I spent my spring break on vacation with my family in Florida and, because I'm the oldest of four children (the rest middle school-aged and younger) that included a lot of theme parks and beach time. Needless to say, I started slacking on my training routine.
When I came back to Drake and decided to start up again.. the result was painful.
I have a bad habit of running on my toes, which results in EXTREMELY sore calves, especially when you haven't run for awhile. I hit the gym almost immediately after I got back to school and ran on the treadmill for a good 45 minutes. I felt great until that night when I got into the shower and both my feet decided to suddenly cramp up, at the SAME TIME. I was actually walking in circles inside the tiny dorm shower trying to relieve the pain. I continued this until it got so unbearable that I had to grab my towel and sprint into my room… sudsy shampoo in my hair and all.
Once I got some privacy I tried rubbing my feet to get the cramp to go away, and it did. Straight to my poor, overly-tired calves. It took a good 30 minutes of painful pacing for the cramps to completely ease up… turning what was meant to be a speedy shower into a massive struggle-fest.
Morale of the story: don't skimp on your workout plan and then go at it full-force out of nowhere. I've learned that cramps are much more likely to happen after random bursts of intense physical activity. This is because in order for your muscles to grow, they need to be trained progressively. Because I slacked for a week, my body wasn't prepared for my 45 minute run and I over-trained… causing some pretty intense cramps.
Ouch.
Thanks to an article from Livestrong, I learned that these factors can also cause muscle cramps:
Dehydration. Since your muscles are made up of over 60% water, drinking a lot of fluids is pretty vital. Especially right before, during, and after a run. Not warming up. Without it your muscles will stay cold and tight, which means they wont react well to intense training. To avoid this try exercises like walking lunges, high knees, and side steps before any intense physical activity. Unhealthy diet. The minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium help prevent cramping in the legs and can be found in dairy products, bananas, pumpkin seeds, and avocados (yum). If you DO end up getting a bad cramp, the Mayo Clinic suggests that you stretch and massage the painful muscle. If it's a calf cramp, try to either put your weight on that leg and bend your knees or sit with the affected leg straight out in front of you and pull your foot towards your face. Basically, just stretch the area as much as you can. You can also apply cold to relax the muscles or heat to sooth tenderness.
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