Most endurance athletes experience cramping at some point during their racing career.
The first thing everyone does is increase their intake of sodium, potassium, and electrolytes.
The truth is, that most of us eat out enough, and eat enough sports drinks and have enough gu’s and gels that we actually have plenty of the sodium, potassium and electrolytes in our system.
I actually had this problem too when I first started racing and training. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why I was constantly cramping. So after meeting with the doctors and getting the same old answers, I started doing a lot research on my own to try and solve the problem. This is when I came across some readings stating that an increase in calcium and magnesium has been proven to help endurance athletes with cramping issues.
The reason for this is, calcium plays a vital role in muscle contraction to include heartbeat regulation.
A deficiency in calcium can cause nerve sensitivity, muscle twitching, abnormal heartbeat, muscle pains and cramps, numbness, stiffness along with tingling of the hands and feet, and depression.
The daily recommended intake for men and women is 1000 mg.
Magnesium on the other hand, interacts with calcium in many body processes.
However, a deficiency in magnesium affects all body tissues and include but are not limited to: irritability, weakness, tiredness, muscle cramps, tremors, and involuntary eye movements.
The difference between calcium and magnesium is: Calcium actually stimulates muscles and contracts blood vessels, while magnesium relaxes muscles and dilates blood vessels.
This means that magnesium contributes to calcium absorption, therefore it is best to take both at the same time.
The daily recommended intake for men is 400 mg & 310 for women
I also know that there are supplements out there that have both of these in one pill, but through my experience, I had the most relief by taking them individually as separate pills.
Yes, you can get both of these supplements through good nutrition plan, but I will tell you, that if you are training hard and are still cramping, you may need additional supplementation in your nutrition plan.
Remember, everyone is different and therefore, everyone has different needs. Listen to your body.
Train Smart and Hard!
TB
