Work It Out Wednesday: How to Avoid and Relieve Stomach Cramps While Performing Your Cardio Activity

Have you ever been running, jogging, jumping rope, doing burpees, etc and felt your abdominals begin to cramp?  Another name for this cramp is the side stitch.  This can put a real damper on your workout.  Don't become discouraged.  There are things that you can do to help relieve and/or alleviate the cramps.

What causes cramps while running?
Cramps can be caused by lack of stretching, lack of hydration, eating too much or not enough before your workout, improper breathing and improper conditioning just to name a few.

Tips on how  to combat the cramps
Don’t Run on Full Stomach
Running on a full stomach often causes stomach cramps. Allow your body time to digest the food intake.  It is recommended that you do not eat or drink large amounts of liquids  for at least 2 hours before exercising as this can lead to electrolyte imbalance.  The most serious electrolyte imbalance involves abnormal levels of sodium (salt), potassium, and/or calcium in your body.  Bananas are a great source of potassium which can help keep cramps at bay.  If you feel thirsty or dehydrated while you are working out, drink a couple of small sips of water to hydrate yourself as dehydration can lead to cramping as well.

Pre-Stretch
It is very important to warm up or loosen your muscles prior to exercising.  Before you begin your full out cardio routine do a brisk walk, jog in place, etc then stretch your muscles.  You do not want to stretch cold muscles.

Breathing Techniques
When you encounter a cramp while you are running, decrease your pace and proceed with some deep breathing techniques. A common breathing technique to perform while running is to inhale for three steps and exhale for two steps. When you are running very fast, your breathing becomes more labored, so remember to slow down so that you can catch your breath. A small tip is to push out the stomach deep when you inhale and relax it when you exhale.

Strengthen the Lower Back and Core
Strengthen your lower back and your core.  This will help reduce the occurrence of stomach cramps or  the "side stitch" while running.  


Proper Conditioning
Don't start off too fast or at too high of an intensity level.  Start off at a steady and comfortable pace or intensity, then increase from there.  You don't have to be the star of the show  right off ;-).  This can lead to cramping and/or injury.

Don't let cramps put a damper on your workout.  Combat them and keep it moving!

Until Next Time,
Indulgenceiskey