to aspire to ... standards that are based on health and fitness, not shape and size.

Thankful for my strong legs,
Shelley
aka newbiechick

[swlsue]

I'm Asian and most Asians can build fairly muscular legs.

BCi Pam - me too!

[Geonz]

Unless I flex 'em just right, my calves don't look like biker calves... which I sorta like because it means I'm always being underestimated. I'd have to get emaciated to get rid of the softening layer of subcutaneous fat - and it's probably why I can ride comfortably when others are turning blue.

[bcipam]

BCi Pam - me too!

That explains your avatar - great thighs girl!!!

My thighs are too heavy but I do have awesome calves. Just something about the Asian body - I think gentically we were disposed to carry heavy loads or something.

PS: I am half Japanese, quarter American Indian and German. Strange combo. I have no hair on my legs or arms and also am not allergic to poison Oak which I found out comes from my Native American heritage. I guess the German part of me is my height (5'8") and statute (broad shoulders, slim hips).

[bluezfire]

In my two years at my current gym, I have become friends with MANY powerlifters and bodybuilders. In fact, almost every single powerlifter at my gym is a world record holder in the WABDL. I know some pretty BIG guys and gals and I also know some pretty BUILT guys and gals. When it comes to developing certain body parts, this is what they have shared with me.

It all boils down to genetics!

For instance, there is a HUGE guy who can deadlift over 800 lbs AND squat over 700 lbs. You would think with all of that lower body work he would have massive calves, right? Nope. My calves are bigger and more defined than his. Same with one of the FEMALE powerlifters who can deadlift over 500lbs and squat over 400 lbs. Her calves? Tiny. I have gotten the same info from one of the most well defined and wonderful-to-look-at male bodybuilders at the gym, as well. Calves and abs, he said, are the most common muscles that make or break a bodybuilder because genetics play a key role in whether or not you will be able to develop them. If the genetics are not there, the muscle size and development will not be there - no matter what you do.

This isn't to say that you can't have STRONG calves. Because you can. They just may not ever look the way you want them to.

As for me, I'm genetically blessed with the calves genes. There are times when I take to calling mine the "Popeye Legs". And, true, they are one of my favorite body parts. But like the others have said, I think it's important that we learn to appreciate what we have been given and enjoy what our bodies can do. They truly are amazing works of art, no matter what they look like.