Who has the coolest calves? I hear walking and running make them huge!

[CatamountLam]

Who has the coolest calves?  I hear walking and running make them huge!

[Dominique]

Look at long distance runners vs. sprinters: the latter have the bigger calves (same with all other muscles, btw) and it's not because they run more, they just spend more time at the gym doing weight lifting. This is not to say you won't get muscular calves by walking or running a lot, it's just they won't get bulky.

[gymJUNKIE]

Running will help with calf muscle defintion, but not to the same extent as weight training. Obviously running involves increased calf muscle activation compared to walking, but I dont think this is enough of a stimulus. Weight training is vital ... Include eccentric calf raises with dumbells, barbell calf raises, hamstring curls [the gastrocnemius crosses the knee joint and is thus a knee flexor, hence hamstring curls require calf muscle activation, in particular the gastrocnemius], etc. Remember ... With resistance training, make sure you stretch. Research has shown muscle shortening post resistance training ... So static stretching is needed, i.e. 3 x 30 seconds.

[FourSpeed]

Never had calves to speak of until about a month after starting walking/running.  Even back in my days of free weights they just never got to where they are now.  Now they're building and even my wife noticed one day when we were at the track..........Hey you got calves now.  #getoffthecouch

[VSUPERMAN]

The calves need to be shocked . At the gym or even at home during a workout . Superset exercises and you will see results quickly. Walk on your toes and flex the muscle.

[slysam · Accepted solution]

I think this varies a lot by genetics and perception may be different among many males vs. females. My calves use to be quite big in proportion to my leg just from walking, climbing stairs and lots of dancing. At that time I had three part time jobs I walked between and went up and down stairs a lot. In my spare time I did a lot of dancing and took dance classes that often involved dancing on the balls of my feet or in heels. The only resistance training I did was pilates mat and some conditioning exercises in dance classes. I weighed less than now, wasn't overweight but my calves were big enough I could never fit into women's knee high boots that are fitted. Sometimes men (and women) who lift weights would ask me what exercises did for my calves. Interestingly, when I moved and changed jobs my lifestyle became less active (less stairs and less walking). I gained weight but my calves stayed about the same. When I dieted to lose that weight my calves shrank about an inch and can now fit into such boots (hence the profile picture). I wasn't doing quite as much walking and stairs--I suspect it was more the stair climbing because now when I run stair laps my calves tremble for quite a while after. I don't usually do calf specific resistance training but I do plie's and squats standing tip toe as it helps me with balance and I do feel it in the calves. I do have to make an effort to stretch them regularly or they get tight. I am not sure for people genetically inclined to smaller calves than they prefer--other than the standard things you do to build muscle.

[gerrymcd]

Cyclists! 

[northeast_quine]

I've noticed that since I've started walking a lot the size of my calves has grown quite a bit (to the point where I can't get knee-high boots zipped up).  Now I don't want to stop my walking as I'm enjoying it and seeing the health benefits but what can I do to shrink the calves a bit.  I don't really do running so this is just as a result of brisk walking.

[FadedlikeSagan]

Mine used to be big when I didn't even exercise! I used to be fat and then lost weight purely through diet but my calves were still big. Then when I got into cycling they shrank in mass but they became super hard and stringy and tough.