I’ve only just started my journey. And I have a nagging doubt whether I can continue due to my left calf. When I run it’s so tight that I’m dragging it along. If I knew it would get better I would have a lot more motivation to keep going. My gremlin is telling me that it’s a permanent issue and that it’s just damaged.
Any wisdom greatly appreciated.....
I’m no expert so please don’t take my advice as gospel. Also if someone else with more experience says my advice is wrong then listen to them not me. I’d say keep the jogging extremely light. Slow down then slow down some more. Always do the 5 minute walk before and after each run and always stretch down afterwards. Apparently stretching before running can cause more damage as your muscles are still cold. Hot muscles are better for stretching. If pain persists give yourself more days to recover. If still no good then consult a doctor. I also find a nice hot(ish) bath helps with achy joints/muscles.
You can do dynamic stretches before a run, but static stretches are only for after a run. Maybe the dynamic stretches before will help loosen everything a little. But that’s all said with no medical training and not really knowing what is wrong with your calf. I hope you manage to sort it out 🙂
Stretching immediately after every run, nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h... while muscles are still warm and supple, pulls out contractions, avoiding carrying tensions into the next run and also improves recovery by improving blood flow, as recommended in the guide to the plan.
Many people do not hold their stretches for long enough or put enough effort in. Hold post run stretches for 30 seconds and make sure the pull is strong enough to be on the verge of discomfort.
Awesome. Thanks, Ian. It’s good to know that they ‘should’ improve 👍
James Dunne has some good videos on youtube to help with warm ups, injury treatment and injury avoidance
I am also still a newbie runner but a big help for me was starting to use a foam roller! I really could feel it making a difference! See for example youtu.be/N1uv-H7jvUo
I had so many issues with my calves when I first started the programme- probably until about week 4 and then it started to ease off! I’ve found dynamic stretches beforehand really helps as well as completing the warmup walk at a relatively fast walking pace. I finished the programme about a month ago and still sometimes experience a bit of tightness at the start of my runs, but once I get into the run the tightness goes😊
My left calf is much tighter than my right and I’m WK2 I felt I done some damage. I hadn’t in fact and making sure I stretched and had a warm compress on it for three or four times during the next day or so really helped.
I have incredibly tight hamstrings and am sure it’s to do with that so those cool down stretches are sooooo important
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Tight calves...ouch 😖
