Trouble with legs cramping during workouts
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2013-05-23 6:27 PM |
Regular 206 Evansville, Indiana | Subject: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts So the last 3 weeks or so I have had a lot of problems with my legs cramping during my workouts. It is getting very annoying because my workouts are getting cut short due to them every single day. Its always a different part of the leg. Somedays its calves, others its hamstrings, then on others its my quads. so the cramping isnt isolated to a particular muscle group. Nothing is different in my diet from before the cramps started so I don't think it's that. Has anyone else had these same cramping problems and if so how did you fix it? Thanks! Edited by fubar44 2013-05-23 6:28 PM |
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2013-05-23 7:29 PM in reply to: fubar44 |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts |
2013-05-23 7:38 PM in reply to: gsmacleod |
Pro 6520 Bellingham, WA | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts With few exceptions, the only time I've cramped has been when I've exceeded my physical capabilities. |
2013-05-23 8:05 PM in reply to: 0 |
Regular 206 Evansville, Indiana | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts I have been swimming 4-5 days a week m-f (swim focus), I do 2 a days or double up workouts 2-3 days a week and I have been taking weekends off to recover. I workout pretty hard when I'm only doing 1 event per day but the days I do 2 a days my workouts are easier to accommodate for the extra training. Edited by fubar44 2013-05-23 8:07 PM |
2013-05-23 8:26 PM in reply to: fubar44 |
1053 | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts To the best of my knowledge, most cramps will come from either overuse, dehydration, or electrolyte loss. Personally I will get cramps sometimes after a hard effort/race which is probably a combination of the above. However, through process of elimination, you can probably figure out what your issue is. |
2013-05-23 8:27 PM in reply to: 0 |
Member 1004 | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Cramps are almost always because of overwork or low electrolytes. Even if your diet hasn't changed, check to see if you're getting enough sodium and potassium. Try chugging some gatorade before and/or during and see if that improves anything. Edited by b2run 2013-05-23 8:28 PM |
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2013-05-23 8:35 PM in reply to: fubar44 |
263 | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts I always have chomps with sodium and when I start to cramp, I eat about 6 chomps and drink water. That does it for me but our bodies are different. It cannot to try! |
2013-05-23 8:52 PM in reply to: fubar44 |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Very likely you are exceeding your fitness and your body is protesting. The approach of work hard all week and recover on the weekend is probably stacking too much training stress into the week and you'd likely be better off with some workouts moved to the weekend. Basically you should always follow a hard day with an easy day in order to manage fatigue. Shane |
2013-05-23 8:59 PM in reply to: fubar44 |
Canyon, Texas | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts My guess is it is heat related? So we are likely talking about electrolyte loss. Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium are what you should be looking to increase in your diet. A strong stretching regimen can also improve your disposition to cramping. Myself, I take daily calcium chews plus a K/Mg supplement in addition to my diet. These three electrolytes tend to require consistent uptake to accumulate in the bloodstream, however, sodium can be processed quickly so I just sodium-load with 64oz V8 a day before a race. I used to get not just calf cramps but full calf siezures everytime over 13/14 miles... the sodium loading did the trick for me. Then again, I have little to no sodium in my diet. Now, I very rarely get cramps of any kind. I would recommend increasing Ca/Mg/K and see how that helps. I would be hesitant to ramp up sodium on any consistent basis, like during training (it has been linked to heart disease in excess, ect)... unless you have a severe sodium deficiency. If you do have abnormally low blood sodium, you might want to get some blood work done |
2013-05-24 7:00 AM in reply to: fubar44 |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Have you noticed any pattern like always cramping in the second workout of the day? That would be a pretty clear indication that it could be related to fatigue. If you tend to cramp in a workout that follows a swim workout, maybe you're not hydrating on the swim? Many people don't seem to think you need to but actually you do sweat when swimming, esp. if the pool is warm and/or you're swimming hard. I often have no choice but to do a hard/long run and my longest swim workout of the week on the same day, the run early AM and swim in early PM. I struggled with cramping at first but found it really helps to keep hydrating between the workouts, drink water or sports drink every 10-15 minutes when swimming (just as I would when running or biking), warm up slowly, skip kick sets for that workout, and if my legs are really tired, mix up the swimming with some pull sets to give my legs a break for a while. |
2013-05-24 8:01 AM in reply to: Hot Runner |
Regular 206 Evansville, Indiana | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts There are a lot of good ideas being thrown out. I am going to try all of them. Hydrating more, adding supplements into my diet, taking a day off during the week and moving one to the weekend. I may even try not pushing my body so hard. That may be hard because I want to push my body hard because I really want to be ready for my A race at the end of the season and I'm just not there yet. |
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2013-05-24 8:10 AM in reply to: fubar44 |
Melon Presser 52116 | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Originally posted by fubar44 There are a lot of good ideas being thrown out. I am going to try all of them. Hydrating more, adding supplements into my diet, taking a day off during the week and moving one to the weekend. I may even try not pushing my body so hard. That may be hard because I want to push my body hard because I really want to be ready for my A race at the end of the season and I'm just not there yet. That's actually the primary reason for most cramping during exertion (as Shane/gsmacleod and others pointed out). If cramps are interfering with your workouts, you're going to be able to do more, and more quality training, and be much better prepared for your A race if you don't have them. The hydration and electrolytes are a good idea to have dialed in regardless, but they're unlikely to be the cause. |
2013-05-24 11:12 AM in reply to: fubar44 |
Pro 6582 Melbourne FL | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Originally posted by fubar44 There are a lot of good ideas being thrown out. I am going to try all of them. Hydrating more, adding supplements into my diet, taking a day off during the week and moving one to the weekend. I may even try not pushing my body so hard. That may be hard because I want to push my body hard because I really want to be ready for my A race at the end of the season and I'm just not there yet. Looking at your log I would like to say that you need more consistent training, 4 workout days per week & 1 to 3.5 run miles per week the last few weeks is not going to cut it. 2.5 hours of basketball this week, that's a lot of good tri training time not used! You have 11 weeks to the Aug race, plenty of time to get ready for it if it's the A-race. I recommend importing a free membership level BT sprint training plan such as the Sprint - 2x Balanced - 16 Week or Sprint - 3x Balanced - 16 Week. You can start at week 1 and go to week 11 or start at week 5 and go to week 16. The 2x plan has 2 days off per week and the 3x one day off but you can drop WOs as needed. |
2013-05-24 11:24 AM in reply to: fubar44 |
Master 1539 Sin City | Subject: RE: Trouble with legs cramping during workouts Originally posted by fubar44 There are a lot of good ideas being thrown out. I am going to try all of them. Hydrating more, adding supplements into my diet, taking a day off during the week and moving one to the weekend. I may even try not pushing my body so hard. That may be hard because I want to push my body hard because I really want to be ready for my A race at the end of the season and I'm just not there yet. Suggestion - don't try "All of them" at once, otherwise you won't know what really is causing your cramping. Next time, bring some electrolytes, or salt tabs, GU Chomps, or Shot Block on your ride/run. If you find yourself cramping up. Pop in any one of what I just said (not all of them of course!!), and wait. Cramp went away? Electrolyte issue. Cramping still there? Overuse. |
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