Of course I need to make sure I fuel enough during a long ride, but especially at the start of the season my first few rides I often get cramps. Varying from my calves starting to ‘twitch’, to sometimes a full blown cramp.
When training our muscles, we damage them a little and the repair makes them stronger. But what about cramps? How much harm do they to my training / progress?
There’s very little known scientifically about cramps. The magnesium supplements to ‘avoid’ cramps has been proved a myth. We don’t now exactly why the body reacts with cramps and what the purpose is. We do know by experience that it hurts a lot and that they usually are caused by overload.
A short mild cramp will have little effect on future training. But a full-blown cramp can be felt for days to come. The pain and uncomfortable feeling on the following days, is best treated by very light intensity training, just enough to get the blood flow up.
There’s no permanent damage, but the fact that it can hurt for several days probably means that there’s some damage done.
Thank you for the great explanation. Especially: "The magnesium supplements to ‘avoid’ cramps has been proved a myth. "
Personally, Magnesium supplements work excellently for my cramps. I take Pillar Performance Magnesium powder (2 scoops per night with water). I no longer cramp through the night as a result. I agree very little is known about causes of cramps but for me, Mag supplements have helped tremendously plus building leg & muscle strength.
Hi,
From what we hear from coaches our best guess as to what causes cramps is not enough race pace intensity.
Since you mentioned that it happens at the begining of the season I would guess it’s becasue you lacked intensity over duration in your training after starting training.
It’s pretty normal for some people, just get some race pace efforts before actual race so that you dont get them when it matters.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the harm to your training, it won’t roll back your progress, it’s just that you may have to finish your training early if they are too painfull, thats it.
This research paper suggests that electrolyte imbalance was not clinically significantly different between a group of runners that cramped and another group that didn’t. Serum electrolyte concentrations and hydration status are not associated with exercise associated muscle cramping (EAMC) in distance runners - PMC
While magnesium deficiency is known to cause muscle cramps, that does not mean that exercise related muscle cramps are due to lack of Mg necessarily.
For me, personally, cramps have become rare as I’ve paid more attention to my hydration and have been better at maintaining fitness even throughout winter.