I have been running, riding and swimming for a little over 2 years now and just this year I have been battling cramps almost every workout. I have really concentrated on hydration, sodium and eating bananas but doesn’t seem to help. I have been trying to eat better this year, eating salads and tons of fruits and vegetables, cutting my favorite(mexican food) down to once or twice a week instead of 4 or 5 so I thought I wasn’t getting enough sodium in diet. Is there a vitamin or something I may be lacking? I switched back to gatorade from heed or cytomax because of the higher sodium and it helped some on the long rides but has not eliminated cramps. Thanks for any help
The standard Gatoraid that you get in the store really is not a decent source of Sodium/Magnesium/Potassium. Sometime in the late eighties in the “low sodium” kick Pepsico pulled it out. Now you can get “Gatoraid Endurance” that has some additional electrolites. Have you tried E-Caps from Hammer or Thermo Tabs from your local pharmacy? What I did was play with salt tabs and water until I found something that would enable me to run a decent Half cramp free (albeit covered in salt), then I took the numbers and called everyones hero Mike Folan at Infinit and got the best damn sports drink on this side of the resurection.
I really do also like the Hammer products (Heed/E-Caps/Gel) mixture, but I am just not so bright to keep it all in line and just get all my intake from one bottle of Infint.
I have the dehydration problem with cramps in my hips and taking the NuuN tablets with my water help allot. I use 2 tablets to the big bottle of water and that seems to help allot. You need to exp with it. I also eat 2 banana’s everyday and drink a med bottle of G2 on my way to the start point.
Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes…magic little capsules…stopped all my problems during training and the race.
You say you concentrated on hydration what did you do? Have you tried weighing yourself before/after workouts to know how much water you actually need?
Salt tablets are great as are the Hammer Gels
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I have also had this problem. what I have learned; I may be going too fast–cramping ensues, alcohol causes me to lose minerals—no beer, wine or liquor during serious training, need serious mineral supplements(currently using mineral 650, use e-caps or powder in nutrition bottle plus Nunn tabs during race, no Gatorade, it upsets my stomach, work on positive thoughts to relax my body(cramping can be caused in my case by getting too anxious.
it might not be hydration/nutrition. I had bad hamstring cramps last year in 3 races, but my nutrition/hydration etc was just the same as always. I mentioned it to my ART practitioner and she did some work on my psoas and showed me some things to do. That weekend I raced a half ironman and didn’t have any problems. I haven’t had any problems since. If I feel a little twinge in my hamstring I break out the tennis ball when I get home and the next time it is gone.
Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes…magic little capsules…stopped all my problems during training and the race.
Maybe if you took like 30 of them an hour…
gmellish is on the right track. I have found that my cramping issues are the result of caffeine. Not caffeine intake on that day, but on the previous days. I can still have caffeine on race morning without issues as long as the week prior I didn’t have any.
From what I understand cramps are caused very precisely by an imbalance of electrolytes across the membrane of the muscle cells…ie the electrolyte levels outside the cell wall doesn’t match that inside the cell walls.
Now you can see why dehydration can play a key role because becoming dehydrated changes the electrolyte concentration in the space outside the cell wall. But so does OVERhydration.
And so can SUPPLEMENTING electrolytes. Some of us may be causing cramps on race day by loading up with electrolyte tablets causing a vicious cycle.
If you’ve tried all the usual things to avoid cramps such as hydration and electrolyte supplementation then I’d suggest you try these 2 additional things:
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avoid caffeine (and obviously alcohol) for about 3 days prior to your races (or the situations in which you are cramping)
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stop supplementing electrolytes and even try a low-sodium diet for a week
Salt tablets (Si-caps)…a cure for me.
From what I understand cramps are caused very precisely by an imbalance of electrolytes across the membrane of the muscle cells…ie the electrolyte levels outside the cell wall doesn’t match that inside the cell walls.
It’s my understanding that there is no current understanding of the biochemical cause(s) of cramping. If you have seen otherwise, I (and I’m sure others) would love to read about it. For example, from this article (emphasis added):
“I would say, bottom line, there is no really convincing biological explanation for muscle cramps,” said Dr. Andrew Marks, a muscle researcher and chairman of the department of physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
…
The third hypothesis is advanced by Dr. Schwellnus. He questions the electrolyte hypothesis because his studies of Ironman-distance triathletes as well as other studies of endurance athletes found no difference in electrolyte levels between those who suffered cramps and those who did not.
DR. SCHWELLNUS proposes that the real cause of cramping is an imbalance between nerve signals that excite a muscle and those that inhibit its contractions. And that imbalance, he said, occurs when a muscle is growing fatigued.
His solutions for cramps are to exercise less intensely and for shorter times, to be sure you had enough carbohydrates to fuel your muscles, to train sufficiently and to regularly stretch the muscles that give you problems. These recommendations are based on his recent study of Ironman triathletes, Dr. Schwellnus said.
I appreciate the information. I don’t know where my info came from or how current it is/was at the time.
We need to appreciate Dr. Schwellnus and his hypothesis as an interested researcher who has a hypothesis.
His hypothesis is not yet proven, and therefore, his recommendations about exercise and diet–based on his unproven hypothesis–should be considered with a healthy skepticism.
Interesting,…
Dr. Schwellnus’ own study of “ultra-distance runners” also demonstrate a statistically significant differences–control v. cramp–in serum . The cramp group had lower levels of Na+ when compared to the control group. This is similar (but I cringe here as I compare trained athletes with cramps to the usual patient walking off the street with cramps) to patients who suffer muscle cramps due to hypoaldostronism–a hormone that helps regulate Na+ levels in the body.
Now in his study, the differences between the control and cramp group electrolyte concentrations would not appear to have clinical significance. Let’s look at the sodium levels: 142.3 +/-2.1 vs. 139.8 +/-3.1. But there is a difference, and that difference reflects what we think we know. During exercise, depletion of sodium levels predisposes someone to mm cramping.
Salt tabs … specifically those with a reasonably high content of sodium and other electrolytes. I prefer Lava Salt (over 200 mg sodium). The Hammer salt tabs (Endurolytes) are worthless … only like 40 mg of sodium per capsule. You’ve got to swallow tons of them to achieve an impact.