I Want Shapely Calves and No More Cankles!

Q. I would like to shape up my calves. Which exercises target the calf muscles? Also, is there any way to improve my cankles?

A. Like noses, rear ends and most any body part, the shape of the calf varies widely among people. Not only are there differences in the amount of body fat stored in the lower leg, there are differences in the structure of the calf muscle, the gastrocnemius.

The gastrocnemius consists of a swath of muscle tissue that is connected by tendons to the thigh bone at its top end, and to the heel bone at its lower end via the Achilles tendon. The amount of muscle mass and tendon tissue varies. Some people have muscle tissue that extends low, closer to the ankle, and some have thicker or thinner tendons. These individual variations determine the size and shape of the lower leg.

How much fat is present will also contribute to how thick or defined the calf and ankles appear. (For those not in the know, a “cankle” is a somewhat derogatory term for an ankle that appears to be as wide as the rest of the calf.) Also, some medical conditions cause fluid build-up in the lower legs that may also increase calf or ankle size.

Shaping up your calves

Can you make a bulky calf longer looking? Or can you take a slim calf and beef it up?

It may be difficult to dramatically change calf shape because certain aspects of this anatomy may be immutable. For example, if you have a short Achilles tendon, by definition, the muscle will extend lower down on the leg and the leg may look thicker. It is impossible to lengthen the tendon.

While muscle mass can be added through weight training, how much calf muscle can build up depends on the number of muscle fibers and their type.

Muscle fiber type also varies widely between people due to their genetics. If you have a higher percentage of Type 1 fibers, known as slow-twitch, you may have a smaller muscle mass because these fibers do not bulk up as much as Type 2 fibers (the fast-twitch type). Likewise, if your calf is already muscular, it may not be possible to reduce your genetic tendency to be more muscular (short of losing too much weight, which results in muscle loss).

Still, no matter what type of muscle fiber predominates in your lower leg, or how it’s structured, you can improve the tone and strength of your calf with different exercises, including those that involve jumping or running, as well as resistance exercises such as calf raises. Check out MSN’s Fit Zone for two calf moves: the basic Calf Raise and the One-Leg Calf Raise.

The amount of fat on your lower leg affects its thickness. Decreasing body fat by doing more cardio exercise every day and/or eating fewer calories may reduce some of the fat. But lower body fat may be more resistant to reduction. This has been seen with regard to thigh fat.

See the big picture

It’s one thing to want to improve how your body looks, but it’s another to get overly fixated on specific body parts. There’s a danger in analyzing your body parts with a microscopic eye because you miss the bigger picture. If you have muscular calves that you want to slim down but are having a hard time doing so, try to appreciate the strength of your legs and how they allow you to perform better athletically. If you have punier calves than you’d like, do what you can to strengthen them, but also focus on viewing them with an accepting, rather than disapproving, eye. How you look to others is an overall image, not a collection of body parts. If you are as fit and toned as you can be, and you have a big smile plastered on your face, you will look pretty darn good.

Find all articles by Martica.

Do you have a fitness or weight-loss question for Martica? Send e-mail to experts@microsoft.com. Please include Ask Martica in the subject line. Each of our experts responds to one question each week and the responses are posted on Mondays on MSN Health. We regret that we cannot provide a personalized response to every submission.

Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist, and an award-winning fitness instructor and health writer. She has a Ph.D. in behavioral nutrition and physical activity from Columbia University, and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. She has written hundreds of articles for publications such as Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of eight books, including her latest, Cross-Training for Dummies. (Read her full bio.)

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