Find Out How To Avoid Muscle Cramps :- )…kind of…
Find Out How To Avoid Muscle Cramps : )
As a personal trainer I get accused of making muscles hurt lol. Well today, I would like to educate you on how to avoid making your muscles hurt. ;-).
Did you know that drinking a quarter cup of pickle juice can get rid of muscle cramps about 85% faster than if they just disappeared on their own? Weird huh? You can thank Brigham Young University for finding that out in 2010.
Now here‘s the thing what we’ve been told for years and years about muscle cramping from every coach you have probably ever had…including yours truly. And this is because it is what we had always heard and on a superficial level is just made sense.
Think about it. When you become dehydrated, you lose electrolytes. The first studies related to cramps occurred about a hundred years ago and it included workers on steamships and those who worked on building train tracks. Those individuals often worked in really hot and humid conditions, which caused them to become dehydrated and lose electrolytes. And some would get cramps.
So the science of the day said, “They’re losing fluids and they’re losing salt and they’re getting cramps, therefore we need to replace the lost water and the salt and they will be fine.” However, that idea has not stood the test of time or experience.
What most experts are saying now is that cramps are related to something called, “altered neuromuscular control” and cramping stems from several factors including fatigue, genetics, and muscle damage.
This new theory basically suggest to reduce cramping it’s about pacing and proper training. And even doing that 100% is not going to reduce your risks to 0. Sorry…sad but true.
The altered neuromuscular cramp idea was first created around 1997 by a guy by the name of Martin Schwellnus from the University of Cape Town. And his main thesis or the main question that he asked was, “ if it’s a systemic problem like dehydration, then why doesn’t the whole body cramp?”
I don’t know about you, but I think that is a great question. If we cramp because there is a lack of water and salt in our entire body why doesn’t our entire body cramp? Why do the cramps occur in one localized area of our body, like our upper legs or calves, shoot even your toe? Couple this with what sports medicine professionals do to treat a cramp, stretch the affected area, and you have a real problem.
In short, Martin conducted a study of triathletes and he discovered that those who develop cramps generally had these things in common.
They started out their races faster than their previous best times, basically they were working harder from the start of the race and these same athletes also had a tendency to train harder leading up to a race which was measurable by the elevated blood levels of the enzymes that are that are related to muscle damage. Martin discovered that those who overtrain, who have a genetic disposition to cramps and those who exert themselves too hard at the beginning of exercise are the generally the ones who are going to cramp. And the way he explained pickle juice was that vinegar in pickle juice alters the reflex signals inside the muscles that helps alleviate them from twitching and or cramping up.
The takeaway is simple. Train smartly have a solid training program built for Just YOU and don’t over do it.
Go be awesome!
KELLEN LAKE – Almost to simple to be true : )
PS – If you want a smart training program built around Just You come in for a free session, click here.
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