Sports Drinks- Don't Believe the Hype

Throw out your Gatorade, boys. Stumbled on this article on Cramping:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/11/muscle-cramp-part-iii.html

Basically the gist of the article is that we have been famfoozled by advertising (what else is new?) to believe that cramps are caused by electrolyte loss. It centers on neural fatigue theory: Fatigue causes cramps by interrupting normal balance of spinal reflex control.

Essentially there are receptors called muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs located within muscle tissue that initiate reflexes responsible for protecting muscle from excessive load or stretching. There are specific pathways for this process described in the article that you can (try to) decipher yourself.

I personally have experienced the calf cramps while swimming. I can tell you it is most definitely NOT from electrolyte loss as I never swam longer than 1 hour. Contracting the calf in a shortened position (in sustained plantar flexion) for a long period of time creates optimal conditions for cramping.

Another interesting point of the article is the section describing how pushing your body beyond it's level of fitness, i.e. trying to do a challenging 7-8 hour ride when you've only been doing 5, also disposes you to cramping. This would explain why my hamstrings cramped last year on D2R2, the only time they've cramped on the bike. My legs weren't ready for the load, especially given that I was overgeared. Also throw in the fact that when riding a bicycle, your hamstrings are in a shortened state while continually contracting and you'll be screaming sweet baby Jesus when those babies involuntarily contract.

This is just a theory, but it makes sense to me.