How to avoid tight calf muscles during runs?

[weymiensn]

Hi,

Today I went for a run as ordered by my Endomondo training plan. At the middle of the workout my calf muscles started to tighten and after a while it became rather painful and hard to continue running. I think I did not strecht properly or something, though as a novice I don't know really.

What do you do to avoid your calf muscles tightening to the point they become rock solid? What did you do as a beginner and how to treat it if it starts playing up?

Thank you for your healthy tips!

[becca_runs]

A few things will help avoid your calves seizing up when you run. The best way to stretch before a run is dynamic stretching (as opposed to static stretching). Warm up with lunges, leg swings, squats - moving stretches. Start running slowly and give a mile or so to warm up before you speed up. Also, if you live in a place where you're now running on snow and ice instead of pavement, that will affect you muscles and make you sore until your body gets used to it. Finally, make sure you're in the right shoes. If you've just moved from a shoe with a high heel to toe drop to something more flat, your calves will take some time to get used to it. If you think  snowy terrain or low heel to toe drop in shoes is causing your problem, warm up well and stop and stretch your calves during the run if you feel them tightening. Of course, stretching 10 -15 minutes after a run is always a good idea. Hope this helps.

[weymiensn]

Thanks for your answer  @becca_runs . I will keep your tips in mind. Though the high heel shoes one is a non-tip for me since I do not wear that particular type of shoe. That would look rather silly on me.

[SunsetRunner]

As with the previous poster, stretching properly is a key.  Also, if you just started running you body is not used to the stress/work being asked of the muscles.  I found it very interesting that after I switched from walking (4mph pace) to running my glutes and thighs were sore as heck.  I figured since I had been walking about 4 to 5 miles per day for the past three months my muscles were built up and used to exercise.  Each form of exercise however puts unique stress on the muscles and they have to adapt.

My best guess though, make sure you drink plenty of water before and after a run.  I have found if I don't hydrate before a run my thighs and calves will cramp a bit.  It is also beneficial to have a warm-up and cool-down period before and after each run.  I used to walk about .25 mile before I started jogging and same after I finished.  Now I just start at a slow jog for about .25 - .5 miles then pick up the pace to my normal running speed.  This helps loosen and warm-up the muscles and prevent/limit cramps.

[Dominique]

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@weymiensn wrote:

Today I went for a run as ordered by my Endomondo training plan. At the middle of the workout my calf muscles started to tighten and after a while it became rather painful and hard to continue running. I think I did not strecht properly or something, though as a novice I don't know really.

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If running is a new activity for you, it's better to listen to your body rather than to the Endomondo training plan.

I also think there's a confusion between warming up and stretching. You may want to have a look at the following link:

http://www.maxcapacitytraining.com/warming-up-stretching-and-cooling-down.html

[Jami]

A couple other suggestions.

In cold weather, even if you are running indoors and the gym is colder than usual, it helps to wear warmer garments over your entire body. If you feel a bit chilled, the muscles just won't fire up. The hydration point is excellent. We forget to get fully hydrated in cold weather. For this reason I often drink a quart of hot tap water before I work out. The heated water goes down a lot easier than cold water. 

I want to encourage you to revisit the comment regarding "high heel" shoes. I may be mistaken, but I believe the writer was not referring to high heels such as a woman might wear to the office or a party, but to the elevated heels which are the most common athletic shoe design in running and walking shoes. These shoes raise the heel about an inch above the toes. When you look at the side of the shoe, you can see it is somewhat wedge shaped along the sole. We've been trained by marketers to believe this raised back end of the shoe will "cushion the heel" but it creates an unnatural running gait of heel-toe, heel-toe.

This heel-toe running gait has been implicated in quite a number of foot ailments such as plantar fascitis, bunion development, loss of strength in the toe box (where speed matters), and weak arches and ankles.

Thus emerged a line of footwear with "zero elevation" where the toe and heel are both flat to the ground, although the shoe may have treads across the entire sole to elevate the foot above the road bed, which is good for outdoor traction and to avoid stone bruises. Indoor or track runners may have no tread at all. This type of shoe encourages the foot to strike somewhat evenly (heel and toe at same time) when you are walking and on the toe box when you are running.

The transition from "high heels" to "zero elevation" takes months - up to a year - as our leg, knee, ankle, and foot system is accustomed to a life time of cushioned and supported athletic footwear. It takes time to stretch the ligaments and muscles back to their natural length. If you transition too quickly you will end up with sore ankles, lower legs, and feet.

I tried the zero elevation shoes for plantar fascitis. I began in February wearing them for a couple hours a day, and by mid summer was backpacking 10 plus miles a day in zero elevation shoes. I haven't had any trouble with plantar fascitis since.