Cramping when swimming, what can I get?

[shawnvan]

I think this is mostly fatigue thing -  99% of cramping is due to working muscles more than they are trained for, not dehydration / lag of magnesium etc. 

 

Your calves are just not used to having your toes pointed in this position for long periods and so cramp.

 

When I first started swimming I got cramps like this nearly every swim.   Now, I only get them very rarely and usually because I did a ride / run earlier in the day and my legs are fatigued. 

 

The more you swim, the more your calves will get used to your feet in this position and the cramps should become less.

[Davey_Jones]

I think this is mostly fatigue thing -  99% of cramping is due to working muscles more than they are trained for, not dehydration / lag of magnesium etc. 

 

Your calves are just not used to having your toes pointed in this position for long periods and so cramp.

 

When I first started swimming I got cramps like this nearly every swim.   Now, I only get them very rarely and usually because I did a ride / run earlier in the day and my legs are fatigued. 

 

The more you swim, the more your calves will get used to your feet in this position and the cramps should become less.

Ditto

[udxcob]

Swim only 59 laps

[Boerklong]

Swim only 59 laps

Problem solved

[corriekuilder]

My advice, go again for 80,with a life jacket.

[Marius]

get cement and HTFU

[Disylizzy]

I also get insane cramps when I start swimming again after a break.  I think it's a fatigue thing because the fins make those muscles work more than normal.  It does go away eventually.

 

Magnesium supplements help a lot.

 

Also if possible, try not to wear the fins as much until the cramping gets less.  Or incorporate pulling to give your legs a rest.

[BarHugger]

Cramping when I am swimming ,what can I get ?

Well......you can rule out aids and TB at this stage.....or you could get a bicycle......

[SwissVan]

Hi so been doing swim squads for a few weeks now and its been going well.

Unfortunately I always seem to cramp up around the 60 lap mark, in either one or sometimes both of my calves as well as my big toe. It also happens immediately when I put my fines on and it is annoying as hell.

Can you peoples recommend anything that I can take other than being properly hydrated.

Aside note, I rarely cramp when I run or cycle, even when doing races, so this is quite strange for me.

TIA.

 

I sukkeled with this problem for years (still do) and my conclusion is that by kicking to hard (as in a sprint) or flexing the foot to try and achieve a good hydrodynamic position brings it on almost instantly.

 

Swimming with fins force your foot into a flexed position (that is your toes point to the wall and the sole of your foot towards the roof / sky). 

 

I don't think its a cramp as such, muscle cramp is usually related to fatigue and I tried to beat the fatigue thing by doing my kicking drills with fins early in the training session (right after a warm up) and it made no difference, swim a few meters and WHAM that's it no more kicking as it pulls the calf muscle (usually just one) so tight its difficult to get rid of it completely even with stretching...in fact i can feel it starting now just thinking about it

 

Same thing happens if i try and kick to hard or do butterfly kicks...

 

TBH i never consistently tried stretching my calves or other stretches to improve ankle flexibility, so maybe this might be an avenue to follow.

 

I took the lazy way out and keep my kicking effort down to the minimum i.e. enough to keep my legs afloat... my kick is so weak anyway it does not provide much fwd propulsion anyway... 

 

#cantteachanolddognewtricks

[IceCreamMan]

I am predominantly an open water swimmer. the only times I do experience calf cramp is when swimming a day after a long run or cycle session which indicates that de hydration is probably playing a role there somewhere.

[Karman de Lange]

Hi so been doing swim squads for a few weeks now and its been going well.

Unfortunately I always seem to cramp up around the 60 lap mark, in either one or sometimes both of my calves as well as my big toe. It also happens immediately when I put my fines on and it is annoying as hell.

Can you peoples recommend anything that I can take other than being properly hydrated.

Aside note, I rarely cramp when I run or cycle, even when doing races, so this is quite strange for me.

TIA.

 

Stretching is only cure.

[breaker]

Shooo thanx for all the replies guys:

 

Swim only 59 laps

My advice, go again for 80,with a life jacket.

 

I'll try 58 just to be sure

get cement and HTFU

 

My kind of guy , if it aint gonna kill you, then... hang on - ya no this will end up killing me in an open water swim me thinks.

[breaker]

So just came from another session and had a long chat with the instructor, she recon she knows exactly what it is and something I have not thought about before.

Her theory is that the muscles are cramping because they are not recieving enough oxygen - to which she asked how do you exhale. My answer was "I don't" and that confirmed it for her. Basically my body is producing co2 which I'm not getting rid of. 

It makes sense to me and I spent most of the session trying to exhale, and oh my hat, its ridiculously hard to do it properly. Ended up swallowing water + breathing in water through my nose etc. Its gonna take a while but I hope this inconjuction with what you guys have suggests will help me get rid of the cramps.

 

@swissvan, would this theory fit your scenario as well?

 

[GAP]

Swim a different stroke every 10 laps

[Karman de Lange]

So just came from another session and had a long chat with the instructor, she recon she knows exactly what it is and something I have not thought about before.

Her theory is that the muscles are cramping because they are not recieving enough oxygen - to which she asked how do you exhale. My answer was "I don't" and that confirmed it for her. Basically my body is producing co2 which I'm not getting rid of. 

It makes sense to me and I spent most of the session trying to exhale, and oh my hat, its ridiculously hard to do it properly. Ended up swallowing water + breathing in water through my nose etc. Its gonna take a while but I hope this inconjuction with what you guys have suggests will help me get rid of the cramps.

 

@swissvan, would this theory fit your scenario as well?

 

 

Always focus on breathing out ... your natural instinct is to breath in, so never worry about that part.. so underwater, just breath out, breath out.. as soon as head out the water just stop focusing, you will naturrally gasp for air

[SwissVan]

So just came from another session and had a long chat with the instructor, she recon she knows exactly what it is and something I have not thought about before.

Her theory is that the muscles are cramping because they are not recieving enough oxygen - to which she asked how do you exhale. My answer was "I don't" and that confirmed it for her. Basically my body is producing co2 which I'm not getting rid of. 

It makes sense to me and I spent most of the session trying to exhale, and oh my hat, its ridiculously hard to do it properly. Ended up swallowing water + breathing in water through my nose etc. Its gonna take a while but I hope this inconjuction with what you guys have suggests will help me get rid of the cramps.

 

@swissvan, would this theory fit your scenario as well?

 

Ummm... imo its a looooong shot, but then i'm just a plonker and not a qualified coach or anything. The way i see it if you were not breathing / exhaling enough then you would have other problems not just in your calves...perhaps the fact that your calves are further away from the pump (heart) and blood with oxygen is in demand more by the upper body muscles causing the calves to be startved of blood.... dunno (refer to plonker)

 

 

Like i said before i have tried doing the kicking drills right at the beginning of my sessions to see if it helps (it does not) and with some of them my head is above water i.e. with a kickboard so there should be no lack of oxygen issue or fatigue factor in those cases.

 

I'm inclined to go with the ankle flexibility and stretching schedule, i occasionally also get a cramp in one plantar fascia (ligament joining the heel and toes) while doing crawl or backstroke and one of the causes of PF issues can be tight calf / Achilles muscles.