OUCH!...Could use some advice about those nasty muscle spasms!

[EnigmaXOXO]

I don't know if anyone else has suffered from those nocturnal muscle spasms that wake you up in the middle of the night after a work out.

 

Since I am naturally over-muscled in my legs (thanks a lot Dad )... I prefer to stick to increased reps when working my legs to "tone" rather than build more muscle.

 

All goes fine during my work out, and I wait the appropriate 48 hours between training, but the "Charley Horses" in my calves and feet at night are so intense it wakes me up in tears!

 

Someone once recommended taking an aspirin before hitting the weights (not a professional), and I gave it a try but it didn't work. Someone else (also not a professional) recommended SALT WATER!! Haven't tried that one yet, but I'm desperate enough to attempt it!

 

Any healthier suggestions out there??

[rmac]

first make sure you are getting enough water

then try 100mg potassium tablets

if that doesn't work you may need something like naproxen

[EnigmaXOXO]

Potasium tablets! Already have those, but I'll check the mg and see if I need to up the dosage.

 

Thanks!

[Ryan]

I prefer to stick to increased reps when working my legs to "tone" rather than build more muscle.

 

This is a common misconception. For one, there is no such thing as "tone" as described. It simply means lean. Second, doing higher reps with a lighter weight will not appreciably increase your leanness, definition, muscle strength, or any other aspect of fitness. You are wasting your time.

 

I honestly wonder what "over-muscled" is supposed to mean to women these days. All of the women I have met that complain about this are basing it on the fact that their already-tight jeans get tighter due to training. I SERIOUSLY doubt this is the problem you purport it to be.

 

 

The cramp problem is most likely a matter of hydration and possibly adequate nutrition between your training session and sleeping. Electrolytes are rarely the problem.

[EnigmaXOXO]

I honestly wonder what "over-muscled" is supposed to mean to women these days. All of the women I have met that complain about this are basing it on the fact that their already-tight jeans get tighter due to training. I SERIOUSLY doubt this is the problem you purport it to be.

 

Over-muscled means having calves that are disproportionately larger than the rest of my body. (17-1/2 inches) Part of it is hereditary and all the gymnastic training, track and field, and horse-back riding I did over the years. Jeans are fine, (so long as they're boot-cuts or flares) but unlike most women, I have a hard time wearing boots...believe it or not!

 

It's a difficult thing to convince someone like me that I should be increasing the weight while working that area, particularly when there is a potential for making that calf muscle even MORE prominent than it already is. I'm aiming for symmetry and prefer to keep it "lean".

 

You may be right though...the problem could be hydration. I admit that I don't consume water on a regular basis. Particularly before a workout as it tends to make me feel bloated and slows me down. This is something my partner has scolded me for time and time again. Then again, he's a human aqueduct and drinks at least two gallons a day!!

 

Will try to keep myself in check when it comes to the fluids, and try upping the potassium as suggested. But want to steer clear of muscle relaxers and "leg cramp" medications if at all possible. And if that doesn't work, I'm off to the doc to see if the problem isn't something more serious...like tendonitis.

 

Thanks soooooo much for all your help and advice. Can't tell you how much it’s appreciated!

[Ryan]

Over-muscled means having calves that are disproportionately larger than the rest of my body. (17-1/2 inches)

 

You'll have to pardon me if I find that value hard to believe. None of those activities you listed are going to have an appreciable impact on muscular size, so you would have been a genetic freak all your life. You'd be pretty muscular in general with ZERO training. That's the kind of measurement that would be on a professional female bodybuilder...and I think it's fair to assume you aren't. It's also probably not too likely that you are something like 6'3", where that could be only somewhat disproportional. Seriously, you would have ELITE genetics if that were the case....and I'm not inclined to accept you are in the top .001%

 

 

It's a difficult thing to convince someone like me that I should be increasing the weight while working that area, particularly when there is a potential for making that calf muscle even MORE prominent than it already is. I'm aiming for symmetry and prefer to keep it "lean".

 

Then don't train your calves at all. Nothing in the gym is going to make your calf area lean and symmetry is mostly genetically dictated. If you do indeed have the genetics you claim, then ANY training will cause a size increase....even squats or deadlifts would indirectly trigger it.

 

 

You may be right though...the problem could be hydration. I admit that I don't consume water on a regular basis.

 

There's your answer. I wouldn't mess around with the potassium. Electrolyte secretion in sweat has been blown out of proportion by "sports drink" companies.

[EnigmaXOXO]

That's the kind of measurement that would be on a professional female bodybuilder...and I think it's fair to assume you aren't. It's also probably not too likely that you are something like 6'3", where that could be only somewhat disproportional.

 

I really appreciate well-meaning advice, which is why I posted. My objective was to see if anyone had any input regarding muscle spasms after a work-out...and not to lie or mislead anyone. After all, what possible purpose would it serve?

 

Yes, those ARE the measurements of my calves. And 'no,' I am not a 6'3" Amazon woman from hell. I am 5'6-1/2". So I suppose that makes me a "genetic freak."

 

I am aware that there is no way to "reduce" muscle volume, which is why I stick to the maximum 40lbs on the legs and increase my reps...or even add a set...so that I "tire" the muscle out rather than break it down. And squats are absolutely necessary to keep the hamstrings "toned" so that the muscle on my legs maintain "definition" without getting loose and flabby and appearing like "fat." Not to mention, eliminating the potential for that ‘sliding butt’ which most of us women dread!

 

And curiously, it has been mentioned by two of my male friends, who are into the body-building scene, that I should move in that direction. But personally, I find nothing feminine or attractive about a woman who is too overly developed.

[Ryan]

I really appreciate well-meaning advice, which is why I posted. My objective was to see if anyone had any input regarding muscle spasms after a work-out...and not to lie or mislead anyone. After all, what possible purpose would it serve?

 

I don't believe you are here with ill intent. I do believe that you are mistaken on these matters. My responses are not meant as character attacks, but rather discussions on these matters where misinformation is often prevalent.

 

 

Yes, those ARE the measurements of my calves. And 'no,' I am not a 6'3" Amazon woman from hell. I am 5'6-1/2". So I suppose that makes me a "genetic freak."

 

And I still question the validity of that number. Consider the following:

 

A female bodybuilder (read: woman with superb genetics for muscular growth, years of training, and a hefty bit of androgenics/anabolics) of your height would probably be 150-160lbs at contest bodyfat (around 10%) and have those calf measurements. At best, you could only have ONE of the things on this list - superb genetics.....so superb they equal other "lesser superb" genetics with all the other factors?

 

I am 5'9", 220-225lbs at 10-12% bodyfat (not a bodybuilder...never have never will). I have above average genetics for muscular growth and excellent genetics for calf size/strength. My calves are about 18 inches. Is it likely that a female with excellent genetics and little training is going to be that close to a male with excellent genetics and years of training?

 

I'd have the same issue if you were male and said you had 20" arms.

 

 

which is why I stick to the maximum 40lbs on the legs and increase my reps...or even add a set...so that I "tire" the muscle out rather than break it down.

 

What do you believe happens to muscle tissue when it tires versus when it breaks down? What physiological properties do you believe you are affecting by training in this manner?

 

 

squats are absolutely necessary to keep the hamstrings "toned" so that the muscle on my legs maintain "definition"

 

As I've said before, there is no "toned." Squats only impact definition insofar as the muscles grow. The major factor, bodyfat level, is not remotely affected in a significant way by squatting. The value in squatting is effective training of the major muscle structures of the lower body and (if done properly) stimulation of overall systemic growth.

 

 

without getting loose and flabby and appearing like "fat."

 

This is often the rhetoric that is pushed on women as valid training advice. Muscle does not get flabby - only flab (fat) is flabby. It also does not get loose. Muscle does not appear like fat. It appears like muscle. Muscle is not constantly hard or flexed. It is also not relaxed like fat tissue is. Training does not appreciably affect this quality.

 

 

Not to mention, eliminating the potential for that ‘sliding butt’ which most of us women dread!

 

What is THAT?

[veggie]

How are you measuring your calves? I have huge calves (developed when I was a kid and ran track) -- 14 7/8". And they are noticeably larger than other women's. I don't do anything specific to work them, but they seem to stay muscular nonetheless (probably as a by-product of other leg movements I do). I, too, feel they are out of proportion to the rest of my leg, which is quite slim. My consolation is that men seem to love them, my husband in particular :-)

 

Good luck in your training!!

[Ryan]

I have huge calves (developed when I was a kid and ran track) -- 14 7/8". And they are noticeably larger than other women's.

 

That is a reasonable value for a large calf on a woman with good calf genetics (which is why they are that size....has very little to do with what you've done).