[Thinsicle]

I've been sedentary for quite some time. Now that I'm trying to get active by starting to walk, I have been experiencing extremely tight calf muscles and eventual pain after only about 5-10 minutes into my walk. I've tried stretching my calves beforehand but didn't notice much of a difference. Is this something that will hopefully go away or get better in time? I would really like to work my way up to running at some point.

[ILoveVegetables]

Hi, I used to have the same problem. I used to get a really sharp pain in my calves when I walked for even a few minutes.

I just started walking for exercise about two weeks ago. I started by walking 3 km in 35 minutes almost every day. On the days I couldn't go out, I used to jog in place at home. Over just a week I felt a noticeable difference and I didn't get the sharp pain anymore. I think I started to get used to walking that 3 km everyday.

I still get that pain when I jog for more than a few minutes but it's much less than it used to be, and I don't get it at all when I walk anymore. I'm going to be starting C25K to transition into jogging/running in a week or two, but first I'm going to try and get more comfortable with the walking.

My suggestion would be to take it slow. I tried to jog on my first day and I was huffing like a 90 year old 5 minutes into my walk. Once I focused on just doing my walking, I gave my body time to get used to holding its own weight for longer periods.

Good luck

[VioletDolphin83]

If you've been sedentary for quite some time then you should probably be only starting off with just 5 minutes of walking. Maybe you should go to the doctor to get it checked out first though.

[MariaMaria]

Pain in the calf muscle will go away on its own. Pain in the front of the shin sounds like shin splints--google stretches for that, and if you're wearing older shoes, consider replacing them with something that's correct for your gait and that has its full complement of support and cushioning.

[meowforce]

This happens to me a lot...the pain usually goes away on its own 20 minutes into my walk/run, but I wish it wouldn't happen to begin with. It usually happens on the side of my leg though. Anyone know of any stretching exercises that could help if the pain's on the side?

[Kscott]

Try eating a banana a day and that should help. Also if you've been sedentary for quite awhile your muscles will revolt. Just work through the pain with Ibprofen, eventually your muscles will get accustomed to it.

[newme55]

This could be soreness due to having been sedetary for so long. I imagine if you continue to take it slow, this will slowly go away.

[Kscott]

Originally Posted by Thinsicle

I've been sedentary for quite some time. Now that I'm trying to get active by starting to walk, I have been experiencing extremely tight calf muscles and eventual pain after only about 5-10 minutes into my walk. I've tried stretching my calves beforehand but didn't notice much of a difference. Is this something that will hopefully go away or get better in time? I would really like to work my way up to running at some point.

You might want to add a banana a day to your diet. It helps me with calf pain.

http://healing.about.com/od/homereme...leg-cramps.htm