How Can I Prevent Muscle Cramps During Exercise?

Nothing kills a workout quite like the pain and tightness a cramp can bring on. And whether you’re lifting weights, running sprints, or doing laps in the pool, you can cramp up. So how do you prevent cramps from happening during your workout? 

“A cramp is when the muscle unit contracts and doesn’t have enough resources to release that contraction,” explains Jennifer J. Beck, M.D., an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at UCLA’s Orthopedic Institute for Children. Muscle cramps typically strike whatever area you’re working the hardest. “Runners are likely to get lower-extremity cramps, while rowers and swimmers might be more prone to upper-extremity cramps,” Beck says

NUTRITION NO-NOS

“The most common cause of muscle cramps tends to be something nutritional,” says Jordan D. Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. That’s especially true for endurance athletes like distance runners, cyclists, and triathletes, who have lost lots of electrolytes through their sweat without replacing them. This can lead to a deficiency in sodium levels, which triggers cramps. “In order to combat these deficiencies you need to make sure you’re being nutritionally smart,” Metzl says. That means getting enough electrolytes in your diet with salty foods like pretzels or taking salt tablets during workouts.

In addition to sodium, the minerals potassium, magnesium, and calcium can help prevent your muscles from locking up. Aim to get these nutrients through foods first, advises Beck. Key sources include bananas for potassium, leafy green vegetables for magnesium, and dairy products for calcium.

Proper hydration is also important, since dehydration causes an alteration in electrolyte concentration as well as
a buildup of lactic acid from muscle metabolism, both
of which can cause cramps. Individual needs vary—some people do fine with just a little water, while others require more fluids or a sports drink with electrolytes.

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ACTIVITY OVERLOAD

Cramping can also occur when your workouts get the best of you. “Functional cramps happen in
people who overload
their muscular capacity,” Metzl says.
That can mean
putting too much
weight on the bar,
maxing out on
the number of reps
you’re doing, or even
putting your body in a position where flexibility is
an issue. To help keep muscles mobile, incorporate more flexibility in your training. It can also help to use a foam roller before a workout, adds Metzl.

And if you haven’t properly warmed up, jumping into intense exercise like sprints can trigger cramps. “If you’re going to recruit all the energy required of your hamstrings and quad muscles to do something like sprint 400 meters, but your muscles don’t have the energy or building blocks to do so, they will most likely cramp up,” explains Beck. Improving your flexibility can go a long way toward keeping your muscles limber and less likely to cramp. “Tighter muscles have less change in length during normal function, known as excursion,” Beck says. “That means they have to do the same amount of work but with a shorter change in length.” Repeating this movement at a high rate or high volume can cause the muscle to cramp, since it’s not getting properly stretched during exercise, she notes.

Stretching, as well as a proper warmup, is key to avoiding cramps mid-workout. Stretch the muscles you’ll be using the most—for runners, that might mean the hamstrings; for upper-body lifting, stretch your chest and shoulders.

If you do start to cramp up, be sure to stop and gently stretch the muscle. Don’t try to push through, warns Beck, since doing so can result in a muscle tear.

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