Cramps when I run on treadmill
Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:28 pm
Hi all,
About a month and a half ago I woke up thinking to myself that I should run before I workout. Well, being one who tries to follow his intuition I went along with it and so I've been running ever since and I love it. I am losing my bad fat at a steady pace and it makes for an amazing warmup before training. I workout 3 times a week and I run 2 times as I prefer not to run on my "leg" day as to not fatigue my leg muscles.
My running routine is set to a manual and I gradually increase the speed. For the particular machines present at my gym a setting of 4 represents the point where you can't walk anymore and I have to jog and around 5.4-5.8 that is when I run and finally a setting of 6.2 and upward is when sprinting is required.
As I said I gradually increase the speed so that a 1/4 of the routine is for warming up, 2/4 is for running and the last 1/4 is for sprinting.
Now about 85-90% of the time when I go from the warm up phase to the running phase a cramp will appear. It is not in the leg though but in the torso, like the one you get from exercising too quickly after eating. The cramp is always located at the point right underneath the rib cage on the right hand side.
At first when the cramp appeared it was pretty bad, almost to a point where I would almost have to stop. Now it is more manageable and when I focus on something else I won't be bothered by it. Of course as I intensify the running the cramp gets worse but still stays doesn't stray into a discomfort zone.
A strange thing will happen about 50% of the time that the cramp appear and it is that it will move. At first it is located below the rib cage on the right hand side of my torso, then it will move down and to the left as if it were following the digestive tract.
Now I don't eat before I workout but I do drink a lot of fluid about 1/2 hour before working out. I tried not to drink but I become too dehydrated. I tried drinking the fluids (mostly water and some fortified soy milk) an hour before working out but the cramp would still occur.
As I said the cramp is present 85-90% of the time. Sometimes it will appear when I go from jogging to running, other times it will appear as I go from jogging to sprinting and of course other times it won't be present at all which completely baffles as to why it doesn't.
Any ideas why does this cramp occurs in the first place?
Thanks,
Phil
About a month and a half ago I woke up thinking to myself that I should run before I workout. Well, being one who tries to follow his intuition I went along with it and so I've been running ever since and I love it. I am losing my bad fat at a steady pace and it makes for an amazing warmup before training. I workout 3 times a week and I run 2 times as I prefer not to run on my "leg" day as to not fatigue my leg muscles.
My running routine is set to a manual and I gradually increase the speed. For the particular machines present at my gym a setting of 4 represents the point where you can't walk anymore and I have to jog and around 5.4-5.8 that is when I run and finally a setting of 6.2 and upward is when sprinting is required.
As I said I gradually increase the speed so that a 1/4 of the routine is for warming up, 2/4 is for running and the last 1/4 is for sprinting.
Now about 85-90% of the time when I go from the warm up phase to the running phase a cramp will appear. It is not in the leg though but in the torso, like the one you get from exercising too quickly after eating. The cramp is always located at the point right underneath the rib cage on the right hand side.
At first when the cramp appeared it was pretty bad, almost to a point where I would almost have to stop. Now it is more manageable and when I focus on something else I won't be bothered by it. Of course as I intensify the running the cramp gets worse but still stays doesn't stray into a discomfort zone.
A strange thing will happen about 50% of the time that the cramp appear and it is that it will move. At first it is located below the rib cage on the right hand side of my torso, then it will move down and to the left as if it were following the digestive tract.
Now I don't eat before I workout but I do drink a lot of fluid about 1/2 hour before working out. I tried not to drink but I become too dehydrated. I tried drinking the fluids (mostly water and some fortified soy milk) an hour before working out but the cramp would still occur.
As I said the cramp is present 85-90% of the time. Sometimes it will appear when I go from jogging to running, other times it will appear as I go from jogging to sprinting and of course other times it won't be present at all which completely baffles as to why it doesn't.
Any ideas why does this cramp occurs in the first place?
Thanks,
Phil