Four ways to avoid cramp during training

Cramp is caused when the muscles in the body retract painfully, if you have ever ground to a halt on a run, suffered in a swim or cramped up on a bike, you’ll know how painful this can be. It’s best to avoid cramping during a triathlon for obvious reasons, these suggestions should help to keep your muscles working freely.

Stay hydrated – Take on plenty of fluids during training to keep your muscles hydrated, top your body up with water as often as you can. Don’t give your muscles time to dehydrate, provide your body with ample amounts of fluid before, during and after training to prevent your system from seizing up.

Warm-up – Never train with cold muscles, perform a few warm-up exercises before you take part in any fitness training, it’ll help to loosen the muscles and put your body in the best position to train. Stretching is important as part of a warm-up regime, spend 10 – 15 minutes working on your arms and legs to give the muscles greater elasticity.

Be careful with posture – Good posture is important for the general wellbeing of your body, your spine, lower back and muscles in general can be affected by poor posture during training. Pay close attention to the techniques you use during the swim, cycle and run, get your posture right and cramping should be the last thing on your mind.

Take in as much oxygen as you can – Cramps don’t just affect the arms and the legs, your torso can suffer from cramp as well, particularly around the ribs. To avoid this focus on your breathing technique, avoid shallow breathing, suck in large amounts of air to get as much oxygen as possible to your lungs.

Use these tips for cramp-free training, there’s nothing worse that feeling a tightening of the muscles when you still have a long way to go.