Injury with Exercise

sasc278

Usually when I began to exercise after long periods of absolutely NOTHING, I tended to just cannonball right into the middle of things that were way too difficult for me; however, other than being exceedingly sore for about a month, things got going alright.

However, after my family and friends begged me to not do this again, as they were concerned for my safety, I began slowly this time. Low weights, low reps, low time, gently increasing over a period of time. However, this time, I began to get severe muscle cramps in my calves and thighs after about a month. I suspected this was from the exercise, so I stopped everything. I still continued to get them about 2 weeks after quitting, but they seem to have stopped altogether now (a total 1 month after quitting exercise).

How is it that when I did things properly, in moderation, I got hurt more than doing the "dangerous" thing? Any advice?