What Causes Cramping
Dr Jeff Banas
Nutrition and electrolyte issues are what most people think about when attempting to relieve cramping.
However, the truth is cramping usually has little to do with electrolyte or nutritional issues. Most of the time cramping is due to factors such as fatigue, abnormal biomechanics during exercise, or attempting to perform at a level or an intensity that was not addressed during training. Such as running hard out of the swim to T1 and then getting cramps in the calves.
Did they ever train running right out of the water? Most of the time, you will find the athlete is attempting to do something in the race that they have not tried during training. This is usually the problem when the athlete "only" gets cramps during races, and not during training.
This will usually be fixed by training more specifically and at a higher intensity. Train at race pace a few times, and think of what you were doing when you got the cramp. If you got the cramps after running off the bike, practice running hard after the bike.
A common time to cramp is running from the water to T1. I used to get severe cramps in T1 myself. Rather than thinking first about nutrition, think mechanics first. This cramping is commonly due to the foot being plantar flexed (toe pointed down) for a long time. Relaxing the foot during the swim, and flexing the foot you and down during the swim should help this.
If you are getting cramping during the bike, bike position might be the problem. Instead of paying someone hundreds of dollars for a bike fit, think about what I already mentioned during the swim. How flexed is the calf? Or, how pointed is the foot during the pedal cycle?
Again, the common thing here is an the athlete is going from a situation where the calfis severely plantar flexed (toe pointed down) and contracted during the pedal stroke, and then the athlete jumps off the bike and runs. The calf is now asked to more thru a greater range of motion. A common fix to this problem is, reducing the height of the seat a little so that the foot is not point down as much.
Mechanical or training related factors are the most common causes of most cramping, followed by electrolyte issues. Addressing the electrolyte issues first, never hurts because you will simply pee out what you do not need. So, when you are experiencing cramps, think biomechanics and training specific.
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