night time leg cramps

Dehydrated? I find that I tend to cramp at night and suffer from restless legs when my fluid intake isn't as high as it should/could be. Just a suggestion from personal experience

I get these too -- just had one the other night, in fact. I think stretching before/after a workout is supposed to help. I always am good about doing it before, but am going to try after too to see. HTH!

I'd go with what the other guys say. Stretch out after exercise and lightly before you go to bed and make sure you are not dehydrated. I would also have some potassium anyway :-)

I think it also depends on how long you have exercised for. If you are back at it after a while or are doing a lot then your muscles can just cramp though the battering we give them. I had this, potassium helped but didn't get rid of it but they really reduced over time as my muscles got used to being battered again.

Like the others said, hydration is key, stretching before workouts and before bedtime. A warm shower or bath helps too. Have you ever tried Yoga? The slow stretching is beneficial. I've gotten my husband to join me and that's what really helped his leg cramps.

Eat bananas to place the potassium in your body.
If in the middle of a cramp you can eat a dash of salt as well.

There are a few kinds of magnesium. For me the trick was finding the one. For me it was magnesium citrate. Foot cramps and charley horses are gone.
Trace minerals in water, or electrolytes might help as well.
Good luck!

While you may be hydrated, longer workouts = more sweating = you need more electrolytes. Your potassium may be fine when you get tested, but it could be that on those days after you've worked out, your body is low on potassium, sodium, etc. Try having a sports drink instead of straight water after you work out.

^^ Not due to a lack of potassium.

Too much protein >> calcium depletion >> muscle spasm

Most sports drinks and hydrating fluids besides water contain salts. It helps to hydrate your body.
Low cal Gatorade or PowerAde Zero contain a lot of salt, despite having no calories or "sugar" (still contain sweetners)
This sounds counter intuitive, but you need the salt to hydrate your body.
If you can stay within your sodium count here, I don't see any problem with having a sports drink.
I know team mates who drink pedialyte (spelling?) and they say it does wonders for avoiding/removing cramps.

Additionally, stretching is key, on days I don't stretch I feel sore and tight for a lot longer compared to when I do stretch, I recover a lot quicker.
A dynamic stretch is good prior to working out while a static stretch after will help too.

Thanks for the point about high-protein may cause leg cramps. Do you know of any URLs supporting that?


When I googled this myself, I did see this prior topic on MFP that seems relevant. I am not Atkins-style low carb, but have restricted my carbs (75-100g per day). I am curious about the sodium too, I have been craving sodium like mad, but been reluctant to give in.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529391-leg-cramps

Gosh, no, sorry.

If you googled on Google Scholar, you should be able to get plenty of information on this. The key is to make sure that you take enough calcium to counter a high protein diet - dark green veges in particular.

[I know people are going to say "potassium", but it's not potassium. I've had 3 blood tests in the last couple of months checking my potassium levels, they are fine]. I've started taking magnesium supplements, but they don't seem to help either.

So I've been finding I get night leg cramps on the day(s) following especially lengthy aerobic exercise (stair mill/elliptical). It seems pretty replicable that if I limit my workouts to 45 minutes or less, I'm fine, but if I go to 50-70 minutes, I get cramps.

Any suggestions on how I could change my routine to get in longer workouts, and avoiding the cramps?

Thanks

Two things John. I probably sound like a walking advertisement, but after having fought cramps for years I've learned how to combat them.

The first way is through training. You are training, but eventually you will break through the barrier where the workouts that are beyond 45 minutes won't cause you to have the night cramps.

The second way is through the use of some of the better products out there designed to target fighting cramps. After having tried them all, here's the cream that rose to the top...

#1 - buy a bottle of Salt Stick Caps: http://www.saltstick.com/products/sscaps/cfeatures.htm
#2 - get the best anti-cramp drink that I know exists - Pickle Juice Sports Drink http://www.goldenpicklejuice.com/

Both will amaze you and get rid of your cramps.

Don't know if this is applicable, but some medications can cause leg cramps. Also, restless leg syndrome and vascular disease. And, as you already know, electrolyte imbalances.

Long ago I read that calcium can help leg cramps. It worked for me and I have had no further problem.