Looking for advice on controlling leg cramps once and for all

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi guys, I have been lurking around on the forums for a while and finally decided to make a post. I have been researching this subject a bit, but cant seem to find the right information on what to do, so figured I would ask you guys.

I just finished my 3rd year of triathlon, and completed Ironman Florida 2014 last weekend. During training, and during races, I always start to cramp between 25-50 miles on the bike (cramps are mostly hamstring, but sometimes its hamstring, quads, and calfs). Same thing goes for the run during training and during races, generally around mile 15-20 and it starts (same as above, usually hamstrings, but sometimes its hamstrings quads and calfs as well).

When I refer to cramps, here is what I am talking about: They generally start as a mild ache/pain, and slowly creep to be more and more intense as time goes on. The pain gets to the point of being unbearable and debilitating, and sometimes even stopping doesn’t make it subside. The sensation is also *similar to “restless legs” (without the pain, but with the discomfort). At some point, the muscles can almost develop a mind of their own, and can start to contract by themselves, which also hurts like hell. The only thing I have found to try and battle them after they have started is to take acetaminophen (usually takes 45 minutes to kick in), and to do some plyometrics/stretching every 10-20 minutes for the duration of the day. This generally allows me to continue with that I’m doing, but still at a great discomfort.

Started doing some research and talking with people, and the general consensus was that I was not taking enough electrolytes and salt. All this year I have been experimenting with different amounts of “Endurolytes Extreme” and salt tabs to see if I could go on a training ride without cramping. I started taking around 400mg of salt per hour, and worked my way up to around 900mg of salt per hour. I also experimented with taking more endurolytes as well. Nothing seemed to make even a slight bit of difference.

After talking to some more seasoned triathletes, it started sounding like it was maybe my nutrition that wasn’t right, so they recommended that I go with “Infinit Nutrition”. I called them up, did a phone interview, and next week I had some nutrition to try (this was only 3 weeks away from Ironman Florida by the way, which didn’t leave me much time). The mixture supposedly had the equivalent of 12 endurolytes per hour, 425mg salt per hour, and 280 calories per hour. I went on 1 training ride with the new nutrition, and it seemed to help. Well sure enough during the race I started cramping at mile 20 (earliest I’ve cramped) and was full on by mile 30.

So I’m at a complete loss of where to go next at battling these leg cramps. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks for reading my long post!

Here is a bit more information about me and my training if this will help:

  • 6’1" tall, male, 170lbs, around 13% body fat
  • I do 2-3 bike rides a week (one of them is generally a longer ride between 50-90 miles). I generally average 16-17mph during training, and during a sprint/olympic triathlon I can average 19-20mph.
  • I run 3 times a week (total of between 30-40 miles). Generally 1 track workout a week. For a casual run I normally run at an 8:30 - 9:30 pace. And during shorter races run at 7:00 pace.
  • I am VERY inflexible. I have long legs, but I am still around 12" away from being able to bend over and touch my toes. When I was getting a bike fitting through Retul, the guy said all of my dorsal flexibility was terrible.
  • This is the end of my 3rd year doing triathlons, and 4th year running. Before that I only did strength training and no cardio whatsoever.
2

Has nothing to do with electrolytes. Or nutrition. (Unless you are waking up in the middle of the night with cramps).

It has everything to do with training load, training paces and race effort levels.

You are getting 30 - 40 miles a week on 3 runs??? Not sure how this is possible … unless you are running 10/10/20 which is a horrible way to train.

My guess? You need a structured plan and start to focus a little bit more on frequency and not just overall volume.

3

Wow you sound exactly like I used to be. I would have trouble on even the most basic rides. It ended up being quite a number of things intersecting! The pain was hard to stand. I would just stop, get off my bike and it was hard stopping myself from yelling out in pain.
I found that the reflux medication i was on was negatively affecting my absorption of magnesium. This stuff is basically an anti-histamine, so perhaps someone taking an anti-histamine also could have this effect- not sure. I controlled my reflux with a massive change in diet instead. Part of it was my bike fit. Once I had a proper fitting bike I was far better with cramps on the bike.Another thing to check out is slow-release magnesium and slow-release calcium. I take one pill of each every night, and an extra on hard training mornings. I don’t take electrolyte caps with me on a ride. I am a salty sweater. I haven’t cramped on the bike in over a year. I also find that if I drink any kind of caffeine before my swim leg, I cramp like crazy. If I have any after, there is no problemMy wetsuit was a huge factor in swim cramps. It was too tight around my thighs and I think this restricted blood flow. I switched to a better fitting wetsuit and along with not having any caffeine before a swim I don’t ever cramp in the water. I also found going to a physical therapist and getting some Active Release stretching on my trouble spots (hamstrings) regularly helps as well. When I’m more tight, I feel more likely to cramp.
Ask your doctor. I got a hormone panel (thyroid is important) and an electrolyte panel. My magnesium was normal, but “normal” is based on the averages coming out of that particular lab. I need more than normal. Now when i have blood tests, the mag is up a digit or so.

4

I did IMFL last weekend also. I used Infinit on the bike and run. I took 5 electrolyte pills at the start of each and at the middle of each. I had no cramps.

5

As stated above, you need to train more and/or at a higher intensity. Eating different foods or drinking different liquids will not help much. Cramps are nearly always caused by overworking your muscles and making them do more than they were trained to do.

6

What do you do for work? I.E. Do you sit a lot?

It sounds like a big part of your problem could lie in your glutes/hamstrings.

In today’s society with so much “work” being at a desk many people have under active glutes and overactive hip flexors.

It sounds like your glutes may be under active causing synergistic dominance in your hamstrings. Basically, they are picking up slack for the under active/weak glutes.

If this is the case, glute strengthening (clam shells, bird dogs, lateral band walks, etc.) and hamstring stretching could help solve your issues.

7

Ask your doctor. I got a hormone panel (thyroid is important) and an electrolyte panel. My magnesium was normal, but “normal” is based on the averages coming out of that particular lab. I need more than normal. Now when i have blood tests, the mag is up a digit or so.

what’s the point doing of doing bloodwork if you’re going to just ignore the results?

I agree with the others that it’s pushing too hard during races and it being a fitness thing not an eletrolyte issue (which is almost never the reason)

8

what’s the point doing of doing bloodwork if you’re going to just ignore the results?

Who’s ignoring results?

A lab provides a range and an average. A doctor can look at this blindly, or realize that different people have different needs. I felt a lot better overall when I increased my mag intake on the advice of a doctor after getting a result that the *lab * said was normal but the doctor interpreted differently.

My cramps occurred even when I was well rested and within the first 30-40 minutes. Sometimes earlier.

9

What’s your average and race caffeine consumption like?

10

When I refer to cramps, here is what I am talking about: They generally start as a mild ache/pain, and slowly creep to be more and more intense as time goes on. The pain gets to the point of being unbearable and debilitating, and sometimes even stopping doesn’t make it subside. The sensation is also *similar to “restless legs” (without the pain, but with the discomfort). At some point, the muscles can almost develop a mind of their own, and can start to contract by themselves, which also hurts like hell. The only thing I have found to try and battle them after they have started is to take acetaminophen (usually takes 45 minutes to kick in), and to do some plyometrics/stretching every 10-20 minutes for the duration of the day. This generally allows me to continue with that I’m doing, but still at a great discomfort.

Here is a bit more information about me and my training if this will help:

  • 6’1" tall, male, 170lbs, around 13% body fat
  • I do 2-3 bike rides a week (one of them is generally a longer ride between 50-90 miles). I generally average 16-17mph during training, and during a sprint/olympic triathlon I can average 19-20mph.
  • I run 3 times a week (total of between 30-40 miles). Generally 1 track workout a week. For a casual run I normally run at an 8:30 - 9:30 pace. And during shorter races run at 7:00 pace.
  • I am VERY inflexible. I have long legs, but I am still around 12" away from being able to bend over and touch my toes. When I was getting a bike fitting through Retul, the guy said all of my dorsal flexibility was terrible.
  • This is the end of my 3rd year doing triathlons, and 4th year running. Before that I only did strength training and no cardio whatsoever.

Do both legs cramp? Do you have restless legs syndrome? RLS is rarely bilateral. Perhaps what you feel are muscle fasciculations. These can develop into a cramp on there own.

No doubt you tapered before IMFL. Yet, your cramps came on earlier than usual. This early onset despite taper suggests some underlying condition not directly related to exercise that makes your muscles hyperexcitable. I agree with “yesitsme” about testing your thyroid panel (get a sports-minded endocrinolgist to interpret your results) and has also been mentioned here, assess your caffeine consumption.

11

Hey guys thanks for all of the info and advice! So the more I look at my training, the more its starting to feel like I don’t have enough easy/filler mileage, and I am demanding too much from my muscles that are not properly trained. Though it could be some of the other things mentioned here as well…

To answer questions though:

  • For work I am a software engineer, I sit at a desk all day. So I used to have IT band issues, and the physical therapist came to the conclusion that my gluts were weak, and that’s what was causing it. I have worked with elastic bands, changed my running technique, and I have not had IT band issues in over a year.

  • I am a caffeine fiend by the way. I drink 3 cups of black coffee a day (approx 120mg caffeine per cup), and an energy drink every day (160mg caffeine) for a total of around 520mg caffeine per day. During races I usually drink a coffee in the morning, or an energy drink. I also eat gels with caffeine in them, and I take 200mg caffeine pills during exercise if I am feeling sleepy. I always eat a gel w/ caffeine 20 minutes before the start of any race.

  • Both legs cramp (weather its just hamstrings, quads, calfs, or a combination) its always symmetric between my legs. I get restless legs a lot, usually during a movie or when I am trying to sleep.

12

I am very much like you, even in ways that probably have nothing to do with cramping. I am a software engineer. I am a caffeine fiend. I am 6 feet tall and my weight ranges from roughly 160 to 170. And I cramp like a mofo on long, hot days.

There are good suggestions here but nobody here really knows what it causing this for you. They speculate, mostly based on either personal experience or some peer-reviewed study they read or the chatter that they found here. I am also going to project my personal experience.

It might be training load. It might be going out too hard. It might be a lot of things. For me (and this is now me relating… wait for it… wait for it… personal experience) it was salt, plain and simple. If I take enough of it on a warm day, I don’t cramp, ever. If I don’t, and the day is warm enough and long enough, I start cramping, always. It’s not enough for me to take some sort of electrolyte-enhanced drink or anything. I need the actual salt pills (I take Salt Stick).

I have confirmed this so many times over the years – painfully confirmed when I forget the salt – that I’ve ceased even wondering why it is. I have also ceased caring that most of Slowtwitch (and Timothy Noakes) says it can’t be salt. I just take my salt and I don’t cramp. And every time I forget it on a long hot day, I cramp badly. The end.

The thing that saved me was reading Rappstar’s race nutrition threads. That guy takes an insane amount of salt. Way more than I do. But he maintained he needed it. And he’s one of the most scientifically minded people on this board. So, in desperation for cramping I simply could not prevent, I tried doing something similar. Not to the level that he takes it but quite a bit. In a marathon on a warm day, I’d take at least 5 Salt Sticks. On a long bike ride, the same. In an Ironman, probably 10-20 by the time I was done. It was like a miracle for me.

They way to find out why YOU are cramping is to keep experimenting under similar conditions to races. Or in races. Use suggestions here as a guide but if things don’t work, keep trying. Yes, do work on your training load. That’s a good thing to work on regardless… Yes, work on not going out too hard. Work on not overbiking before the run, etc, etc. But if that doesn’t prevent you from cramping, don’t let anyone here at least prevent you from trying salt.

13

Look at reducing caffeine intake. Excessive caffeine might interfere with calcium signalling for the muscles. I reduced race caffeine ingestion and that helped reduce instances of cramp. However the correlation between effort and cramp was clear.

Though with any of these suggestions try one at a time.

14

Do you consume enough salts in your diet in general?

I had a similar problem with cramping and I know the ST experts are going to say ‘its not electrolytes’ but I had a really low salt diet (ie. healthy diet) and since increasing my salt in take in the form of butter on toast and a dash here and there on my food I have found it to help and haven’t had the cramps that I used to.

Take it for what its worth but certainly something to think about.

15

No one knows. I started cramping over 10 years ago in my mid 30’s, and have tried everything. I’ve even been sweat tested in a lab to ensure I was replacing the appropriate amount of electrolytes. If you figure out what works for you please share.

16

No one knows. I started cramping over 10 years ago in my mid 30’s, and have tried everything. I’ve even been sweat tested in a lab to ensure I was replacing the appropriate amount of electrolytes. If you figure out what works for you please share.

The majority of the evidence points to cramps being fitness related.

17

There was a five part series about this a few years ago, no definitive answer, but interesting read
http://sportsscientists.com/2007/11/muscle-cramps-part-i/
.

18

It’s not fitness related, at least not for me. I’ve been racing competitively for a long time and train all year round. For some people, me included, it has nothing to do with fitness, sodium loss, etc., and it’s simply how our muscles fire or “misfire”. No matter what, I cramp up at the end of marathons, OD triathlons, or any race over 2 hours 100% of the time. Most recently, I thought did B2B 70.3 because I wanted to test myself again hoping my sweat test results and conversations with PhD and exercise physiologists had given me the road map to a cramp free race. The result was no different and my hamstrings started cramping halfway through the bike leg.

19

Man there are so many variables that can cause this from the looks of it.

It seems like the best idea will be to go to my doctor first, so I can immediately rule out if any of my levels are out of whack. If that checks out, then it sounds like I should try a few training days with zero caffeine, and a few training days with a lot more salt. If at this point I am still getting leg cramps like usual, then it should be pointing to my muscles not being conditioned properly, which may include adjusting my training plan, and incorporating a stretching and strength training routine.

Seems like this way I can use the process of elimination and try to figure out what my deal is.

Thanks again for all the info!

20

It’s not fitness related, at least not for me. I’ve been racing competitively for a long time and train all year round. For some people, me included, it has nothing to do with fitness, sodium loss, etc., and it’s simply how our muscles fire or “misfire”. **No matter what, I cramp up at the end of marathons, OD triathlons, or any race over 2 hours 100% of the time. ** Most recently, I thought did B2B 70.3 because I wanted to test myself again hoping my sweat test results and conversations with PhD and exercise physiologists had given me the road map to a cramp free race. The result was no different and my hamstrings started cramping halfway through the bike leg.

So you do not think it is a fitness issue, but you cramp during every race over 2 hours? I think that points to it exactly being a fitness issue. They are consistently occuring when you are pushing yourself as hard as you can. This is good evidence for this since these races probably happened within a wide range of temperatures and with different nutrition and water intake, with the only variable left being you putting in lots of effort.

Also, racing competitively for a long time and training year round is not evidence it is not a fitness issue. It is simply pushing yourself too hard, this is also why professional athletes also cramp when going too hard. Pro have been racing for a long time and train year round. Cramps are not caused by LOW fitness, they are caused by having fitness lower than what is required to hold the pace that is being requested.