Preventing Leg Cramps From Ruining Your Exercise
By Edward Delongpre
You may be someone who is currently in pretty good health and has exercised often for a long time now, or you may be someone who would like to increase their overall health and just recently began exercising; maybe you’re somewhere in between. Whatever the case, leg cramps are a very common problem that bother people all over the world every day. Sometimes they interrupt your much-needed sleep, other times they pop up right in the middle of a refreshing exercise routine.
In the following article, I will cover various ways to prevent leg cramps that you get while exercising, whether you are bicycling, hiking, running, swimming, stretching or doing just about any other activity.
With just about every health condition or issue, it is always a good idea to possess your own general understanding of it. This includes understanding how your body would naturally combat this problem, as it can with most things. So, that is exactly what we are getting into now, for muscle cramps.
There is no conclusive evidence or single contributing factor that can be pointed out as the official “cause of leg cramps”, but there are a number of things that you can take into consideration.
Your Hydration: Your body (muscles included) needs plenty of water to function properly. Duh. If you drink lots of sodas or sugary/salty drinks, you are going to want to replace a good deal of that with water or at least some sort of healthy juice.
Your Weight: Additional weight puts additional pressure on your muscles, and may even cause a slight displacement or contortion of muscles in certain cases. Maintaining a healthy body-weight is essential to your overall health, and may very well be essential to keeping leg cramps from happening at night or while exercise. If you are trying to lose weight through exercise, but leg cramps or muscle cramps in general are slowing you down, this next part is for you.
Exercise Tips: The motions involved in stretching, uphill walking, swimming, and many others can trigger a cramp in one of your primary muscles. When stretching, move as slowly into the stretch as you possibly can and stop every time you feel tension, holding the position for 5-10 seconds. Drink plenty of water for at least the couple hours before you stretch (really, you should be drinking plenty of water all the time).
If it’s more strenuous exercise like uphill running or long-distance bicycling that is triggering your cramps, it may be that you are simply pushing your muscles too hard. Gradually increase intensity with everything you do, and be sure to stuff your body with tons of vitamins, minerals and hydration before and after all exercise.
Learn more about preventing leg cramps here:
Prevent Leg Cramps