Calf tightness....power thru it or rest??

Missy0104
Missy0104 Posts: 77
in Fitness and Exercise
I've just recently joined a gym and I'm really trying my best to incorporate daily activity into my journey. I've lost about 50 lbs to date w/dieting alone but all it's resulted in is a smaller (but still flabby) me. LOL....

So I've been really good and consistent. I walked almost 4 miles Wednesday and yesterday I could barely walk my calves were so sore and tight. They are still pretty sore today but I don't want to skip another day.

I know it's to be expected after years of little to no exercise so I assume that I should just power thru it and I won't do any harm by pushing thru the pain and eventually it'll loosen up in the workout......right???

Replies

  • CountryDevil
    CountryDevil Posts: 819 Member
    If you are tight and sore, it might be best to walk every other day vs. every day. Give you calves a day to rest and work on upper body or something.
  • Beebs33
    Beebs33 Posts: 262
    Is it soreness or pain? Because soreness will happen...I love it because I know I have pushed harder than I did before. If it's pain, then you need a rest. Soreness I would push through. I'm extrememly sore from Jillian but still plan on doing her workout again tonight.

    Just my opinions:)
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    Have you tried doing some hamstring/calf stretches? Try the basic hamstring stretch (sit on the floor, stick your leg out and lean to that side... you know what I'm saying). That will help your calves as well.
  • Chlolu
    Chlolu Posts: 3
    My husband had this kind of trouble when he started doing exercise, and he had some "sport massage" to sort it out ( It took off the "knots" aparently) but beware it also sounded pretty painful,
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    If it's soreness, push through it.

    If it's pain, take it a bit easier.


    make sure you know the difference.
  • hazelnut861
    hazelnut861 Posts: 390 Member
    I work through but at an easier pace and usually it helps with the soreness.
  • silkysly
    silkysly Posts: 701 Member
    Do you stretch afterwards? You should do runner stretches or something like that… it will help. (I’m a runner & stretching is important.)
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Stretch and rub it out.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 1,064 Member
    I agree with others. Very important to stretch esp. after. I have very tight hamstrings and calf muscles. I have just started adding gentle yoga classes to my routines and it really helped.
  • meggyannpt
    meggyannpt Posts: 73 Member
    Start incorporating a calf stretch into your routine. I'd try warming up by walking for about 5 minutes (you don't want to stretch cold, you get less benefit), then stop and stretch. A great calf stretch is to place the leg you want to stretch behind you. Keep your back heel on the ground and back knee straight and bend your front knee until you feel a stretch in the back calf. Hold 30-60 seconds, and repeat 2 times on each side. I would also recommend stretching again at the end of your workout.

    It's really important to keep your calves lose to prevent injury. Also remember to build up slowly. Don't increase your mileage for walking/running more than 10% each week.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
    Definitely sore....I wouldn't say pain. I was a little limpy yesterday just because they felt so tight. I feel much better today which is why I felt I should just power thru and not be a wimp.

    I will definitely be better about stretching. I didn't stretch after (I know...bad, bad...). I'll lightly stretch first tonight and then if it turns into pain then I'll work upper body. I'll be sure to stretch after!!!!

    Thanks!!!
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
    Keep hydrated as well, I find my calfs are the first things to cramp when I'm dehydrated.
  • FACTEX
    FACTEX Posts: 2
    You should not exercise them if they are sore or painful. The sore means the muscle has not recovered, ie. tissue has not had time to repair. If you keep pushing it, it will get worse. Your body is telling you to give it a rest. I would foam roll them everyday, it will hurt but in time will be much better. Do your stretches too! This will help to get new blood flow into the tissue.

    Also, your diet sounds as if it is too restrictive. Have you measured bodyfat to make sure that has gone down? The scale is a terrible way to measure change. If you have not measured bodyfat, I would guess you have lost a lot of muscle tissue. Also, restrictive diets do not give you the proper nutrients to recover.

    I rarely get sore and if I do it last 24 hours tops. I am a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. I have been doing this for a long time and your case is pretty common. It's too much, too soon. Recovery is part of the whole exercise process, skip it and you will be doomed to poor results.

    Hope this helps you.
  • Panda_Jack
    Panda_Jack Posts: 829 Member
    2 words.

    Foam
    Roller
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    Definitely sore....I wouldn't say pain. I was a little limpy yesterday just because they felt so tight. I feel much better today which is why I felt I should just power thru and not be a wimp.

    I will definitely be better about stretching. I didn't stretch after (I know...bad, bad...). I'll lightly stretch first tonight and then if it turns into pain then I'll work upper body. I'll be sure to stretch after!!!!

    Thanks!!!

    Depending on who you ask, there are reports that stretching doesn't in fact do much to help.
    I still stretch some what though.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
    You should not exercise them if they are sore or painful. The sore means the muscle has not recovered, ie. tissue has not had time to repair. If you keep pushing it, it will get worse. Your body is telling you to give it a rest. I would foam roll them everyday, it will hurt but in time will be much better. Do your stretches too! This will help to get new blood flow into the tissue.

    Also, your diet sounds as if it is too restrictive. Have you measured bodyfat to make sure that has gone down? The scale is a terrible way to measure change. If you have not measured bodyfat, I would guess you have lost a lot of muscle tissue. Also, restrictive diets do not give you the proper nutrients to recover.

    I rarely get sore and if I do it last 24 hours tops. I am a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. I have been doing this for a long time and your case is pretty common. It's too much, too soon. Recovery is part of the whole exercise process, skip it and you will be doomed to poor results.

    Hope this helps you.

    Thanks - definitely helpful. I don't find I'm overly restrictive. I ranged 1200-1400 calories a day w/no exercise and my goal was always 70-100 grams of protein each day. I wish I could say I'm better about veggies but I'm not. But I focus on lean proteins and go from there. I lost 50 lbs over the course of 9 months so it wasn't a drastic loss. I just got into that mindset of "hey, I'm losing w/out needing to exercise....score!!!!" only to get to this point and (1) realize I'm not looking any better - just smaller (and still flabby) and (2) I'm NOT losing on dieting alone because my metabolism is shot to ****.... So here I am at the gym kicking and screaming.

    Off to google foam roller....no idea what that is.......

    ETA - I have an appointment with a trainer in about a week to do a full body workup - body fat measurements, etc.
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
    i went for a 2 hr hike yesterday and my calfs were so sore, since i allow myself no excuses for missing a workout ( i have a class to got in abt an hour) i took two ibuprofen pills,massaged both calfs for abt 30min and soaked in a hot calgon bath for abt 40 min.

    today im good.


    back in the game and heading to my class.

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