Avoiding Muscle Cramps at He's Fit

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Avoiding muscle cramps

Posted September 18, 2007 at 02:40 PM by Mark Scott

Section: His Fitness, Injuries & Rehab, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating

overtraining One of the worst things that can happen to you during a workout is to be halfway through and then get a terrible muscle cramp. This is a regular occurrence for some however, particularly runners who try and exercise after eating a meal.

By paying attention to the foods you are eating before this occurs however you should be able to see a trend with regards to what foods give you issues and which don’t.

Some people do fine eating a solid meal and then stepping out the door to go for their workout while others can only tolerate a shake beforehand. For most exercise sessions it is going to be important that you are eating something so it’s worth your time to try and figure out a plan that you can work with.

Fat should usually be avoided around the workout period as it is so slow to digest and will likely give you issues, plus it doesn’t supply the muscles with a great deal of instant energy so it would be a poor choice for right before anyway.

Carbohydrates will be much better however you do need to pay careful attention to the choices. Try and go for less ‘bulky’ sources as these usually are what causes problems. Examples of foods to avoid would be oatmeal, large amounts of vegetables and huge plates of pasta. While these foods would all be good say an hour or two before your workout session, they are not good options for immediately before.

Additionally, you might want to watch your fruit intake as well as this can give some people diarrhea while exercising.

Finally, try and consume as much liquid as you can earlier before your workout so you aren’t forced to drink a full 8-16 ounces right before. You definitely do not want to be dehydrated for your workout so it is important to avoid this but again you don’t want to be drinking so much immediately before either.

So put in a little planning when determining what to eat before a workout. If you are currently experiencing a great deal of cramping issues then keep a food journal and try making small changes every few days. Within a few weeks you should then have a very good idea of what works for you and what doesn’t.

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