Jogging w/ out-of-shape calves and ankles!

iKapuniai

So... I've decided to take up jogging as a form of exercise. It's going just okay... I started the C25K program (sort of lol) and discovered (to my pleasant surprise!) that I CAN jog for 60 seconds straight, however, I take more than my 90 seconds of walking to recover. I've found that it isn't my excessive breathing and increased heart rate that keeps me from going further (which is also a surprise, I'm not as out of breath as I expected to be), but it's actually my left calf and ankle. It doesn't "cramp" exactly, it just gets super exhausted, like I'd worked it out and had been walking for hours or something. Mind you, this is even after a good 3-4 minutes of stretching, plus an additional 5 minutes of light walking/warm ups before even going into my brisk walking and jogging.

Does anybody else have this issue? Or if there are any runners out there that might have any additional stretches or exercises I need to do, or any advice? That'd be great!

Thank you all.

Love and Alohas,
Ihilani Kapuniai

iKapuniai

bump?

koosdel

Grow stronger.

Don't neglect recovery times betwen runs, and be sure you're getting decent nutrition and you'll grow stronger.

margojr4

1. Have a great pair of shoes. Spend the money and time at a runners store to get fitted for your gait etc

2. Strengthen your leg muscles. Squats, calf raises, lunges, leg extentions, leg curls

3. Stay hydrated, drink water before during and after your run

4. Warm up 5min walk before you jog

5. Stretch after your run - quads, hams & calves, check livestrong.com to see these stretches performed

Are you running on a treadmill? Have the incline setting to ONE if not the track has a tendency to 'pull' you.

caroltina

Try ankle supports they work for me! Also try a great stretch - cross your feet - so they are next to each other but crossed if you get me and then fold forward and hold for as long and as deep as you can - then swap and do the other leg - it stretches a tendon that runs down the calf all the way to your little toe - helped me. Also another calf stretch I found useful is to go into pressup position then put the toes of one foot on the heel of the other and ease your heel to the floor - and do the other then. I have achilies tendonitis and this was things the physio told me to do, along with using a wobble cushion - helps improve and strengthen calf muscles, and hoping over a cross marked on the floor.
Hope these help, have patience I am 2 years in and now for the first time had a run of months with no ankle pain/injury (touch wood)

danikay2011

I agree, check with a running shoe shop and get professional advice on shoes. Good luck!

michaeloro

I also started a C25K and was having the same problem, my calves were cramping way before I was getting winded. I tried stretching, drinking a ridiculous amount of water, heating pads before and nothing helped.. But then someone suggested taking a rolling pin and rolling my calves, I wrapped it in a thin towel and did this for about 5-10 minutes a leg and wow were my calves loose and my cramping went down significantly... I think they sell "the stick" and foam equivalents for this purpose...

iKapuniai

Thank you all so much for your helpful tips!! I appreciate it, and I'll try them all. Something is bound to work, cause I hate having to cut my jog/walk short because of this!

Love and Alohas,
Ihilani Kapuniai