I’d love to know the answer to this as well.

I’ve had the same issue on my first climb of both Rainier and Hvannadalshnúkur in Iceland. In my opinion it comes from a salt deficiency or electrolyte imbalance. I was drinking Propel mix in my waters but I think the salt capsules would be ideal. Keep in mind I didn’t have these issues until the 2.5-3hr mark. How much are you sweating on the approach? Also try to look into rest stepping. This will help prevent contracting the leg muscles too much. Each time I had the cramps, they were solely in my quads and hip flexors. I too felt fine after the first day, maybe because of the salty foods and soup you have your first night at camp. You definitely are not alone in this issue.

Stuart,

Where are you getting your electrolytes from? I ask because when I was using drink mixes on my trip I couldn’t help but feel like something was still missing. I’ve used the salt capsules found on amazon and haven’t had issues since. If it isn’t hydration or electrolytes, it’s probably just straight up fatigue. In training, are you strictly doing stairmill/treadmill work? Or also long weekends in the hills and mountains? Perhaps when you finally make it to the climb your muscles are taxed partially in a new way. For example I live at sea level and the only training I can do is stairs and 15% on a treadmill. I don’t have much of a way to tax my legs at 20-30-40% incline.

I strongly suggest on your breaks to try doing some stretches while eating and drinking.

Dada, no asthma that I know of. Never used any inhaler.

Stuart, I realized the other day that maybe these mixes and tablets are effective for someone that doesn’t already have cramps, but in vigorous conditions or the less-than-ideally trained individual maybe they aren’t helping because getting enough of the sodium, potassium, magnesium etc. means drinking more water, which might be negating the effects we are looking for. If using the caps or pills it may be possible this allows the body to catch up its levels without being diluted with all the extra water.

Here you go:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/formoterol-inhalation-route/side-effects/drg-20068933

Muscle cramps

Hi Everyone,

I am the uphill athlete dietitian, in answer to your questions as Pete has highlighted, there is research to suggest that cramping is in fact related to muscle fatigue/neuromuscular over load, more so than an electrolyte imbalance (depending on environment, if it is hot weather again as Pete highlighted then cramping may be caused by dehydration/electrolyte loss).

If it is the first day of a trip, which is the ‘main event’ you have been training for, perhaps pace and effort are greater on this first day due to a number of variables compared to training when back at home, hence resulting in muscle fatigue 2-3hrs in. Perhaps as you settle in the trip, you adapt to the environment, pace/effort settles to that which is comfortable enough to not induce cramping.

Some research based alternate solutions to try for cramping include;

1) Magnesium supplementation (perhaps take this on the morning of the first day of a trip). Be mindful of quantity as magnesium supplement can be poorly tolerated by our guts and can cause stomach upset so test it out before you leave. Aim for approx. 200mg of magnesium supplementation. Also check if your electrolyte table does in fact contain magnesium.

2) In the UK there is a supplement called ‘cramp fix’, but it is in fact pickle juice (and a required taste) again good research has shown that taking this approx. 5-10mins prior to the onset of cramps can help alleviate the severity of cramps or stop them from occurring. Anecdotally I have heard people report that apple cider vinegar has the same effect.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

Hi everyone,

I have just seen this new paper published and thought of this forum post.

This paper ‘Muscle Cramping During Exercise: Causes, Solutions, and Questions Remaining’ is hot off the press and published online today.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1 (link to full paper).

It is written by two of the worlds leading researchers/practitioners in the field of sports nutrition. It is a really great in-depth paper, but relative easy read and will hopefully answer your questions regarding muscle cramps during exercise. You won’t get a more accurate insight to muscle cramps during exercise than this. Enjoy : ).

Rebecca Uphill Athlete Dietitian