Happened about 800m into a slow swim last night. Been swimming 50-100m at a pop with a short break in between. I pushed off from the wall pretty hard and was absolutely smacked down with an excruciating calf cramp in my right leg. Couldn’t move my right leg it had seized so bad. Managed to scull back to the wall and after 5 minutes or so was able to put some pressure on the leg and get back to the locker room. Lingering pain this morning but nothing too bad, will probably be OK with a day or two rest.
Over the winter I would do 50-60 miles combined during the week of biking and running and never had cramping issues. Never had cramps during marathon training in the DC humidity last year. But I have just gotten back into the pool about a month ago after a few years of not swimming at all. Had been taking it easy and concentrating - probably overly so - on hydration during the day. Usually 80-100 oz of water during the day and a Gu/Amino Vital about an hour before hitting the pool. Hydrated like this all through marathon training last year with no issues.
Anyone have any swim specific suggestions? Maybe more stretching - currently I do 5-10 minutes?
i get the same thing in my right calf due to nerve damage (sciatica)…the only thing i’ve been able to do so far is dorsiflex my ankle immediately (which makes my kick even uglier), and try to push off more with my quads than my calves, ie: keep ankle flexed when pushing off, and just use knee extension to get you moving.
stretching in the hot tub afterwards seems to help, but it comes and goes regardless…
Same problem hit me over a month ago, and I swear that pain lingered for weeks. I get foot cramps more often, but what they both seem to have in common is that they occur when my run mileage is increasing. Like mistressk said, all I know to do is dorsiflex to relieve the initial cramp and push off more with knee extension then ankles to avoid it.
In the past, I got the worst cramps when I swam in the afternoon after running in the morning. Hydration and electrolytes may be an issue, but my completely anecdotal experience makes me think that it has to do with my running somehow…
Same happened to me when i went for a swim following a big 5 hr ride.
The reason your’s happened will be mainly due to the fact that you haven’t swum for so long it’s just your body adjusting to different movement patterns / muscle use. Keep up the swimming but go steady and your body will condition with time.
Massage and stretching should also be done to clear out any calf adhesions.
Has nothing to do with electrolytes.
I am trying to figure this one out as well. I come from a swimming background (although I was a sprinter) and have calve cramp issues pushing off the wall - similar scenario. As others mentioned, it is frequently after hard bike or run workouts and the cramps come on swimming mid-set. As a matter of fact I had to bail early on my swim workout due to quad & hamstring cramping yesterday, if I try to push through them I’ve had muscle aches for days because they locked up so tight. So when I feel the twinge I will stop swimming, it is not worth days of soreness and I also think the muscle tightness affects my running by straining my achilles/lower legs.
If I can, I will modify my key swim workout so it doesn’t follow a day of hard cycling or running. ie, This week I had to do my long bike on Sunday so unfortunately I think the muscle fatigue caused the cramping swimming Monday. So, maybe try to adjust your workout schedule. I also started doing some stroke work/IM sets this winter. By mixing in some fly/back/breast you’ll strengthen more leg muscles than only doing free. This has helped to some degree. But for me it is really a matter of tired legs.
This same phenomenon happens to me as well. If I am just running and swimming, fine, but when I add biking into the mix, the same thing happens. Just like one of the other posters, the cramp doesn’t just subside, the after effects last a week or longer. When it comes on it is like getting shot or stabbed suddenly in the calf.
It has happened to me during swims of all different lengths, types and strokes (most notably, about 40 min into my IM swim). But most frequently during a set of 25’s or 50’s. Hypoxia, tired legs, overkicking…I don’t know. Anyone with more answers please post.
Once it comes on and I have the lingering tenderness, I have had relief from TP Therapy. (www.tptherapy.com) I have seen some friends using “the Stick” and it looks to do the same thing… allow access the calf for self massage.
If I do a swim workout the night I’ve done a long/hard bike or run, I’ll often get cramps in my feet or sometimes higher up on my legs unless I take in more salt and hydrate during the day. For whatever reason if I do that, I don’t get them, yet I don’t normally get them when I swim in the morning. At the least it’s a good excuse for me to eat salted popcorn.
Thanks for all of the advice, much appreciated. FWIW I did no workouts prior to the swim - other than working a 12 hour day and stretching for 10 minutes.
Calf is still extremely sore 36 hours later. Keeping it wrapped during the day and have been using The Stick at night. Have decided to take at least the next two days off completely and sub in a couple days of light lifting.
I used to get these a lot when I was a real swimmer, and I still do periodically. I think it’s some combination of physical stress and the usual cramp causes (salt, fluids, etc). One thing to notice is that good swimming turns=plyometrics. Eg. you’re pushing quite hard.
If you do get one, the first thing to do is to pull a stretch into it. This seems hard and like the last thing you want to do, but it helps ease the cramp.
The ghosting pain seems to be a mild muscle tear–actually not so different from other kinds of soreness (if you lift, you’ll know all about this). I find easy, light exercise to be much much better than sitting around. Think maybe a light spin on the trainer, almost no resistance.
Good luck with it and let us know what you learn.