Cramping While Riding

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How to Prevent Cramping

I get cramps in my feet and calves while riding. I was told eating bananas and taking electrolyte pills would help. Once the cramping starts is it too late? How long does the benefit of the bananas or pills to make an impact?

See: http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/327/how-to-prevent-cramping?rq=1 — Darth Egregious, Jul 21 '12 at 18:31
Unfortunately, the "how long" aspect isn't really covered in the other question. Would an edit help distinguish this question? — amcnabb, Jul 22 '12 at 02:48

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 21 '12 at 19:25

Once you are already cramping, it's generally too late for electrolytes to have a great direct effect. Hydration on the other hand is often a cause of cramps and taking on fluids can provide fairly quick (couple of minutes) relief...and for some (myself include) absorbing fluids is faster if there are some electrolytes in the mix.

Good article on cramping at Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/413398-bananas-for-leg-cramps/

It suggests in a non-direct fashion that maintaining a diet with the right minerals will help prevent cramps in the first place...and this is where the banana comes in. Eat it before the cramps for best effect.

Happy Riding!

Cramping While Riding

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