Foot then leg cramps
JenRunTriHappyGirl
Posts: 521 Member
Hello everyone! I need advice!
I believe that I am a strong swimmer.... swam for a community team as a kid and then for my high school before taking some years (and by some I mean 10) off. I have gotten back into in the past 6 or so months but more seriously in the last couple of months due to a knee injury. Now, I am back in love with the sport!
Anyways, my normal workout routine totals around 2000 yards, made up of 200s, some 100s and a longer swim 500 or 600 yards with a pull-bouy in the middle of the workout. Almost everytime, I make it to 1600-1700 yards swam and my foot starts to cramp.... and if I keep going this cramp goes up my leg to my calf. I eat bananas daily, drink plenty of water and I have started drinking powerade zero right before I swim which seems to help a little.
I am a runner and I ride my bike a lot and I do not cramp when I am doing these activities.
Has anyone else ever experienced this before? any tips on how to make this stop? I could swim flex-footed, but not only is that difficult to do it is improper form.
I believe that I am a strong swimmer.... swam for a community team as a kid and then for my high school before taking some years (and by some I mean 10) off. I have gotten back into in the past 6 or so months but more seriously in the last couple of months due to a knee injury. Now, I am back in love with the sport!
Anyways, my normal workout routine totals around 2000 yards, made up of 200s, some 100s and a longer swim 500 or 600 yards with a pull-bouy in the middle of the workout. Almost everytime, I make it to 1600-1700 yards swam and my foot starts to cramp.... and if I keep going this cramp goes up my leg to my calf. I eat bananas daily, drink plenty of water and I have started drinking powerade zero right before I swim which seems to help a little.
I am a runner and I ride my bike a lot and I do not cramp when I am doing these activities.
Has anyone else ever experienced this before? any tips on how to make this stop? I could swim flex-footed, but not only is that difficult to do it is improper form.
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Replies
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By flex-footed, do you mean toes extended, or floppy ankles? I've been in kind of a similar situation, only I've been back at it for about two and a half months. My workouts range from 3600 to 5400 yards with the first 1800 straight through. I find that when I go straight through like that on the first mile, I naturally slow down the pace of my kick, and it helps. I've cramped up only once or twice, and it was off of the take off from the wall during the second 1800, usually during a sprint set.0
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I get cramps, too. I get them mostly after an off balance kick off where one foot pushes harder than the other. I try to compensate by working leg intensive stuff (butterfly) in slowly.0
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I mean foot flexed. I am just trying to work through it. Its really a pain in the butt!0
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I get them on the days I do my distance workout (6500 yds freestyle - 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 1500, 1000, 500, 250), usually on the 2nd 1,000 & 2nd 500. I was wondering if it was a dehydration issue, so I started drinking a bottle of water on the way to the gym & another during the workout (between sets, it doesn't work so well while I'm swimming). That only helped a little bit, now I make sure to stretch my calves between each set starting right from the beginning & that seems to have almost eliminated the cramps. On alternate days I do a shorter workout (around 5200 yds, some pull sets, some sprints, some IM's) where my longest set is a 500 & I don't seem to have trouble on those days.......0
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I mean foot flexed. I am just trying to work through it. Its really a pain in the butt!
I know it's somewhat contrary to what you've been trained to do, but try giving your knees a little more bend. Not so much that they're creating drag, but enough that the lower leg muscles loosen up a bit. The kick from the hip proper form tends to make your calves/feet tighten up. Keep kicking from the hip, only allow your knees to bend a little more.
The other thing I might recommend is if you're using a six or more beat kick on the longer swims, try slowing the tempo down a little. When I do my 1800 yard set, I usually go with a four beat kick. When I swim my five 100s on the 1:15 with 30 seconds rest, it's a six beat kick, and when I sprint, I go with eight. The slower kick on the longer swims makes me feel leg lazy, but I compensate by trying to hold my hips higher in the water using my core strength.0 -
I drink Mio Fit or G2 mixed water. This has eliminated cramps. The last time I had a slight cramp wanting to start was at lap 190 of 220 last month.0
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I'm glad to see this topic and suggestions because it has become an issue for me as well, usually at the hour mark on the dot.0
