Friends never let friends skip leg day, goes the old adage. But, given the rise in popularity of CrossFit style training and traditional weightlifting disciplines taking in squats and deadlifts, you’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘missing legs’ was a thing of the past.
Well, maybe, but that’s really only half of the story because, according to one cosmetic surgeon, the demand for calf contouring among men has gone through the roof over the last five years. During the 90-minute procedure, fat is either harvested from the buttocks and placed back inside the subject’s calf muscles, or silicone implants are used to beef up the lower leg.
Costing up to AU$14000, the procedure is now so popular that Dr Gary Ross, a plastic surgeon based in Manchester UK, says demand has exceeded that of buttock augmentation.
Talking to BBC’s newsbeat he said: “We’re seeing a least 2-3 people a week looking for a change in this lower part of the body. Five years ago it was uncommon to have people come in for these treatments, maybe even less than 1 a month.”
It’s widely accepted that calf muscles are among the hardest to build in the gym, but the fact that men are resorting to surgery to fix the problem, could point to a bigger issue.
“Fat is taken via liposuction from areas such as the flanks before being replaced in the calves to provide volume,” continues Ross. “Congenitally there may be underlying causes such as skeletal malformations, and acquired causes include trauma. It is important to be examined thoroughly and to investigate any underlying causes before considering surgery,” Mr Ross Concludes.”
Any kind of surgery is always a serious procedure so if you’re struggling to build calf size, try these 6 tips for growing your calves.