My legs hurt so much

[cherrycrumblecustard]

When I do any exercise my calves feel like the muscle is going to pop out, it really is excruciating

Trying to get fit but, ow, is there any way this Can be avoided?

Do you ever get heel or foot pain?

No, just my calves. ThNks for replying!

I have hypermobility and suffered for years with pain in my calves, and eventually hips. It was caused by my rubbish ankles not keeping my feet straight and causing all sorts of strain on various muscles. I eventually convinced the gp to refer me to a podiatrist, who made insoles for me and I've had no trouble since.

Amy chance there could be something like that going on?

Try to land any moment on a flat foot . Not on your toes

You might have tight Achilles tendons - or are landing incorrectly. Perhaps a visit to a sports physio might be worthwhile, and take the shoes you wear for exercising with you. They might suggest massage or stretching exercises, or wearing shoes with a slight heel.

Was just wondering as sometimes it's tendons tightening up that overtightens your calf! How long do you spend stretching/warming up before exercising? It takes a surprisingly long time to get big, strong muscles properly stretched and supple.

Try to land any movement on a flat foot
Wrong, sorry. This causes shin splints, particularly outdoors, or on hard floors.
If you are running then it is heel/toe; if jumping, then toe/roll through to heel on a hard floor. You need to make sure you bend your knees on landing. Flat footed is OK-ish only on crashmats.

It's mostly when I'm walking fast

Yamadori , I'm not wrong , thank you very much .

Landing flat-footed means you are making impact with extended knees, which can be catastrophic, leading to injuries such as an ACL tear. So, for the health of your knees it is best to always try to land gently on the balls of your feet.

Just saying! :)

Anyway OP if it's happening with walking that sounds like tendon , sit with your legs straight and pull your toes back towards your body and hold for 10 seconds . Do that a few times a day and it will start to reduce the pain in your legs

Balls of your feet landing causes ankle injurys

Thank you Bedsheet :)

I've obviously been very lucky then. Landing gently on the balls of my feet and rolling down to flat footed has not caused me any problems in my ankles, or elsewhere in the 20 years I've been exercising. I can't imagine coming down on flat feet.

I'm sitting here doing that stretch right now Bedsheets, one of my favourites :) Hope it helps OP.

My PT makes me land jumps (squat jumps etc) on soft-ish knees, slight toe-to-heel. Certainly not flat-footed

Yep same here.

I don't do much in the way of exercise but I do know a bit about anatomy and the mechanics behind landing from jumps.
Balls of your feet landing causes ankle injurys. It shouldn't do, unless you have very weak ankles, have a congenital problem with the construction of the joint, or your feet are pronating or supinating as you land. You also need to bend your knees which helps with shock absorption. HTH

Ex-dancer here : there's a difference between the stress of unaccustomed exercise, and real pain. There will be some discomfort in a group of muscles if you do something different with them. It's "good" pain.

Heel drops are good for tight calves and Achilles. Look on YouTube for "Alfredson's heel drops". It's an intense exercise, so maybe start with deep calf stretches, but only after you're thoroughly warmed up. So do your fast walking for 10 to 15 minutes, then stretch, then do more fast walking. Make sure you're in the right shoes as well.

And as others say - you must land any jump with bent knees, with a rolling through from toe to heel. And in running I prefer a heel-toe rolling through, although there's huge debate in running circles about whether "heel strike" or "toe strike" is preferable. I have a marathon-running friend who aims for a "flat foot strike" but that is with bent knees and considerable training.