Exercisers are often told that muscle cramps are caused by lack of salt (sodium) or low potassium. However, recent studies show that athletes in endurance events who suffer cramps usually have normal sodium and potassium levels.
A review of the current literature from Buenos Aires, Argentina shows that doctors don’t know very much about exercise-induced muscle cramps (Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, July 2007).
The most common cause appears to be muscle damage. Athletes may be able to prevent cramps by slowing down when they feel the muscle pulling and tightening, and picking up the pace only when the muscle feels good again.
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Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor. Make sure to also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.
If you have found a regimen to avoid cramps during a marathon that works for you, stick with it. Don’t listen to the “naysayers” who try to tell you that you are doing something wrong or unnecessary.
I found a regimen that stopped my marathon cramps after suffering them in several races. It wasn’t simply one “silver bullet”. But a combination of factors.
I believe that the primary cause of cramps during a marathon is over running it … trying to run a pace that you truly aren’t prepared for. Obviously, the solution(s) for that is (are) more intensive training and/or better race planning and/or execution.
However, assuming that you are adequately trained for your race plan and that you execute your plan properly, then I also believe that there are other factors that come into play, especially when you are running “on the edge”. These “other factors” include your potassium and sodium stores going into the race and the intake of electrolytes during the race.
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Fatigue during hot-weather exercise is caused by lack of water, salt, sugar or calories. Of the four, exercisers are most ignorant of their sodium needs. A study from The University of Otago in New Zealand shows that taking a salty drink prior to competition can help an athlete to exercise longer and harder. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, January, 2007; and Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, January 2007).
Athletes who took the salty drink had larger blood volumes and greater endurance. Salt makes you thirsty earlier so you drink more, and salt in your body holds water so you have more water available to meet your needs.
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As more Americans embrace a healthier lifestyle, the popularity of fizzy beverages continues to wane. Industry insiders even predict that the bottled water industry will overtake carbonated soft drinks within the decade.
This news bodes well for flavored, vitamin-enhanced water makers like PepsiCo. In 2006, PepsiCo introduced SoBe Life Water to the market, a naturally flavored lifestyle water chock full of the vitamin B complex, and antioxidant vitamins C and E. According to the National Cancer Institute, antioxidants like vitamins C and E protect cells from the damage inflicted by free radicals. The cancer fighting agents in SoBe Life Water make it worth the $1.39 price tag.
Designed to help you live a healthier life, SoBe Life Water comes in five tasty and refreshing flavors that our testers found enjoyable: Strawberry Kiwi, Pomengranate Cherry, Blackberry Grape, Orange Tangerine, and Passionfruit Citrus.
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Since the advent of Gatorade, manufacturers have been in fierce competition to one-up each other with new and better ways to fuel athletes. This has created a very saturated market; one that features a plethora of choices for competitive athletes. As a result, athletes vary greatly, especially in the world of endurance sports, about which option they believe is the most effective.
One alternative that has begun to slowly, pick-up steam in the market is the electrolyte tablet. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding these portable tablets, such as Nuun and Zym, because they are quick and convenient mechanisms for obtaining vital replenishment of electrolytes and other vitamins.
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Every day it seems we are bombarded with some new nutritional guideline to follow. One week anything with a carb is feared; the next week its low sodium only. So how can you decide what type of food is nutritious enough to buy on your trip to super market?
Well . . if you live in New England, just follow the stars!
Hannaford Brothers, a N.E. food chain, has created a system they call Guiding Stars that claims to help you make those decisions. Needless to say, this has many people in the food industry up in arms. This new system rates the nutritional values for food and drinks sold at its stores from zero to three stars. The ratings might surprise you.
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After months of resistance - I finally gave in and tried the new Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I used them during training runs of varying lengths and then again last weekend during a half-marathon.
On each occasion I consumed them in lieu of my normal Powerbar PowerGels (I always use the decaffeinated ones). To be honest - I was pleasantly surprised and might be hooked.
I really found them to do a just as good, if not better, job of helping me maintain my energy. However, it is the ease of use that really sets them apart from your standard carbohydrate energy gels and what may have been the decisive element in winning me over.
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