The guide to slim down the legs scientifically

It’s hard to lose weight, and it’s even harder to slim down the legs. Most people try to slim down their legs for a few weeks, and their calves don’t change much, or even thicker than before. Since it is unclear whether the method is wrong or whether time is not long enough, it becomes a difficult problem whether to continue.

Why is the calf thicker when I practice after the thin leg class

There are many popular methods of slimming the calf, and the principles behind each faction are different, and the effect and time of the slimming are also different (the following does not include invasive plastic surgery operations).

Summary

  • Tiptoe may thicken the calf, and unnecessary force should be avoided
  • Stretching, massaging, wearing compression stockings, and pedalling in the air can’t really thin your calves;
  • if the whole body is thin, the calf fat will be reduced;
  • leg shape is affected by genes, so it is unnecessary to pursue too much slimness.

Hard tiptoe – hard muscles will not become smaller

The thickness of the calf is mainly determined by the amount of muscle and fat. This school mainly focuses on muscles. Here are some of the most popular training moves:

Stand on tiptoe

Squat on tiptoe

jump

In the second half of the journey, many people will feel the calf sour and hot. This is not the feeling of fat burning, but constantly repeating the action of tiptoe, which makes the muscles at the back of the calf tired.

When muscles feel tired, they will make themselves stronger so that they can exercise easier next time. The method of strengthening includes improving the quality and volume. When the volume becomes larger, the calf will become thicker. Research shows that people who exercise less do 100 standing tiptoes every day, and the cross-sectional area of the posterior calf muscle increases by about 20% after 2 months (like the thin leg class you practice with).

Among the various movements of leg exertion, the thicker legs that require great strength and cause serious pain, such as carrying heavy objects or standing on tiptoe with one leg, as well as the movements that fall slowly, have a large range and repeat completely without strength.

One leg tiptoe is more laborious than two legs tiptoe, and it is more likely to have thick legs

If you try to do this kind of tiptoe, you will keep the calf muscle volume unchanged or increase. Although having muscles is a good thing, indicating that the strength of the lower limbs is strong and the risk of falls and sports injuries is small, it is not conducive to thin legs. If there is no significant weight loss (lower calf fat), the legs will not become thinner.

The only way to make muscles smaller is to “use less”. In one study, young people who often exercise had their legs fixed for 14 days, their calves became thinner and their muscle cross-sectional area decreased by 9.4%. Although you can’t lie in bed for the sake of thin legs, you can try to reduce the excessive force of calf muscles, such as wearing high heels, habitually tiptoe when walking or exercising.

Normal walking and tiptoe walking

Stretching massage – relax muscles, but not really thin legs

If the calf muscles are very tense (after long-term wearing high heels or sports), stretching and massaging to relax the muscles may make the calf look thinner temporarily. But this is only to restore the original appearance of the calf, and cannot make the muscle smaller or prevent muscle growth.

In most studies, stretching the calf for several months can not reduce the muscle thickness (for example, stretching 4 times a day, 1 minute each time, for 24 weeks with the posture shown in the figure below). If the tensile strength is high (load-bearing or stretching board), the calf muscle thickness may increase by 5%~6%.

Stretching and massaging the calf after exercise is conducive to muscle relaxation, but don’t expect it to make the legs thinner and thinner.

Stretch the calf

Eliminate edema – pressure socks and air pedaling, temporarily “shrink”

After wearing tight socks, the whole leg will look thinner. This is because socks temporarily compress leg muscles, promote blood circulation and reduce edema, but muscle and fat will not become less.

If you need to stand for a long time or have abnormal veins in your lower limbs, you can wear socks with pressure. However, socks do not have the effect of long-term thin legs. If they are not selected and worn properly, there is a risk of skin injury and pressure damage. 

When pedaling in the air, the legs are raised very high, which also has the effect of promoting blood reflux. If the legs and feet are edema, this posture may make the legs thinner temporarily, but after standing up, it will return to its previous appearance. Because the intensity of this action is low, it consumes less calories, and the effect of reducing fat is also very small.

These two methods can only temporarily “shrink” the calf, and the effect of thin legs cannot be maintained.

Air pedaling

Overall weight loss – the whole body is thin, and the legs are also thin

In addition to muscle, fat also has a great impact on the thickness of the calf (especially women). None of the previous methods can effectively reduce calf fat. In fact, no research has confirmed that any exercise can specifically reduce calf fat, which will only be reduced with the body fat. Even if you are born with a lot of hip and leg fat, you can only reduce it all over the body, because the fat distribution is mainly determined by genes and is difficult to change.

The part that can be pinched is mainly fat. If it can’t be pinched, it is generally because the fat is thick

If you want to reduce body fat, you should not only control your diet, but also exercise. But most sports will use the calf. As mentioned earlier, muscle strength may increase. Will this offset the reduction of fat, but thick legs?

Take “whether running will thicken legs” as an example: if you have done little exercise before, your muscles will increase a little at the beginning. At this time, the calf fat has not been reduced in time, and your legs may thicken slightly. The specific thickness depends on how hard the calf feels (the less exercise before, the faster you run now, and the shorter the heel landing time, the easier it is to be thick). But after running for a period of time to adapt, the calf muscle will not increase. If the body fat is significantly reduced, the calf will usually become thinner.

The state of the author of long-term running when his calf is relaxed and forced

In various types of sports, the effect of thin legs is more obvious without raising the heels and feeling pain and effort in the legs. However, it’s better to choose what you like if you deliberately do the thinnest leg sports. As long as the heat consumption is large and the fat reduction effect is good, you can usually slim your legs.

Leg shape is influenced by genes,

It’s unnecessary to pursue too much slimness

Before setting a goal for thin legs, look at the leg shapes of your parents and siblings. Because genes account for 67% to 95% of the factors that determine the thickness of the calf, and the rest can be changed by diet and exercise. It is more difficult to slim the calf than to lose weight, thigh and arm. Moreover, the shape of muscle and the length of Achilles tendon are difficult to change. Blindly pursuing a slender calf may damage the overall health.

Therefore, it is a healthy and effective method to control the weight within the healthy range (BMI, that is, the square of weight ÷ height is between 18.5~23.9), ensure sufficient exercise, and reduce unnecessary tiptoe movements.

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