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duquesnewhistle · 02-16-2013, 12:37 PM

For about two months now I've been putting in a lot of effort to lose some weight. I've improved my diet, and started excercising more frequently. I got a treadmill for my birthday and I try to go on that every other night (the other nights I do light excercise such as going on the wii fit or zumba)
I set up a 20 minute routine on the treadmill which follows like this:
walk (30s)
jog (30s)
walk (1 min)
jog (1 min)
walk (1 min)
jog (1 min)
walk (30s)
jog (1 min)
walk (30s)
jog (1 min)
walk (1 min)
jog (30s)
sprint (30s)
I then go back to the start and repeat the routine. For me this is quite exhausting and I work up a good sweat!
although I've lost weight, I'm not happy with the way my body looks, in particular my legs. If anything, this excercise seems to have made my calves chunkier! I've read (though I don't know how reliable the source was) that an incline in a treadmill can make the running more strenuous on your calves, increasing the size of the muscle and resulting in bulkier legs. unfortunately my treadmill has an incline of about 20 cm, and I'm worried this is what's causing my legs to get bigger. This is very frustrating, as I've been feeling really pleased with the excercise I've been doing, but my main aim in the first place was to get slimmer looking legs!
does anyone have advice on how I can achieve this? should I ditch the treadmill? adapt a new routine? or persevere with the one I've already got?
any help would be appreciated!

lenvegas · 02-18-2013, 11:21 AM

Hi, there is usually a genetic component if you have large calf muscles. If you want to slim down do endurance running meaning a semi fast pace for longer periods. If you notice long distance runners, have slim legs while sprinters have bulkier legs with larger calves. You need to SLOWLY work you way up to running about 45 minutes/ This may take you a few months so walk jog if you have to at first with your goal being to run steady for the complete length of time. This is called cardio training and the idea behind it is you will reach your fat burning zone doing which will have a slimming effect on your legs. And yes, that 20cm incline may be contributing to larger calves but if you can still do the endurance type running even with the slight incline and lose calf size. I do this type of training to keep my waist thin as sit ups alone do not work. Hope this helps....All the best.....lenvegas

Nicole K · 02-23-2013, 10:22 AM

I agree with Len. There is totally a genetic component to calf size. I have seen women with extremely large calves who are not in shape otherwise..it's just in their genes.

Women who do long distance running do tend to have leaner, and therefore in appearance, longer looking legs. So for us shorter people, having leaner legs, definitely gives the appearance of looking taller.

A little off topic, but I was just going to mention that when you use your treadmill, to not hold on to the handles (sides or front). You will build better balance by walking and jogging/running without holding on and will get more of a workout as well.
As we age, our inner balance can decline. As you will see many older and elderly people with balance issues. Using a treamill without using the handles or grips will build better inner balance and will help you get a better workout.

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