Walking is the most basic strategy to strengthen leg muscles while also developing new blood vessels to fuel the muscles. Begin slowly, with short walks several times each week. Stop for a few minutes if you feel any pain. Experiment with walking larger distances over time. In general, your legs will tell you when they are tired. If you feel pain during a walk, stop immediately and try again later. You should feel relief after walking or exercising. The calf muscle has a large nerve that runs down by it. When you exercise this muscle, it gets tight, which can cause pain when you rest it. Walking helps to loosen up the muscle and allows it to be more flexible, which may help reduce the pain. If you want to stop your calves from hurting when you walk, you need to make sure you are not causing them any pain in the first place. Make sure your shoes are fitted properly and try going up a size so that you have enough room for your feet to expand as they get used to the extra load. Also keep an eye on your gait. If one foot is dragging behind the other, this can put excessive strain on the calf muscle and cause it to hurt. Try to even out your step length so that both feet reach the ground at the same time. Finally, make sure you are not walking into something hard with your feet.