leg cramps after class most often during sleep

[crash20]

Hey just wondering if any of you have an answer to a couple of questions. Number one night cramps. This is not a new problem I’ve had this all my life and in most cases I get use to a certain amount of activity and the cramps go away. Currently I have a very active life. I work in rehab at a nursing home which involves running around a building all day and picking up patients and I workout when I can and lately I’m taking three to four classes a week. To say nothing of running around the city on the subway. I live in queens work in brooklyn and take class in manhattan so I’m all over the place. About 2 AM sometimes my quads but most often my ankle cramps and locks. I take supplements and stretch but nothing works consistently. Number two when I started classes I was a little chunky and started back to working out about the same time and went on WW. I lost tons of weight. I was just a little over 200 and now I’m around 175. I can’t seem to keep the weight on. Not altogether sure what the problem is, of course I’ve quit WW and I am running around so much that I sometimes forget to eat or I don’t want to eat because I’m an hour away from class and don’t want to throw up. Any ideas on these two things.

[tacticaltimmy]

Re: leg cramps after class most often during sleep

Go see a doctor for medical concerns; if nothing is “medically” wrong, I’d try using ice and/or heat after training. Your stretching could also be what’s causing the problem. Try a warm up based on movements and not static stretching. Ex: 3 rounds of 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 sit ups. Must concentrate on slow, deliberate movement instead of completing it as fast as possible. Add a jump rope in for some additional fun!

[cinnamongirl]

Re: leg cramps after class most often during sleep

Have a look at your water intake. I find that when I get leg cramps (I get them mostly in my hamstrings and foot/ankle area) it’s on days where I haven’t had much water. Make sure to hydrate well during the day – especially if you’re active.

You may also want to look into a calcium and magnesium supplement – it can be very helpful with muscle cramps. Get some advice on dosage though – men have different requirements than women and too much calcium may be harmful.

[crash20]

Re: leg cramps after class most often during sleep

Thanks for the response. I have seen doctors about this before and they so far have never had anything to report. Sunday night I skipped class. However I did go to the gym and did some legs was very tired so only did the machined no free weights and for the most part relaxed for the evening. I was sure I would cramp I had that tight twitchy feeling. So I took a supplement called muscle ease which has some magnesium in it and some energy c which has a fair amount of potassium in it. I then used the foam roller and rolled everything out and had no cramps that night. Yesterday Monday I worked had 12 patients and was late so found myself running for subways racing for patients and then racing to class. Class focused on a lot of kicks. I raced home eat and was in bed by 10pm. before bed I took the same supplements but forgot the foam roller and had major ankle cramps throughout the early morning hours.

[tacticaltimmy]

Re: leg cramps after class most often during sleep

You might be exercising so much that your body hasn’t had a chance to rest. Consider taking a week or two off from foam rolling, exercise and class. Decompress and unload; even a foam roll can be too much trauma for a sore and un-rested muscle.

I’ve had success with bananas and BCAA pills in the past as well.

[gregooch]

Re: leg cramps after class most often during sleep

Ok, I have to respond to this as it could be life threatening like it was for me. For maybe 5-10 years I suffered the exact same problem in both of my legs. I went from being able to do any amount of exercise I wanted to do to gradually experiencing these almost random, unexplainable leg cramps not only after walking just five or ten minutes on the treadmill but also endless nights of leg cramps. I used to use a heating pad to almost no avail. I also had slightly elevated cholesterol for several years which I was more concerned about at the time. I finally asked the doctor about the leg cramps and he asked if anyone in my family had MS. I said no, but my mom has Muscular Dystrophy that mainly affects her legs. He immediately told me that’s what I was developing and sent me to a neuro surgeon to confirm his diagnosis which the neuro surgeon did on the first visit. I later was talking to my son who was just studying EMT classes and he was very surprised at the diagnosis and told me it could also be a blocked artery in my mid section as the arteries then separate into each leg and the blockage up high would have likely caused pain in both my legs. So he bought me a book called prevent and reverse heart disease by Dr Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic since I already had the elevated cholesterol anyway. I read the book in which the doctor states that most of our chronic illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes etc are caused by our western high fat diet. I immediately went on the diet – mainly due to my cholesterol – and within about thirty days my cholesterol dropped from the 220’s to 160. The weird thing was that at the same time my leg cramps totally vanished as well after suffering with them for years. I told my son and he said; I told you it was a probably blocked artery! This was three years ago the pain is still gone and I can exercise without any problem. Please look at your diet seriously, doctors were not able to diagnose my problem correctly as it was probably not that advanced yet so now is the time to get a handle on it…

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