Scientists believe that calf muscle size is largely determined by genetics, but that hasnt stopped men from doubling down on leg day workouts and fretting about their super ankle swells. Calf implants are reportedly an increasingly common solution forinsecure guysprepping for shorts season. And its not the first time this has happened. The calf craze comes and goes. During the American Colonial period, the founding fathers were comically obsessed with getting big calve, which were easily assessed, thanks to their short pants. The modern-day heirs of their anxiety Tiger Woods allegedly has extreme hang-ups about his skinny stems should probably calm down. But maybe not entirely. Health experts know a lot more about calves than they did 250 years ago and most of the news isnt great for the chicken-legged.
As it turns out, the decision to skip leg daymight be, if not fatal, poorly considered.
Big Calves Are Correlated With Liver Problems
Bulky calves may lower some health risks, but they could act as a trojan horse for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or excessive liver lipid accumulation in people thats not a result of alcohol abuse. Since calves act as a proxy for fat deposits, scientists found that larger calf circumferences were linked with more lipid build-up and that calves could be used to screen for this liver condition. Ultimately, big calves are fickle beasts but at least people with skinny calves have one thing going for them.
Small Calves Mean a Higher Resting Heart Rate
The smaller a persons calves are, the higher their resting heart rates might be, according to one study. High resting heart rates, or anything above 100 beats per minute, have been linked to an increased risk of death regardless of physical fitness. Long-distance runners and other athletes typically have lower resting heart rates, so it makes some sense that they would have bulkier calves. However, if resting heart rates get too low, it can cause people to faint. Then even the sturdiest legs cant keep you from falling.
Big Calves Lower Stroke Risk
The bigger the calves, the smaller the stroke risk, a study of 6,265 people found. Regardless of age, gender, body mass index, and other vascular risk factors, the bigger peoples calves were the fewer fatty deposits known as plaques they built up in their arteries, lowering their risk for stenosis, carotid artery disease, and strokes. Researchers suspect that this may be because big calves give the body another place to store fat that could cause problems hanging out in the bloodstream. Its not just muscle back there.
Calves Are Correlated With Overall Musculature
Calf size is an indicator of muscle mass throughout the entire body as well as adequate nutrition, research shows. Again, the larger the calf circumference, the more appendicular muscle and skeletal muscle people had, another studyfound. Strong calves might help with standing but unless theyre implants they dont stand alone and are symptoms of a generally buffer body.
Big Calves Deflate Over Time
Skeletal muscles wear down with age and calves are no exception, studies suggest. The process, known as sarcopenia, can start as early as age 40 and pick up from there, but issues are more common among seniors. Most studies on calf circumference have the same caveat in common they focus on the elderly populations, perhaps because they experience the most shrinkage. But its important for dads to pay attention to their calves early on because exercise can help offset age-related muscle loss and the health problems that follow it. And if they look better in cargo shorts while doing it, so be it.
Calf Muscle Check List
- Workout early and often: Exercise can help offset age-related muscle loss and the health
- Dont go crazy. Strong calves are great, but really big calves are a mixed bag.
- Its not actually about the calves. Calves correlate to heart health, risk of stroke, and overall musculature.
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