I keep cramping...

johnkreese

johnkreese

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I keep getting cramps in the side of my abs, and my legs. I don't think it's a stretching problem - I stretch throughout the day, and before class. I've been drinking water, taking vitamins, eating banana's, and drinking orange juice(which has a good source of potassium). However, no matter what I do - I keep cramping up at class.

I've also been feeling a bit fatigued, so I don't know if that plays into it. Any suggestions?
 
I was cramping a lot when I wasn't drinking enough.
You should maybe give a try to those isotonic drinks before and during training.
I'm not a doctor but for what I understand when you sweat your body is loosing salt potassium and such so isotonic drinks should work before than plain water... at least when you train lol
 
Sounds like you might be calcium deficient. Calcium plays a major role in muscle contraction. You might also want to watch your coffee and/or soda intake. Those things can rob your body of many nutrients.
 
Super.Froggy said:
I was cramping a lot when I wasn't drinking enough.
You should maybe give a try to those isotonic drinks before and during training.
I'm not a doctor but for what I understand when you sweat your body is loosing salt potassium and such so isotonic drinks should work before than plain water... at least when you train lol
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this could be true for you. also alot of people dont tend to relize that it takes a couple days of drinking water to get your muscles and pretty much all tissue fully hydrated. i started drinking like 70 oz of water a couple of months ago and its made a huge difference in both cramps and overall energy level
 
After waking up with a nice cramp in my calf - I went out to a local 24 hour drug store and bought myself some children's pedialite. Hopefully, this will help me get ready for class tomorrow. Regardless, I'll be there... cramping.
 
ShanghaiBJJ said:
Overtraining?

How much do you train?
Click to expand...

Could be. The thing that sucks about over training is people experience it in different ways and its rarely ever the same for people. I over trained years ago when I was 16 so I know exactly how my body acts when I'm over training. This has been happening a lot lately because of my work schedule (which makes me get not to much sleep) and I lift weights. I've been trying to find a healthy balance but it's taking time.
 
Too much sugar, too much salt, not enough good salts (potassium), dehydrated, calcium deficiency, magnesium deficiency, just plain lactic acid build up, maintaining tension in muscles when not necessary...

Any of these and more could be the problem. the things that made the biggest difference for me were aggressive hydration, two big calcium magnesium pills at bedtime every night, and reducing regular salt in my diet.

Still get occasional cramps but nowhere near as bad as previously. Also, if you need quick relief, some people have great results with quinine. When I get a bad cramp I can't get rid of, I drink a quick cup of Tonic water, and voila! Cramps go away.
 
Menstrual?

Screw you Melon!

Sorry, great movie quote.

Sorry about your cramping...it sucks when your body won't do what your mind tells it to sometimes.
 
keep eating right and hydrating and they will go away . trust me had the same problem I haven't rolled in awhile cuz I have been out of town so last night I cramped up but it quickly went away just eat right and try taking salt tablets.
 
coach once said "cramps are for girls every 28 days" but i didn't know what that meant?
 
Every once in a while I'll get cramps in the legs, magnesium has shown to help me a lot. Worth a try.
 
method115 said:
Could be. The thing that sucks about over training is people experience it in different ways and its rarely ever the same for people. I over trained years ago when I was 16 so I know exactly how my body acts when I'm over training. This has been happening a lot lately because of my work schedule (which makes me get not to much sleep) and I lift weights. I've been trying to find a healthy balance but it's taking time.
Click to expand...


I train 3 to 4 times a week. It's usually 3 classes and 1 private.

Last night, I drank a bottle of pedialyte -- I went to class today, got two stripes(i have no idea why i got 2 at once), and I didnt cramp. I felt dizzy as hell though. I'm going to start focusing on getting in better shape - I want to lose 25 lbs before I can compete.
 
I virtually guarantee the reason you are consistently cramping is due to magnesium deficiency (Rolfs post was spot on).

Depending on what study you want to cite, over 40% of americans are magnesium deficient and athletes in particular are even more susceptible.

To put it simply, calcium acts as the "on" switch, and magnesium is the "off" switch in your muscles. Not enough magnesium = too much on signaling = cramping.

I would highly recommend you get a good magnesium supplement and take it for a month and see if that doesn't cure the issue completely. By good, I don't mean the standard junk from a multivitamin that will almost assuredly contain magnesium oxide and in insufficient amounts.

You want chelated magnesium, ideally from Albion labs which has a patent on it...studies show it is up to 3x more bioavailable vs. standard stuff (its not what you ingest, its what actually gets into your bloodstream that counts). You also need to compute your supplementation based on body weight and not just generic RDA if you are bigger than average.

I personally use jigsawhealth.com mag supplement (it uses Albion labs chelated). As a quick alternative, get some unsalted cashews as cashews are one of the highest magnesium rich foods.

As a further benefit, studies have shown your cardio will get a boost with proper magnesium supplementation if you are deficient.

I will eventually write a much more detailed post on this, because studies have shown that mag deficiency (and zinc as well) is a common issue for many athletes, but I think the above should help resolve your issue.
 
i used to cramp A LOT in my calves and toes

i started drinking a glass of chocolate milk an hour before class and i've been fine doing that
 
after my intense training camp i took 1 month off and for 2 weeks my legs always got cramps even though i stretched and when i started doing intense warmups that got my blood flowing they went away, so just run and do exercises like that before you train
 
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