Training to Prevent Running Cramps

Training to Prevent Running Cramps

Great article looking at different things you can incorporate in your training program to help your muscles get strong and prevent cramps

News-Leader.com | Outdoors

News-Leader.com | Outdoors

Quite sound advice for marathon running - especially in the preparation. However if you want to know a surefire way to avoid getting cramps in your marathon, you need to implement one of the secrets of eastern medicine - available in the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide. It's tried and successfully tested!

Don't rush to race after pregnancy

Don't rush to race after pregnancy

This is slightly off our usual topic but is a good read for women runners wanting to get back into running after childbirth.

The usual rules apply, you need extra fluids, nutrition and stretching - for your sake and your baby's sake - to keep yourself healthy and to avoid running into problems such as cramps and injuries.

Worth a read - you need to give your postcode to be able to read it unless you live outside the USA.

Being the Best is About Being the Least Injured

In the playoff series for any code of sport it's common to read about leg cramps, muscle cramps, the effects of heat and dehydration and different approaches to fluid and energy intake.

In Australia finals season is almost upon us as the major ball sports prepare for the finals play offs.

As we saw in the Football World Cup, there are 2 strategies in place that dominate the talk in the newspapers and TV news:
* Be the best team
* Mitigate injury problems

Out of these two factors, being the best team is important for the intitial phase of competition, but it's injury preparation that teams and coaches tend to focus on in the last few rounds.

For example, if a team can afford to lose a game or two and still make the finals, they may consider resting key players carrying injuries.

And if you combine injuries with more extreme environmental conditions - high heat and humidity - this injury mitigation strategy is all the more important.

One of the many points we raise in the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is to have a training plan to prevent leg cramps and muscle cramps and that 'more' isn't necessarily better when it comes to preparation for an event.

One of our consultants, lecturing acupuncturist Paul Movsessian, explains that when he treats professional athletes for injuries including repeated muscle cramping, muscle strainand chronic injuries, he advises them to reduce their training program by 60% once they're better.

Practically 100% of the time the feedback he gets is positive with athletes reporting more energy, faster times, fewer injuries.

Muscle Cramps: Dont Cramp Your Style - Runners World

Muscle Cramps: Dont Cramp Your Style - Runners World

A great summarizing article about cause of cramps, and the second page gives you commonsense ways to prevent cramping.

If you want a quick guide to understanding cramps, it's a good read.

Remember to look at the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide for a detailed look at cramps, causes, prevention, treatment and things you can do to definitely avoid cramping for your special race.

How To Deal With a Gruelling Summer of Competition & Training

Dealing with Leg Cramps - Appliance of science replaces gruelling summer slog

Click on this link and read what's being said in between the lines - in order to compete and avoid injuries such as leg cramps, football coaches in the Enlgish Premier League are putting their player onto more specific training and hydration plans.

This follows a recent article I wrote about Australian Rules Football coaches studying how much their players are required to perform and adjusting their training program accordingly.

Gone are the days when it was all based on ability - now it's a case of ability AND science/technology.

The body is a machine and when demands are high, the fuel needs to be good, the engine needs to be running smoothly and not in danger of breaking down.

When this happens, people get hurt, teams lose games AND big dollars . . . and that's where the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is an absolute saviour for any coach.

More Quality Training & Racing Time

The most common feedback I get from my leg cramps clients who have read The Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is the amount of 'injury time' they save.

Less time spent recovering from an injury caused by cramps means more time to focus on training, more time to focus on the next event, more time to get the muscles ready for the next challenge.

Sustained leg cramps can lead to serious injuries that can take days or even weeks to recover from - not to mention the loss of confidence that goes with it.

It's common for leg cramp sufferers to think, "I hope that doesn't happen again".

Well, hoping it won't happen won't stop it from hapenning - for that you need a specific plan for prevention, treatment and management and that's exactly what The Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide offers.

How Many Calories to Improve Long Distance Perfrmance

Research shows that an intake of about 200 calories per hour will boost performance.

This adds up to about four cups of Gatorade drinks (about 32 ounces total). About 13 ounces of apple juice does the same thing - so a 24 ounce bottle will last you for two hours - just top it up with water and you're good to go.

Goos and gels can be a good source of calories but also raise your heart-rate and temperature as your body deals with the energy load.

Certain sports drinks provide a good calorie supply and have the added benefit of additional electrolytes, antioxidants, vitamins and even protein.

Whatever your strategy, the best advice is to 'have a strategy'. Have a plan for how you are going to hydrate and meet your calorie requirements before you race.

Does Running On The Sand Give You Leg Cramps?

Does Running On The Sand Give You Leg Cramps?

Well, as a beach runner for the past 25 years, my answer is absolutely no. However i need to qualify that with a few points about training that may benefit some:
1. I don't exclusively run on sand every day
2. I always vary the surface I train on - while I prefer sand, I also run on the road and on a grass track.
3. I perform a lot of hill training
4. I vary my beach training between hard and soft sand and sand hills

One of the theories of training that has always served me well is to create variation. If you do the same old thing every day, you'll get the same results.

I'm now 41, I'm as fit as I was in my early 20's and planning on being that way for another 20 years . . . and how I'll do it is by creating variation and generating excitement in my workouts.

I'm also big time into nutrition - a firm believer of putting more back into the body than I'm able to sweat out. That way the body simply eliminates any excess - but at least I'm guaranteed to always be running with a full tank.
Copyright - Paul Newland & Running Cramp Relief
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Race Preparation and Cramp Prevention

A good article on race preparation

One of the recommendations in The Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is to have a comprehensive plan that will prepare you for an event and help you prevent cramps and other injuries.

Most people think that a bowl of pasta the night before race day will help get you through - but it's this type of thinking that has probably helped you get cramps in the past and if you don't change your strategy you'll continue getting them in the future.

There's a ton of nutritional information in the 'Guide' - too much to go into right now - however two things you can do right now to prepare for your next race is:
1. Eat food with better nutrition
2. Eat and drink (water) more frequently

Perhaps the most important thing to do is to have a plan that works every time and which will get you through the event.

The Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide does that and a whole lot more.

Copyright - Paul Newland & Running Cramp Relief

Click here for more information on Nutrition

How Much Fluid for the Tour de France

An interesting article on the fluid requirements for Tour riders says the following:
"the standard rule of thumb, for Tour riders and you, is to drink 1.5 times the weight of the water you lost during exercise in the two hours immediately after.

So, if you lost two pounds (32 ounces) during a ride, you should drink 48 ounces of fluid to replenish the fluids you lost and optimize your recovery for the next day.

For Tour de France riders, replenishing fluids is just one small part of the post-stage nutrition, hydration, massage, and resting routines they have developed in order to race successfully day after day".

Interstingly, our Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide has all of this information and a whole lot more. And the strategies we recommend to prevent and eliminate cramps will give an advantage to any athlete competing at a high level.

Copyright - Paul Newland & Running Cramp Relief

Click here for more information on Nutrition