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Old 08-07-2012, 06:31 PM   #9
Pinn
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Destin, FL
Posts: 19
Re: How to minimize leg cramps?

When are your cramps occurring? You're in shape now and your able to push your body to a place it wasn't getting to before, its a good thing!

If they are happening right from the get-go, you're likely not giving your body a suitable warmup. Pushing a cold muscule will deplete it quickly of its resources without replenishment from blood flow and cause it to cramp. Its easy to warm up the foot and calf though, stand up and do some calf raises until just before fatigue (10-15 quick ones), switch lead legs, then do the same on the other leg. Repeat. Takes maybe 5 min on the boat ride out there and you have at least started to stimulate your body to get ready for physical activity. Not the best warm-up, but easy and effective for me.

If thats not it, then its the salts (potasium, sodium, magnesium) the rest of the posters mentioned that is probably causing it. Bannanas and pills are great, but examine your diet. These sort of things will help but really shouldn't be neccessary and the cramps may be caused by a dietary deficiency from eating habits. If you are VERY active or always in the sun and constantly losing fluids, you should make it a point to oversalt your foods and eat more than you think you should. Its easy to mess up your body's balance of nutrients, and straight water is often not the fix.

Just be careful when you stretch AFTER the cramp... it's easy to tear the muscle and do damage when all you want is the pain to stop. Instead try to forcefully squeeze the muscle in question at both ends. Its like hitting a reset button, the blocked blood flow gives the cramp a chance to restabilize its chemical balance.

All things to try that've worked for me in the past, good luck!
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