How To Lose Calf Fat In A Week

Having lean legs is a dream for most people, which is why they keep asking how to lose calf fat in a week. Even if you are continuously working out and maintaining a diet, you may still notice your calves getting bigger. While a majority of people want to lose calf fat, they struggle with understanding whether their calves are made up of muscle or fat – resulting in inefficient workout techniques.

To understand how to lose calf fat in a week, you need to focus on many different aspects of your lifestyle – including diet and exercise. In a nutshell, if you continue bulking up and exercising, you may never be able to lose calf fat in the way that you want.

To solve this problem for you, this blog post contains all the information you need regarding how to lose calf fat in a week.

 

Why Do I Have Big Calves?

This is one of the most common questions asked by people who work out on a regular basis. To understand why you have big calves in the first place, here are a few factors to consider:

Genetic Inheritance

Most of your body structure depends upon your genetics. If your parents and siblings have big calves, chances are that you have inherited a similar body structure which makes you have big calves as well.

While many people are born with large calves, that certainly does not mean that you cannot lose calf fat. Whether your calves are made up of muscle or fat, there are still ways that you can change how your legs look every time you wear slim fit jeans or high boots.

Fat Buildup

If your BMI is above normal, you may be struggling with fat buildup. Fat buildup occurs when you have an unhealthy diet and do not engage in regular exercise. When you accumulate fat in your body, this fat eventually makes its way to your legs – thus making you have big calves.

The good news is that even if you have fat buildup in your calves, there are simply workout techniques that you can use to lower your overall weight and also reduce the size of your calves.

However, you need to remember that losing fat from your legs is difficult as compared to other places in your body. This means that you will have to follow a workout routine consistently in order to see promising results in your body structure.

Muscle

If you are amongst those people who have a healthy diet and exercise regularly, there are chances that you may still have big calves. The reason behind this is that your workouts are mainly focused on calves – and the muscles in your body have eventually expanded over time. Simple exercises such as running can even result in muscular calves.

While having muscular calves is no problem, many people still prefer having lean legs that make them appear slimmer in fitted clothing. If you want to reduce the muscles in your calves, remember to alter your workout routines to exercises that do not target your calves.

 

Big Calves: Muscle or Fat?

Before you ask the question of how to lose calf fat in a week, it is necessary to determine whether or not it is actually fat.

For people who have genetically large muscles in their calves, there are high chances that their large calves are not made up of fat. In this case, they should focus more on targeted exercises rather than reducing weight.

If you are overweight, there are high chances that your big calves are a result of fat. Many people struggle with understanding whether or not they are overweight, but you can always refer to your BMI (body mass index) to determine the fitness level of your body. If you work out a few times per week, your average body fat should range between 21% and 24%. If it is significantly above this range, you are likely overweight and need to focus on weight loss.

A simple test to understand whether your calves are made up of muscle or fat is to simply flex your calves. By touching the calves, you will feel two different kinds of textures: soft and hard. The hard areas are all muscle, and the soft areas are the layer of fat covering the muscle.

 

My Calves Got Bigger After Working Out. Why?

If you are suffering from the problem of having bigger calves despite working out regularly, know that you are not alone. A majority of people tend to engage in workouts without fully understanding their body type – which results in targeted exercises for areas of the body that do not need it.

Your diet also plays a major role in bigger calves. If you want to lose calf fat, you should focus on having a lean diet instead of bulking. Bulking will always result in bigger calves since you are purposefully increasing your body fat in order to develop big muscles in the future. Following a lean diet will help you lose calf fat since it helps you achieve a lean body figure.

If you had slim calves in the past that significantly increased in size after working out, then you have certainly built muscles in your calves. The best part about this is that it is easy to reverse the effects of muscular calves by simply avoiding certain targeted exercises and adapting your workout routine to one that helps you lose calf fat.

 

How to Reduce Muscular Calves

Once you have understood whether your big calves are a result of fat or muscle, there are many simple ways to go back to having leaner and slimmer legs. Here are 3 things to do if you have muscular calves:

Change Your Exercises

Since muscles are built through exercise, you can easily reduce muscular calves by changing your workout routine. There are many exercises that will help you lose calf fat, but if you want to reduce calf muscles, here are a few that you should avoid:

  • Stop Running: While cardio is great for overall weight loss, it certainly leads to an increase in the appearance of muscular calves. If you always keep your treadmill on incline, it is time to let that habit go when you are trying to lose muscular calves. If you enjoy running so much that you don’t want to stop, remember to always do your cardio on a flat surface instead of an inclined one. Also, running for extended periods of time at a lower pace is much better than sprinting.
  • No More Hiking: Similar to incline exercises, going for uphill hikes has the same expanding effect on your calf muscles. This is why it is necessary to avoid any hill sprints or even frequent hiking.
  • Ditch the Skipping Rope: Skipping ropes are commonly used as part of workout routines, but we highly advise against them since they expand your calf muscles. Skipping is a targeted exercise for your calves, which is why you need to avoid it if you want to have slimmer legs.

Low Intensity Cardio

Another great way to lose calf fat and develop lean legs is to engage in low intensity cardio. Alongside of burning fat, it will certainly help you decrease all the bulked-up muscles in your calves as well.

  • Get on the Treadmill: Running on a treadmill is better than running on ground, especially since the footwork is limited. The treadmill will move under you and your calf muscles will not have to constantly push your bodyweight off the ground.
  • Adjust your Running: How do you run? If you always use your toes to run, you are working your calf muscles more than necessary. Adjust this to a more heel-to-toe strike motion and you will see significant reductions in your calf muscle size.

Lose Weight

The biggest part of knowing how to lose calf fat in a week is to reduce your overall weight. By focusing on a healthy diet and exercise routine, you can easily lose calf fat and reduce muscle appearance which would make your legs appear much slimmer.

While you may want to just do something that helps you lose calf fat instantly, unfortunately that will not possible. Your body tends to shed weight in the same way that you can gain it – slowly and steadily. To learn how to lose calf fat in a week, there are some targeted exercises that you can do which will certainly speed up the process.

  • Stretching Exercises: When you wake up in the morning, remember to take some time to stretch. This helps you loosen some of the tight muscles in your body that may have developed over time due to high intensity workouts. Stretching will also make your body more flexible, thus making it easier to know how to lose calf fat in a week.
  • Yoga: This is a great way to reduce weight without engaging in intense exercise that builds muscle. Yoga and Pilates are able to help you build a strong core in your body structure, which is especially useful if you want to lose calf fat.

Adjust Your Diet

How many calories are you consuming every day? If you want to know how to lose calf fat in a week, maybe it is time to start tracking your calories. This can be done using any mobile application, or simply becoming more mindful of the food that you eat.

Remember that if you want to lose calf fat, you need to stop eating foods that will make you bulk. This includes having lots of proteins, so you need to start avoiding having too many eggs and bacon for breakfast. Switch to healthier options – such as salads.

 

Exercises to Lose Calf Fat

Once you have determined that you have fat buildup in your calves, it is time to understand all the secrets behind how to lose calf fat in a week. While you may not achieve your ideal body within a week, you will certainly begin to notice smaller calves and a more toned body that further motivates you to continue.

To lose calf fat is no rocket science. Here are two simple exercises that can help you learn all the tricks behind how to lose calf fat in a week:

Seated Calf Raises (with weights)

If you want to lose calf fat, we recommend started with seated calf raises with weights. If you are not familiar with using weights in your exercise routine, you can start with simple seated calf raises and eventually add the weights once you become more comfortable with the position.

Here is how to lose calf fat with seated calf raises:

  • Sit on a chair with a dumbbell of your choice in each hand.
  • Keep your feet firm on the floor and position the dumbbells on your thighs (above your kneecap).
  • Maintain a straight posture by keeping your head faced frontward and your legs a few inches apart.
  • While keeping your toes on the floor, raise your heels. This will work your calf area.
  • Hold the position for 10 seconds before switching to the other leg.
  • For effective results, repeat this exercise 20 times (reps) in 3 sets.

 

Calf Stretch

If you want to know how to lose calf fat in a week, you need to try out this highly effective exercises. Calf stretches will help you tone your legs and make them appear lean and slim through all kinds of jeans and boots.

How to perform:

  • While standing straight, face a wall. Position yourself with your right foot close to the wall and left foot a little behind.
  • Balance yourself by placing elbows and forearms on the wall. Remember to maintain a distance of a few inches to balance effectively.
  • Stretch your left calf by lowering the glute and core alongside of pushing your bodyweight against the wall with the forearms.
  • Switch between your legs and repeat the exercise. We recommend doing 2 sets of 3 reps each at least once daily.

 

Conclusion

After understanding how to lose calf fat in a week, you are certainly on your way to having the ideal body of your dreams. Remember that to lose calf fat, you need to maintain a lean diet and exercises that do not put too much stress on your calf muscles.

 

More Ideas For Your Weight Loss

Reference