running vs walking vs elliptical
 

my question is which method is most effective for sculpting legs? My calves are HUGE and i heard that running will help thin them out, however i have horrible knees and would rather not run. Is walking at a brisk pace at an incline or on the elliptical just as good? What are some other exercises? I do squats and wall sits. I also have abnormally large shins, i have no idea how they got that way, but it’s really odd and kinda gross. Thanks for any help you can give!

Are your calves huge because of muscle or fat? I don't really have a good answer for you, but I'm curious to see what others say. I would think that if it's fat, any cardio will help. But I could be wrong.

Hmmm, which is better? I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to that one... If you can't run then by no means don't run... Walking or elliptical? Some swear by one or the other... IMHO, both are good, both burn calories, both can be done at higher intensities and more incline... Try them both, do them both variety is a very good thing...

As for the calves, well I have a girlfriend that has super skinny calves and no matter what she does she cannot make them bigger, it's just genetic for her. I think once you lose weight you'll get a better idea if it's genetic or was just fat on top of muscle...

Sorry I can't be of more help :shrug:, but I hope this helped a bit ...

I have genetically large calves. My mom has them, my sister has them, my great-grandmother had them. If the calves are giant muscularly, you're not going to be able to do much with them other than embrace them!

thanks everyone. I think my calves are muscle...i can flex them and they don't feel mushy. But they used to skinnier, but then i again, i used to be skinner.

I have large calves too, 16 inches and nothing I have tried is making them smaller. I really wanted chicken legs. Wearing a knee high skirt really makes them look fat. When I flex them I can only pinch a little bit of skin near the back of my knee, everything else is firm and tight so I guess Im stuck with elephant calves.

my calves are mainly muscle but have fat around them
i've been doing the elliptical machine for about 2 weeks now
i practically race to get on it at my gym b/c i seem to get a deeper workout in terms of heart rate, sweating, feeling energized

but for some reason that i can't explain when i just WALK on the treadmill i feel the effects on my calves more?!?!?!

So I know exactly what you mean about big calves.... My brother and I are both 'blessed' with overly muscular calves, they are extremely large, and they are all muscle. They actually give us both (my bro and I) problems when we run. When he went to the doc to ask about it, he was told that the shealth that holds the muscle in place is so taught around the muscle because it is so large, and that when running and engaging those muscles the shealth has to expand, and that is where the pain is coming from. Interesting huh? Its actually a pain in the ***...I could run forever if it wasn't for the damn pain in my calves...lol

i would think that the elliptical would be best. i think it has less impact on the knees. i have big calves aswell, i used to walk and that got them smaller. i am sure the ellipticall would do the same.