How Can I Avoid Muscle Spasms While Working Out?

Have you ever gone through a sudden mind-numbing excruciating pain, while working out, that takes you by surprise and is enough to make you scream out in pain? Well, you are not alone then. This is something all athletes have faced at least once in their lives.

Muscle spasms are involuntary muscle contractions. They usually hit you at the end of a rigorous and intense workout or after your muscles have been going through endurance training and are fatigued now.

What Increases the Frequency of Muscle Spasms?

While we are talking about these spasms, it is important to understand the medical science behind them. Muscles are controlled by our brain through impulses that cause them to contract and relax on command. These impulses are affected by the levels of sodium and potassium in your blood. A muscle contraction that lasts longer than necessary and when you don’t even ask for it means that your brain has sent out a signal for its contract and somehow the reflex signal is not getting to it in time. It could either be because your body is not getting enough of these chemicals or the electrolyte balance in your body is disturbed.

So what are some of the main reasons that may cause the balance of electrolytes in your body to get disturbed?

Heat

Working out causes our body to heat up and this causes the glands to sweat excessively to bring the temperature down. The sweating can become even more intense if you are working out in a room that is not properly ventilated or lacks proper air conditioning. It will cause the water levels in your body to drop and consequently the sodium and potassium levels too.

Lack of Fuel

It is recommended that before you start on a tough workout session, you have your body properly fuelled up to handle the fatigue that would follow. Some mostly perceive it as a small snack that would provide you with enough energy to last during the whole session and don’t usually focus on balancing the chemical composition of the body which is wrong.

Training Too Hard

Not knowing when to stop and relax your muscles accordingly can cause muscle cramping too. Involving our muscles in a workout routine is good but not knowing when your muscles and body has had enough is what causes fatigue of this level to hit up.

Tight Clothes

If your body is not getting a good supply of oxygen them the pulses from your brain won’t reach your muscles on time. It also makes your muscles to run low on oxygen and this will affect their functionality a lot.

With all these things in discussion, knowing what you need to do to make things right is crucial. Muscle spasms can leave you with a pain that can last for a long time and can affect your level of activity as well.

How to Prevent Muscle Spasms

So what is it that you can do to ensure that your body doesn’t have to go through such pain anymore and is well equipped to handle a strenuous workout session that would follow? Let us find that out.

Dress Right

Wear clothes that are light, breathable and would not a put constant strain on your muscles while you are working out. Investing in good sportswear has many benefits and preventing the occurrence of muscle spasm is one of them.

Stay Hydrated

Make sure that your body is fully hydrated and you are drinking at least two liters of water on a regular basis. Bring along a bottle of water that you can have while working out too if you feel dehydrated and excessive fatigue.

Pickles to the Rescue

As per a recent study, it has been researched that foods that help bring about a jolt reaction when consumed help improve the brain and muscle coordination. It is believed that such foods help break the pulses that are causing muscle spasms and cramps and allow your muscles to relax a little by instigating the right responses from the Central Nervous Systems.  This would include foods like wasabi, pickles, lemons or anything that would send your senses on a roll. It can also serve as a good pre-workout meal that you can have before you start working out.

Ventilation

Choose a room for a workout that is fully ventilated and won’t allow your body and muscles to get excessively heated up.

Most importantly know when it is time to relax your body and stop with the workout that you planned out for the day. Once you get muscle spasms, try to relax your body a little and choose workouts that make use of low impact exercises. They would keep the body stay healthy without putting too much strain on your muscles.