What can I do to slim down my calves?
Congratulations on continuing to develop healthy eating and exercise habits. As you know, when we age, it becomes more difficult to maintain weight, let alone lose weight. So, clearly, you are doing something right and your hard work is paying off.
Since I am not sure exactly what you are doing for your workouts, it is difficult to tell you what to change, add or eliminate. However, one thing to remember when you are exercising several days a week, you need to vary your activities throughout the week.
I have noticed with clients of mine that are carrying excess weight, that certain areas of the body appear to suddenly develop, while in fact it is simply a decrease of fat and an increase of definition of an existing muscle.
Therefore, my recommendations for clients in your circumstance involve a varied routine that includes strength training of 15-20 repetitions at a low weight, cardiovascular training of 20-45 minutes as well as flexibility exercises that focus on lengthening the muscles of your body.
It is also very important to take specific measurements of your body so that you know exactly how your body is changing. Body fat analysis sets a baseline for charting your progress accurately, this can be done using calipers or on a specialized scale that uses bioelectrical impedence to measure the fat to muscle ratio. Circumferential measurements using a flexible tape allow you to see exactly where the changes are happening. These typically include: chest (measured under your arms and across your chest), waist (measured directly over your belly button), hips (measured with your feet together and at the widest part of your buttocks), thighs (measured mid way between your hip and your knee), and calves (measured at the widest part of your calf muscle).
Keep in mind that you are born with a specific body-type and no matter what type of exercises you do to regain your strength and endurance, you are likely to gain strength and lose weight in specific areas regardless of the type of exercise you do. Having said that, I would encourage you to keep your repetitions high and your weight low for the strength-training portion of your workouts. And, adding a muscle-lengthening type of activity such as Pilates will help give your calves a longer leaner appearance.
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