How to Prevent Muscle Cramps while Working Out
Muscle cramps are not limited to professional athletes or people genetically susceptible to cramping, it happens to everyone at some point. One gets cramps just from sleeping incorrectly so we will cover a few points that will help avoid getting cramps and solve cramps when you do get them.
Overexertion is a common cause of muscle cramps, they need time to rest up and rushing through an intense workout could easily cause a muscle cramp spasm. When training with high intensity and maximum weight you need to rest between 60 to 90 seconds between each set.
Dehydration and lack of essential vitamins is also a common cause of muscle cramps. Potassium is the principal key to preventing muscle cramps the same as dehydration. Muscle is made from water and if you are depleted of water in any way you will bring on cramps when training with high intensity.
Coffee and sodas do not hydrate, you need to drink twice that of the coffee or soda you drank in water to prevent dehydration. Bananas are a great natural source of potassium and if you cannot access fresh bananas where you live then take a multi-vitamin at least once a day.
Lack of stretching or doing any warm-up can also cause muscle cramps. It might sound like a no-brainer to you but there are plenty of newbies who get permanently injured from diving straight into a set of heavy weights without doing a warm-up.
Excessive heat can also cause muscle cramps and it is probably recorded somewhere as the most common cause of muscle cramps during the hot summer months. Just like your car might seize up from excessive heat with not enough water and oil for lubrication.
If you are training in extreme heat outdoors or indoors you need to consume more water than you normally would to avoid muscle cramping. Taking a little extra potassium or eating a few bananas could help retain this excessive water loss.
In closing, studies done on muscle cramping during exercise at Brigham Young University conclusively showed that drinking very salty drinks like pickle juice can actually reverse the muscle cramp very quickly. Some volunteers actually removed all muscle cramping pain in just a few seconds after drinking pickle juice.
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