Foot cramps swimming

Lots of people suffer from them and it's more than likely due to a lack of swim fitness.  The more you swim the less likely you will be to suffer from the cramps, however in the interim there are some things you can try to reduce the frequency:

- don't push off the wall very hard
- you want to point your toes while swimming but depending on flexibility, don't over do it
- work on ankle flexibility while not swimming
- focus on staying relaxed (entire body) while swimming

If you do get them while swimming, you can try pointing your toes less and/or not kicking with that leg.

The good news is, the more you swim, the less likely they are to happen

Shane

x2. It was not enough electrolytes for me too. More Gatorade on and around heavy exercise days and I was fine.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/11/muscle-cramps-part-1-theories-and.html

Cramps may be caused by electrolyte embalance; however unless you are getting zero sodium in your diet, it is much more likely that it is conditioning.

Shane

I used to get these all the time, no matter how much i swam or how much Gatorade I drank.  I would always be stopping in the middle of a lane, all pissy and trying to strech my feet out!  Ha ha!  I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot to all of the ripped swimmers I see at the pool, sigh.

Soooo what I do is every once in awhile do a breastroke kick, where you bring your knees towards your body and flex your feet.  That is also really helpful in open water because it also stretches out your CALVES.  It sounds simple but i got the idea from Dave Scott and it works.  Sometimes when I do kick drills that's all I'll do, and it really helps strech my legs out.

Also, every 300 meters or so I mentally do a check of my ankles and imitate having flippers on my feet, just to loosen them up a bit.  You don't have to do a giant scissors kick or anything, just enough that your feet aren't pointed the entire time.

I used to get cramps in my left foot (occassionaly the right) when doing laps in the pool or open water swims.  Electrolytes was not the problem.  Swim fitness had a little to do with it  - but it could come even after 10 mins -s o it was not the only cause.

What I found was the major cause of my foot cramps was kicking from the knee rather then from the hip.  Once I corrected this the foot cramps dissapeared.  Anytime I feel a foot cramp coming on, means I'm falling back to kicking from the knee as soon as I correct it the cramp is gone and I can continue with my session.

Foot cramps ( in the arch of the foot ) and calf cramps can also be caused by pointing your toes back too hard while kicking.  Especially if you are focusing and getting after things a bit, you may inadvertently point your toes more than usual, and bam!

Cheers

Exactly!  It's not a lack of bananas or salt or...

Great tips! Thanks. I will give these a try.

For me it relates to swim fitness.  I get them occasionally, but I don't stop swimming when I get one.  I try and relax that leg and bend my ankle instead of pointing my toe.  I like practicing to get rid of the cramp while swimming, so I wont panic if it happens in an open water swim.