Achilles and calf

[RunningMan27]

Last year I endured through chronic achilles tendinitis, basically taking almost 10 months to fully recover (so I thought). 3 months of that time involved not running at all.

This year has proven that I did not fully recover in that I regularly faced stiffness and occasional pain in my achilles. Some where along the lines I also strained my calf and have been ultimately frustrated that this stuff won't go away.

In order to heal these two annoyances I stretch regularly and try not to over do running and other strenuous exercises that pound my achilles further. Basically, I stay active, but not nearly as active as I used to be in terms of continual movement...once again I probably won't be running much at all over the next month or two because my soccer season recently ended.

Are there other exercises that people could recommend? Are there weights routines that can increase the strength of my calf / achilles so that I can move on?

[pliny_2001]

Ever have any interest in taking up swimming?

I haven't had tendonitis in the Achilles', but will do in my forearms. I think that completely laying off isn't a good plan; everyone always just comes back and gets it again. I decrease intensity (usually via less volume) for a 3 month training cycle and then see what happens. It's always gone away.

But this is for lifting, where I feel that _not_ flirting with tendonitis is a sign that you aren't training with sufficient intensity. Running may be a whole other issue.

[RunningMan27]

I do swim - not as much as I like to right now, but I usually swim much more in the winter than any other part of the year (it's the only 3-4 months in a year that I join a gym).

I will stay active in some form or another...just not running longer distances. I agree it isn't good to stop activity unless you're truly injured.

Do you know any weight routines that would best increase the strength of my calf?

I think that's what is missing. I don't think it has regained it's strength since the injuries started.