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Training to Prevent Running Cramps

You can help prevent running cramps by performing exercises that create change in your program. By this I mean doing things that aren’t part of the normal routine – mixing it up, if you will. A by-product of this training is that it is sure to enhance running power, speed and performance.

Following are some suggestions to add to your training program. The idea is to get the muscle fatigued in different ways:

1) Tempo training – work on getting your stride rate up to 180 per minute. This is a must for all runners.

2) Interval training – involves training such as ‘Fartlek’ where you vary your speed during an exercise period of around 45 minutes. Developed by Swedish Coach Gosta Holma, Fartlek translates as ‘speed play’.

3) One-leg squats – the benefits of learning to squat with one leg include more strength, flexibility and muscular coordination.

4) Hill training – my favourite and very applicable for people who suffer running calf cramps and especially if you plan on racing on a hilly course. Racing on hills is almost guaranteed to cause leg cramping, particularly in the latter stages of an event. This is because of the high workload placed on a small muscle group.

5) Running with a weighted vest or pack.

6) Hill training with a weighted vest or pack.

7) Soft sand running – ideal to develop strength in the feet and calves.

Combinations of the above – for example, perform interval training while running up a sand hill using hand weights.

You can also focus on different aspects more or less at different times of the year. For example, I prefer to do a lot more soft sand running and hill work in the cooler months.

All of these running-specific exercises will improve your running strength and your calf strength and endurance making them more resilient when it comes to the big race or event.

And if you’re a very experienced runner, then incorporating some more varied sessions can not only help you with leg cramps, you can use it as a way to actually reduce the distances you run in training and still maintain the same times or go even faster.

This kind of goes against what most people think, however I’m of the firm opinion that as we get more experienced, less is better.

And if you take a look at many of the older Olympic athletes, they sure don’t train the distances they trained when they first started out. They use competition, appropriate rest and specialised training sessions as the basis of their plan.

For other sports, you could talk with your coach and team mates and design training games that focus on and mimic some of the most difficult physical movements demanded of your body.

Ideally this type of training should form around 20 to 25% of your routine – any more and you could start to sacrifice speed for strength.

Monitor the results over a period of 6 months and be flexible in terms of how you construct your training plan

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