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Cramping my style.... :(

Hi everyone, I'm new here on Vega and also new to the plant based nutrition (almost 2 months). I did a 30 day intense cleanse (vegan with no sugar, gluten, caffeine, alcohol, and soy) and loved how I felt so I've continued on. I'm very active as far as training but lately I've felt more muscle soreness. I went out yesterday for a very slow walk/run (1 hr 40 min), tried to keep my MHR below 140. My calves had beed sore from a couple of previous workouts, but when I got home they cramped up so much that I could hardly walk, it was super hot out too. I didn't know if nutritionally I was missing something. I used to drink a recovery drink (that I loved) but I cut it out because of the sugar and now I've been drinking coconut water with a little aqave. Any ideas?
Thanks so much. :)

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rebekah Nelson on September 1, 2010 at 12:21pm

how much did you drink? that long of a workout in the heat would require a TON of fluids. also, did you eat a banana or something in your workout to fuel your muscles?

just a thought! hope you feel better now!

Permalink Reply by Linda Huong on September 1, 2010 at 3:15pm

Hi Rebekah, I'm usually very well hydrated but I'm guessing for the length of the run and the temp I probably could of used more. :(

Permalink Reply by Kerra Gazerro Hanson on January 12, 2011 at 6:23am

From my experience, I have found that dehydration is usually the main cause of muscle cramping, but I would also check if there is a vitamin deficiency. It could simply be lactic acid build-up. However, I would check your supplementation, and levels of calcium, magnesium and potassium. I have found that when one of these factors is just a bit off, I will experience cramping during or after a run. Usually if I take a look at my diet and play around with the macronutrients a bit, I can target the culprit and correct it rather easily. I hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted!

Permalink Reply by Linda Huong on January 12, 2011 at 2:14pm

Thanks Kerra, It got much better. I'm hoping that it was just a one time water thing. :)

From my experience, I have found that dehydration is usually the main cause of muscle cramping, but I would also check if there is a vitamin deficiency. It could simply be lactic acid build-up. However, I would check your supplementation, and levels of calcium, magnesium and potassium. I have found that when one of these factors is just a bit off, I will experience cramping during or after a run. Usually if I take a look at my diet and play around with the macronutrients a bit, I can target the culprit and correct it rather easily. I hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted!

Permalink Reply by Kerra Gazerro Hanson on January 12, 2011 at 11:32pm

Glad to hear it, Linda. I am new to the group, and even though the post was somewhat dated, I hoped that my experience would be helpful. Thanks for letting me know that you were feeling better. Seems like dehydration was the cause.

Linda Huong said:

Thanks Kerra, It got much better. I'm hoping that it was just a one time water thing. :)
From my experience, I have found that dehydration is usually the main cause of muscle cramping, but I would also check if there is a vitamin deficiency. It could simply be lactic acid build-up. However, I would check your supplementation, and levels of calcium, magnesium and potassium. I have found that when one of these factors is just a bit off, I will experience cramping during or after a run. Usually if I take a look at my diet and play around with the macronutrients a bit, I can target the culprit and correct it rather easily. I hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted!