I think it's safe to say that we've all been there before.
You know, when we first start our morning jog and then it happens. Like a slap in the face, or more so to the abdomen, you begin to start cramping as if lightning bolts are occupying your stomach mixed with a hint of unexpected frustration. Now, one usually comes to two different conclusions when faced with such an unprecedented dilemma. They either say screw it and just quit or they torture themselves for the rest of their
cardio session
, which is driven by pure motivation and vigor. Either way you look at it, neither situation is ideal.
But fear not! There are many ways to help prevent this workout ruining act from ever even happening at all!
Look, I've been there before. Nothing can be more deflating than preparing yourself for a run, mentally and physically, and then being hit with an unfortunate case of cramping moments after you begin your workout, which can in fact sometimes be very debilitating depending on the case.
I don't want this to happen to you.
[tweet_box design="box_9"]"Any day I'm too busy to run is a day that I'm too busy" - John Bryant[/tweet_box]
To make sure that you are never struck with this unfortunate type of lewdness, I urge you to read on as I'll now lay out a list containing what I find to be the top 5 ways to prevent cramping! Research and experience has led me to such a list. However, it isn't entirely inclusive, so be sure to take each tip in the list with a grain of salt, as you may find in your own experience a more fitting action that can heighten your chances of helping you to prevent such a sharp type of pain.
So, shall we begin? Here's my...
Top 5 Tips to Help You Prevent Cramping when Running
Tip Number 1: Don't train right after eating
- In no particular order, the first and most obvious tip (i.e. let's get it out the way now) is to make sure that you don't do cardio within 1-2 hours of eating a large meal. In fact, depending on your stature and metabolism
, it may be ideal for you to wait 3 hours after even eating a meal in general, as humble a portion as it may be. This is where your own human experience will have to kick in as I can only lead you so far throughout the words laid here.
So, for the sake of simplicity and as a general rule of thumb, try not to go out for your run within 2 hours of eating, unless you only ate a small snack of course.
Tip Number 2: Be well hydrated before your run
- Avoid drinking excessively 30-60 minutes
just before your run. This may be as obvious as the first tip, but it is usually the most obvious of things that become overlooked the most. It is imperatively important that you do in fact drink water leading up to your cardio session, but too much will undoubtedly lead to horrible muscle cramps that will manifest as such. Try just sipping on some Trace Black Water instead of downing a couple of bottles of Gatorade moments before your run. Depending on how intense your run will be, it would be more beneficial for you to sip water
during your run or take water breaks
and not the foregoing statement's much more extreme example.
[caption id="attachment_16043" align="aligncenter" width="710"]

Color of urine can be a great indicator of hydration levels of the body[/caption]
Tip Number 3: Keep a food journal
- Depending on how extensive you plan on your cardio session to be, you may want to consider keeping a food diary
to make sure that you will always have Tip Number 1
& 2
under control. If you consider your self someone who always finds themselves "on the go", it would only be logical to come to such a conclusion such as you eventually coming to a crossroads where you found yourself training when it wasn't ideal for you (e.g. like running right after eating based on some motive, such as convenience). So, consider writing down your meals in a type of food log, or at least becoming more conscious of the days and times that you typically train and eat.
Tip Number 4: Practice Mental Imagery / Visualization
- Anticipation... That's right. Mental anticipation
of the workout itself will bring with it motives to eat the right foods during the right times. " Mentally preparing yourself
" may just sound like impractical philosophical rhetoric, but I make sure you that when you (if you haven't already) become "fitness conscious" and begin to live a life that is composed of consistent exercise, the role that anticipation
will play in your success with preventing cramps, among many other things much more noteworthy, will have itself manifest in ways that your performance and physique will surely show. A perfect example of how powerful anticipation
is can be seen when one mentally prepares themselves for an extensive leg workout. They may even find themselves anticipating
for such an intense workout the day before the real workout itself, depending on their goals of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs_VFo5PmX0
Tip Number 5: Be proactive, not reactive on your longer runs
- If you know that you are one who suffers from cramps no matter what you do, my advice for you would be to make sure that you don't leave yourself the option of being in a position of abandonment (e.g. as with heat exhaustion). For example, if you know that more times than not, after you jog a mile straight that you begin to cramp up, don't leave yourself with a great distance to head back to the car (depending on where your running at) as this would be a long, miserable, and painful walk back to your starting point to recover. So, don't run that 3 mile loop at the park if it does not have any short cuts leading you back to your car for relief if you start cramping and need to stop. Henceforth, you don't want to leave yourself cramped and abandoned.
As this article comes to a close, I'd like you to remember that everyone's body is truly unique and that (as described in
Tip Number 5
), you may not be at a place in your fitness career where you are completely knowledgeable of what it is that brings about the horrible muscle cramps that you may suffer from. With this being said, I'd like to agree that you shouldn't give up on fitness just due to such a very easily fixable vice. Instead, I hope it encourages you to research more and possibly seek help from a medical professional such as your primary doctor. In other words,
don't give up!
Final thoughts on how to prevent cramping when running...
So, to briefly summarize!... Make sure that you give yourself around 2 hours after you eat to digest your food before your run to help make sure that you won't have to suffer from any horrible cramping. Also, don't forget about liquids! Drinking too much too quickly beforehand can potentially have some very bad adverse effects. To make sure this doesn't happen, make sure to just sip on small amounts of water before your run. No need to douse your insides with water moments before your cardio session. This isn't a type of "hydration insurance" if you were hoping (even though that would actually be pretty nice if it were in fact so).
Don't forget about having a food diary filled with your current food habits and meals with the times you ate or plan on eating. This isn't for everyone, but it
may
be for you. If you find yourself overwhelmed with the events in your normal daily life, let alone adding fitness into the mix, then such a food log could benefit you far beyond what you could have ever imagined!
Also, don't forget about the concept of ANTICIPATION and how it can benefit you on a subconscious level prior to your workout and with any workout for that matter. Anticipating when your workouts and meals are will benefit you immensely in the short
and
long run! And, if you find yourself always having cramps no matter what you do, make sure that you don't leave yourself stranded by ensuring that wherever you run at (if at a park or outside) that you allow yourself some sort of short cut back to your vehicle or that there is an extensive surplus of benches along your path to help comfort you if cramps stricken you unannounced.
[tweet_box design="box_9"]It's supposed to be hard... it's the hard that makes it great![/tweet_box]
Lastly, if you have any other beneficial tips that you feel has helped you or that can help someone else, I greatly encourage you to give such benefits in the comment section below! Everyone's life experience is different and you may be surprised how you may be able to help someone who is in desperate need of ridding themselves of hindering muscle cramps, but just hasn't found out a way yet. Other than that,
thank you for reading!
Use these tips and get out there and start running cramp-free!
Author Bio: Thomas Hlubin
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When I was little I was as skinny as a rake, but at the ripe old age of 18, I started lifting weights seriously. I trained and competed as a natural bodybuilder in the SNBF and NANBF organizations, placing 4th in the novice men middleweight division at the 2012 Atlanta SNBF Championships. A year later, I competed and placed 2nd in the collegiate men division at the 2013 NANBF Natural Southern States Classic in St. Louis, Missouri. That solidified my goal to help others achieve greater levels of fitness. Today, I'm an avid blogger focused on creating content to help people improve their physical and mental health. For more of my work, check out my website
Disorders.net
to get information on how to improve your mental health.