Cramps at foot while training

[teo70]

Hi, very often during swimming training I experience painful cramps at my feet. from the fingers to the sole of foot (middle of the arch), only relieve is stop and stretch the foot. Sometimes also the external part of the shin hurts. Often I cannot even restart the session and i have to give up after 30 mins. I only swim free-style.

NOTE: I don't usually stretch before training, but my guess this problem is not related to that

Has anybody come across this before?

Thanks,Teo

[RobertBS]

Often.

You really should stretch before swimming. Just five minutes of stretching time can make a world of difference.

Drink water while you are swimming (obviously, not literally _while_ but in rests between sets).

Here is a link...

http://www.goswim.tv/articles_comments.php?id=P878_0_16_0_C

[teo70]

Thanks a lot RobertBS!

The article is extremely useful.

Teo

[CGorman]

A major cause of cramps in the feet and legs can be a lack of certain nutrients - such as potassium. It is often a good idea to eat fruit before traing - particularly bananas which are rich in potassium.

Also try drinking plenty of water as already pointed out - you are constantly sweating while swimming and thus quickly dehydrate - the first places to dehydrate will be the feet because they are so far from your main organs.