Last Updated on March 10, 2017 by Femniqe
If you want legs that look fantastic in high heels, then you have to start paying some attention to your calves.
Not only will you look absolutely amazing in short dresses, but your body will have a solid foundation to support it.
Most of the time emphasis is placed on butt and thighs so it’s easy to overlook your calf muscles.
The thing is, if your calf muscles are weak and tight, you’re more likely to suffer injuries and chronic issues like plantar fasciitis.
But all of that can be simply avoided by including calf exercises in your routine.
It’s composed of two major muscles, the gastrocnemius (located near the top of the calf) and the soleus (a smaller muscle on the inside of the calf).
The exercises that are listed below will help you tone these muscles and produce strong, sculpted and attractive calves.
Note: It’s very critical that you do these workouts safely. So always warm up by walking or jogging slowly for at least 10 minutes and use proper form.
Also it’s recommended to do only one of these exercises each day to prevent soreness and injury.
OK let’s begin!
1. Plank Calf Stretches
- Get into the plank position with your palms flat on the ground while tipping on your toes.
- Now you going to push your body forward using your toe strength as far as possible.
- Then push back as far as possible until you feel the tension in your calves.
- Do 3 sets of 20 reps.
2. Calf Pulses/Raises
- You’re going to raise your heels a few inches off the ground and hold for one second.
- Now lower your heels back to the original position and repeat.
- Do 2 sets of 30 reps.
3. High heel plies
- Get into a wide stance, standing on your toes with both heels off the ground.
- Squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground and heels are still off the ground.
- Hold position for one second and then raise back into the original position and repeat.
- Do 3 sets of 20 reps.
How do I get skinny legs and calves without bulking?
This is another common question from our readers. It’s understandable why most women don’t want to be bulky, because that’s the look most men pursue.
So here are things that you need to know:
- When you lift weights you will build muscles, that’s just science. You will need muscle to give your legs a tone and sleek definition. Plus it’s pretty effective in keeping your body fat down.
- If you want to get purely skinny legs with zero muscle definition then you will have to avoid lifting weights (however, this is something that we don’t recommend).
- Everyone’s body goals are different and that’s completely fine. However, you can still have slim legs with toned muscles that aren’t bulky.
- If you don’t want to have too much muscle mass on your legs, then you should stick to cardio and do light strength training.
- However, we must still stress the importance of doing strength training because this type of workout is what build muscles, which means that you will significantly increase your metabolic rate and burn a lot more calories.
Some more tips for slim lean thighs and calves
- Make sure that you do not lift super heavy, that’s for those who want to get thicker thighs and mass.
- When lifting keep your reps high and weights light.
- Try to do more endurance based circuits, such as the ones that are used in Pilates. Those type of exercises will help you tone your legs and calves without getting too bulky.
Workouts that cause increased thickness
Becoming thick is one of the most sought after topics in 2017. But this post is just about getting slimmer and leaner thighs and calves.
Workouts such as lunges and squats are fantastic for your entire body, but the mainly targets your quadriceps which includes your glutes and hamstrings.
So if you don’t want to build any more muscle then you might want to limit the amount of these exercises you do and also stop doing them with heavyweights.
It doesn’t mean you should stop doing them, it’s just you want to avoid them excessively, because these are the workouts that mainly build your lower body.
Workouts to watch out for:
- Dead-lifts
- Quad extensions(machine)
- Lunges with weights
- Squats with weights
- Doing too much HIIT
Our bodies all respond differently to workouts.
Some women body can tolerate heavier lifting without getting bulky while others will become too muscular.
That’s why you have to test and see what works for your body.
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