I have been having some difficulties with my calves cramping at night.
The pain is severe enough to wake me up and prevent me from sleeping.
I then need to get up and stretch and wait for the cramping to pass. I am sometimes up for most of the night and then I’m exhausted the entire next day. I’ve done research into the issues with my calves. I am convinced that the cramps are caused by overly strenuous workouts and insufficient hydration. I exercise every day for at least an hour. I focus heavily on high intensity cardio. I sometimes spend nearly the entire 60 minutes jumping rope or running. There’s a lot of impact on my joints and strain on the muscles. I always make sure to take the time to properly stretch, warm up and cool down. Lately, in an effort to alleviate the nightly pain, I’ve been devoting a lot more time to my stretching routine and warm up. I am focusing especially on the calf and thigh muscles. I also need to be better about drinking water. I’m not a fan of the taste of water. I never seem to feel thirsty. I often go all day without taking a sip of plain water. I would rather drink hot tea or iced tea. Even if I carry a water bottle around with me, I’ll forget to sip from it. I now fill a water bottle before my workout and force myself to drink all of it over the course of an hour. I then refill the bottle and make sure to drink all of the water by the end of the day. I chug water right before bed. Although I need to get up to use the bathroom several times, that’s much better than suffering leg cramps.