Summer Fact

When training for a hot-weather race, one of the first things you must do is drink lots. Even mild dehydration will cause your muscles to cramp up. The blood flowing through your muscles carry liquid to help them stay strong. When you run out of water, your muscles will begin to seize in protest.

Cramps will not only affect the target muscle groups, but they can also hit your stomach, causing gastrointestinal distress. Performance will continue to be compromised as you dry out. Headaches, disorientation, and irritability follow.

Dealing with Cramps

My girlfriend has cramps sometimes during and after her runs. Here are several ways of dealing with cramps:

 

• Take a longer and more gentle warm-up.
• Shorten your exercise segment, rest for 3-5 mintues between segments, and gradually increase the number of segments.
• Slow down the pace of your workout.
• Shorten the length of the workout on a hot/humid day.
• Break your workout into two segments. For example, Doubles.
• Look at any other exercise that could be causing the cramps.
• Take a buffered salt tablet at the beginning of your exercise.
• Shorten your stride-especially on hills, and take more frequent walk breaks.

Muscle Cramps Solutions

To help my gf, who has been suffering from muscle cramps lately, here are several ways of dealing with cramps:

 

• Take a longer and more gentle warm-up.

• Shorten your workout, rest for 3-5 minutes between intervals.

• Slow down the pace of your workout—especially from the beginning.

• Shorten the length of the workout on a hot/humid day.

• Break your workout into two segments.

• Look at any other exercise that could be causing the cramps.

• Drink more water

• Runners: Shorten your stride-especially on hills, and take more frequent walk breaks.