i thought i'd have a right good workout tonight,did freestyle and breastroke alternately 50's but after 750metres of not too fast a swim my calf muscles started to twinge/cramp up,cos i've had this before i eased off and just did breastroke for another1500metres by this time it had gone,so i returnes to alternate freestyle then breastroke every 25 for the last 750 this with occasional rest was ok...i've always thought it was lack of salt but whats the deal with cramps cos it really bugs me ,but not all the time?
Parents
Former Member
My first thought with 'calf cramps' would be to check your ankle flexibility. If you have limited planter flexion (less than 90 degrees ) then you have to contract the calf muscle to point the foot to where you can have a useful kick. If you do this for long periods then you will have cramps developing.
This would also explain why the cramping eased off on your Breaststroke set. You are using more "dorsi flexion" and less "plantar flexion" when kicking in Breaststroke.
The site: www.zoomers.net has more info under "the Kick".
My first thought with 'calf cramps' would be to check your ankle flexibility. If you have limited planter flexion (less than 90 degrees ) then you have to contract the calf muscle to point the foot to where you can have a useful kick. If you do this for long periods then you will have cramps developing.
This would also explain why the cramping eased off on your Breaststroke set. You are using more "dorsi flexion" and less "plantar flexion" when kicking in Breaststroke.
The site: www.zoomers.net has more info under "the Kick".
