Muscle cramps
Anyone who has ever experienced severe muscle cramps wants to know how to prevent them. According to Dr. Michael Bergeron of the Medical College of Georgia, salt is a key cramp preventer. Having worked with numerous tennis players who exercise in extreme heat, Dr. Bergeron noticed the athletes who suffer from cramps could resolve the problem by adding more salt to their daily diets. Case in point: a tennis player who regularly cramped badly, despite drinking plenty of fluids. His father had high blood pressure and consequently, the entire family ate a low sodium diet. Once the player started eating more pretzels, table salt and sports drinks, the cramping problem dissipated. Dr. Martin Schwellnus of the University of Cape Town Medical School in South Africa offers another theory based on science rather than anecdotes. He believes cramps occur when the muscles are fatigued. A nerve malfunction creates an imbalance between muscle excitation and inhibition; the muscle doesn't relax. His solution: stretch the cramp.
Overhydration
In the effort to prevent muscle cramps and dehydration, some endurance athletes drink copious amounts of fluids, so much so they dilute their blood to the point sodium levels are dangerously low. This often occurs in slower marathoners who take the advice to drink at every water station. Excess water, in combination with a low salt diet, increases the risk of suffering from hyponatremia (low blood sodium); the athlete becomes tired, nauseous, disoriented or even worse (a seizure). The solution: Don't avoid salt and don't drink if your stomach is sloshing!
Also
Exercise and weight loss
The myth is, if you add on exercise you'll lose body fat. The truth is, if you create a calorie deficit, you'll lose body fat. In a study with previously sedentary overweight males and females (average ages 22-24 years) who exercised 5 times a week for 16 months with no dietary restrictions, the men lost 12 lb. (body fat dropped 27 to 22%); they failed to eat enough to compensate for the extra calories burned. The women, however, had no significant weight or body fat changes; their appetites kept up with their calorie expenditure. In a study with 220 women (ages 35-45), changes in calorie intake (i.e., eating less food) were more closely related to changes in body fatness than were changes in exercise. This means: remember to subtract food, not just add on exercise!
Me again: I've never been afraid of salt and there are plenty of times I did not drink enough water, but I still get cramps. I think it's under used muscles as the end of the first paragraph says. Like from not using a clutch everyday then drive a shifting vehicle for three hours, or swimming, which I don't do regularly. But a few weeks ago I was an hour into an easy bike ride and I was cramping. No idea where it came from, but I was practically limping through the rest of the ride.
I was supposed to do a big ride today. I'm kicking myself for not going, but my body was not up for it; I would have done really bad. This happens every year, I'll be steadily progressing, then something stupid happens. Last year was a bad poison ivy rash on arms and legs which stopped me from riding for three weeks. Before that has been allergies, or stomach flus. Those are real special.
Kevin T. - VRWC Time to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for six hours
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