Trying to start running, went out last night and got a bit carried away,

I was mixing running and walking, as in trying to do this gently. So 5 miles later my calves are a little tight.

So what is the best thing to do to reduce the tightness?

Stretch them! It sounds facile, but it’s true – stretching before and (more importantly) after is key to keeping your calves fairly supple. If you’re just starting out running they may need strengthening up a little; my non-expert view is that that will come over time.

Also be aware that tight calves can lead to shinsplints, so definitely stretch them!

I think it might be a simple case of over use I.e. too much too soon.. stretching may help if you can manage it.

Imagine going straight into 50 press ups? Depending where you are coming from it might be a relevant analogy..

Rules seem to be abundant in running but 10% increase per week seems to be a good one. 1 or miles seems a ggood starting point.

Couch to 5k is often mentioned as a good starting program (google for it).

Cyclists suffer with this I think as they often have the lungs – but not the legs to go far 🙂

sounds like you’re running on your fore-foot. this can be really hard on your calves if you’re new to it and you’re not letting your heels ‘touch-down’.

or maybe, you were running up hills? – don’t, at least not for now.

Trying to start running, went out last night and got a bit carried away…5 miles later my calves are a little tight.

5 miles is loads!

So what is the best thing to do to reduce the tightness?

for now, stretch, and walk.

but in future: don’t run so far. until your feet/legs are ready for it. and they’ll let you know when they are – they really will.

Stretch. Two main muscles in your calf Gastrocnemius and Soleus.

Straight leg stretch targets Gastrocnemius.
Bent leg strecth targets Soleus.

Make sure you stretch both. Surely you can remeber the stretches from your P.E. class. Otherwise Google is your friend.

Don’t stretch when cold before exercise, that’s very bad!

Tight calves happens when you start running, the more you run the more it goes away, but like any exercise, stretching after is key too.

Been stretching them, as i suspected that was the only thing that would help, at least it confirms what i thought.

sounds like you’re running on your fore-foot. this can be really hard on your calves if you’re new to it and you’re not letting your heels ‘touch-down’.

yes trying to run on forefoot, was thinking about previous running attempts, i found i got lower back pain if i heel strike, so thinking about it, most animals run on their toes not on their heels, plus a bit of reading, thought it would make a bit of sense to try forefoot. Result no back pain, but sore calves.

Defo worth persevering with the forefoot technique. But, 5 miles is too far to begin with, however, the running / walking is good. Ideally you want to remain in your comfort zone until you can comfortably run 3 – 5 miles.

As others have said, stretching cold muscles is BAD. Warm up is not stretching. I’m lazy and warm up for running by…. running. Slowly and gently. Be careful not to speed up too quickly.

One exercises that will help you calves are heel lifts. Stand on a stair on your forefoot and hold onto a banister / rail to aid balance [only!]. Working one leg at a time, stand up on the ball of your foot and lower your foot so that the heel falls below step level. The benefit comes from the lowering part of the exercise. This should be slow and controlled. Work on about 30 seconds per leg then repeat.

I was writing yesterday from my phone, so didnt want to write much 🙂

5 miles is a long way if your not used to it, cut down to about 3 miles max.

As I said above tight calf muscles is a given when starting running, I think its just because its new and different to what your muscles are used to. I used to get it all the time, but now I’m running 5 miles comfortably, to be honest I have forgotten I even used to get it.

Running on un even terrain does make it worse though, running on road and less hills will reduce it.

But, running on hills and uneven ground is sooo much more fun. Easier to transfer from off-road to roads than vica versa!