cramps

[Pokie]

hey guys you've seen my thread about cramping hands right ? now.iv got a bigger problem, nearly everytime i go training..my calves/legs start cramping...why am i so crampy all the time ? do i need more water ? can't really lunge with a cramped up calf..it's very hindering, has anyone gone through that too ?

[d3rdson]

hey guys you've seen my thread about cramping hands right ? now.iv got a bigger problem, nearly everytime i go training..my calves/legs start cramping...why am i so crampy all the time ? do i need more water ? can't really lunge with a cramped up calf..it's very hindering, has anyone gone through that too ?

Hi everyone,

Usually, cramping occur when that part of body lack sufficient oxygen carried through blood vein. I guess it applies to all kinds of sports and not just kendo.

Good warm up and stretching usually get rid of those cramps. Don't know if anything else might have cause your particular problem though.

This is my first post after lurking in for two good months. I started training kendo since August 2001 and live in Jakarta, Indonesia and want to let you guys know I think you did great things in starting this forum.

Kudos!

[etherknot]

hey guys you've seen my thread about cramping hands right ? now.iv got a bigger problem, nearly everytime i go training..my calves/legs start cramping...why am i so crampy all the time ? do i need more water ? can't really lunge with a cramped up calf..it's very hindering, has anyone gone through that too ?

When I started Kendo again as a vigorous activity again (swimming has vigor too but less cramping in the legs), I started getting the same kind of cramps. I pointed out these continually occuring cramps to our sensei as they were happening quite quickly. She instructed me to stop what I was doing if I started to get cramps and go stretch my legs some more.
This helped me a little bit but soon the cramps would come back. So I did more stretching. I eventually got around this by making more opportunities for walking.
So do more stretching during the warm up!

[kendomushi]

Try taking more time in your warm ups and go at it in a slow, deliberate, and gentle manner. Also take every chance you can to walk, non kendo use, of the legs. That will give the muscles a change to relax and replenish.

[kendomushi]

Oh, also, stretching after practice is important for helping the muscles stay supple and healthy so they are ready for the next practice.
In fact, many physicians are now recommending you warm up before practice with minimal or no stretching, and do a full body stretching after the activity instead.

[Pokie]

Oh, also, stretching after practice is important for helping the muscles stay supple and healthy so they are ready for the next practice.
In fact, many physicians are now recommending you warm up before practice with minimal or no stretching, and do a full body stretching after the activity instead.

Thankyou very much, I will try this at the next training. Cramping half way through a probably good chance of hitting a men just sux.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Often kendo clubs do a group stretch without much more than a few bounces to warm up. If this is the case for you, I suggest arriving a little early and doing 5 minutes of jogging or kendo footwork so that you break a light sweat before stretching. Also, I've read that drinking a couple of glasses of water a half-hour before practice is a good thing hydration-wise.

[JSchmidt]

Cramping is often caused by not hydrating enough, although lack of warm-up/stretching can certainly also be the cause.

Jakob

[amatsuda]

hey guys you've seen my thread about cramping hands right ? now.iv got a bigger problem, nearly everytime i go training..my calves/legs start cramping...why am i so crampy all the time ? do i need more water ? can't really lunge with a cramped up calf..it's very hindering, has anyone gone through that too ?

I used to have the same problem.

There are two types of calf cramps...

One is a mild one in which the muscle feels really tight and when you squeeze the calf muscle, it just feels like it is pumped up....

This kind of cramp is attributed to lack of flexibiliy and stretching the muscle sufficiently prior to practice. I noticed that this occurred when I did not take the proper time to stretch the muscle before even doing suriashi or suburi excercises.

The way that I avoided this problem is on practice days take two to three breaks for about 5-10 minutes at the office to stretch the thigh, hamstrings, and calfs. This will improve the circulation and get the muscle ready for the night's practice...

As practice time nears, I try to do a quick 10-15 minute stretch at home before leaving the house for practice....This will again allow the muscle to be stretched and get the blood pumping in there...Also, once you get to practice or participate in the warmups, it will be that much easier to get warmed up because your muscles will have already been stretched several times that day prior to practice.

The other type of calf cramp, which is much more painful is the type where the entire calf just locks up (spasms) and stays cramped at the top of the leg.

I found that this type of cramp was usually caused by insufficient hydration and replacement of electrolytes (i.e. sodium). At the suggestion of a physician, I started supplementing intake of potassium, iron, calcium, and magnesium...In fact, at all of our two-a-day U.S. Team Practices there was always a small bowl of sea salt in case someone cramped up..

The other thing is to keep yourself hydrated with a sports drink such as Gatorade...Make sure you drink about 8-16 oz. one hour before practice, another 8-16 oz. about 15 minutes before, and about 8 oz. every 20-30 minutes.

The old school thought is for kendoka to not drink anything the entire 1.5 to 2 hours they are practicing....I too was brought up in the old school method. However, after experiencing so many body/leg cramps and also suffering a heat stroke I feel that hydration is critical to the safety and well-being of kendoka and to have them maintain peak performance.

The final thing is to make your calves stronger so they do not become fatigued under normal practice conditions...I started doing calf raises at every work out in the gym. This made the calves stronger and got them used to contracting over and over...

Hope this helps.


amatsuda
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo

[Pokie]

Thankyou everyone for your advise, I've maybe solved my cramping problem, I did not cramp at all in my last training, I drank water before I trained and my stretching doesn't just stop at the warm up, I stretch all the way through training at every chance I get. Thanks a lot everyone !