calf muscles tighten when exercising?

Question

i have taken up exercing 6 nights a week but whenever i jog or power walk my calf muscles tighten up so bad it becomes nearly unbearable.
i drink plenty of water and have just started a healthy eating plan 3 weeks ago

any ideas?????

great answers thanx heaps
i do stretch but only quickly probably not enough.

and i think the multi vitamin sounds like a good idea

Answer 1

stretch your calf muscle before and after you exercise( sitting, reach down and touch your toes, this stretches all the muscles in the back of the leg. when you can GENTLY pull your toes back , this stretches the calf muscle more.A warm bath after ex's is good for tired sore muscles and try adding bananas to your diet to increase your potassium, this will help with the cramping. peace

Answer 2

Charely horses can happen in the calf, thigh, or foot. See paragraph 2... The quadriceps contusion type of "charley horse" is initially treated by icing. Recent studies have shown that the resulting tightness and contractions that sometimes ensue can be lessened by maintaining the knee in a fully bent position for the first 24 hours to prevent the involved muscles from going into spasm. Prematurely returning to sports activities increases the likelihood of the main complication of a charley horse, the deposition of calcium into the hematoma that forms at the site of injury. This complication, termed myositis ossificans, can result in long-term disability. A cramp can be quickly defused with active stretching of the affected muscle. Cramps in the calf muscle can be defused by outstretching the leg, pushing the heel downward, and pointing your toes toward your head. Standing up with most of your weight on the ball of the foot on the cramping side will also stretch the gastrocnemius muscle and diffuse the pain. If you feel a cramp starting, this will usually stop it from becoming more painful. Persistent cramps should be treated by a doctor.[ Bananas, coconut juice (NOT milk), tonic water (has quinine in it)... Good things to keep them at bay.

Answer 3

A few things immediately come to mind. The first thing is are you stretching before you exercise? This is so important even if you are "just" power walking. It is your body's way to prepare your muscles before exercise. A pre-exercise stretch along with a warm up and cool down before/after your exercise should stablize the muscles.
The next thing that comes to mind is to a potassium check. Make sure that even though you are eating healthy you are taking a daily mulit-vitamin. Your potassium might be low.

Answer 4

You are lacking some essential nutrients that allow your muscles to slide past each other....namely sodium and potassium.
Sodium is salt. These 2 nutrients work much better as a team. Try to get some salt fish in your diet(eg. sardines, tuna) It will give you both the salt and the potassium(from eating the bones or cartilage) A couple little fishes will do you for a week or two.

Answer 5

The muscle tighting means your not streaching enough before you start your excerise, also alittle muscle pain means that its working.

Answer 6

soooo stretch.....not that bad...take 5 mins before and after you workout to do it.....you should see results fairly fast

Answer 7

you can also take magnesium