Weight Training Blog

So I woke up this morning early to find my right calf muscle nearly locked in a fully stretched position which was almost unbearable to say the least. The cramp was so severe that even about 14 hours later my right calf is still a bit sore. I’ve had this happen to me once or twice before, but never lasting for as long as this one did. So I figured I’d do some quick research and try to find out just what a Charley Horse is, and what some of the routine causes are that lead to the cramps.

A Charley Horse is basically an involuntary muscle contraction in which the person suffering from the cramp has virtually no control over the affected muscle. The pain associated with the contraction can sometimes be severe.

After doing a bit of online research, I found that some of the following conditions may be the cause for such contraction: (Of course, all of these conditions are worse when you put your body under stress – such as lifting)

1. Lack of potassium (aka vitamin K)
Potassium aides in the function of muscle contractions, so it’s vital to have adequate levels of potassium in your body to avoid Charley Horses. It is recommended that the average adult consumes roughly 2000mg of potassium per day in order to maintain proper levels within the blood.  Good sources of potassium include bananas, orange juice, tomatoes, potatoes, and most meats.

2. Lack of calcium (aka vitamin D)
Again, just like Potassium, Calcium helps aide in muscle movement. Adults need about 1100mg of calcium per day in order to maintain healthy levels in their blood.  Good sources of calcium are milk, yogurt, cheese, oranges, corn, tortillas, and brown sugar.

3. Dehydration
Our bodies are mainly composed of water, so it’s a no-brainer that when the body has less water than what it needs, it’s going to act in ways that aren’t normal. The average person needs at least 64 fluid ounces of water per day to function, and those who lift or are very active should aim to drink upwards of a gallon of water a day in order to stay properly hydrated.

4. Intense muscle strain from exercise or other strenuous activities
Before working out, make sure that you take enough time to fully warm up and stretch out. Also, after working out, it’s a good idea to take a few extra minutes to again stretch out. While working out, be smart about the amount of weight that you’re using – remember: Never sacrifice form for weight. You have no one to impress.

If you’ve been lifting for a while (At least over a year) chances are you may have heard people mention “slow twitch” and “fast twitch” muscle fibers, or at least read about them online or in a magazine article. And if you’re that into lifting that you’re reading this article about the different types of muscle fibers, then you might be on to something worth while.

Basically, fast twitch muscle fibers are responsible for explosive strength that only lasts a few seconds at best, whereas slow twitch muscle fibers are responsible for allowing your muscles to endure a stress for a prolonged period of time. When training, your fast twitch fibers are used last, after your slow twitch fibers have been recruited and exhausted.

It is in power lifting where lifters are concerned with training their fast twitch fibers the most, and nearly ignoring their slow twitch fibers since a power lift (Squat, bench, dead lift) generally only lasts for several seconds at most. Whereas long distance runners are more concerned about training slow twitch muscle fibers as they will come into play when they are running a prolonged race.

The following quote from this article sums up how to train for specific muscle fiber types:

Muscular strength is primarily developed when an 8-repetition maximum (8RM, the maximum amount of weight that can be lifted eight times ) or less is used in a set. When the aim of training is to increase the neuro- muscular component of maximum strength, at least 95% of the athlete’s 1RM and 1 to 3 repetitions should be used. When the aim is to increase maximum strength by stimulating muscle hypertrophy, at least 80% of 1RM should be lifted 5 to 8 times or until failure (Zatsiorsky, 1995).

This latter recommendation assumes that the focus of training is hypertrophy for strength, rather than hypertrophy simply for muscle size. If the aim of training is to increase muscle size (hypertrophy) with moderate gains in strength, then 6 to 12 repetitions should be used (Fleck & Kraemer, 1996). Remember, in order to improve muscular strength, FT -B fibers must be recruited.

This is right on target with what you usually hear in gyms: Workouts consisting of lower reps but higher weight are reserved for those who are trying to build strength, whereas workouts that typically call for 10 to 12 reps are for those who are trying to work on muscle size and shape, and those who are going above 15 reps are focusing on muscle endurance by using oxygen as the muscle’s main source of energy.