This part here!
My instructors are constantly impressed how quickly I can take a "bio" break. This is one of the few times that you will catch me running on purpose. Time is money!
snap, crackle, pop, what is currently creaky/sore?
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My instructors are constantly impressed how quickly I can take a "bio" break. This is one of the few times that you will catch me running on purpose. Time is money!
Happyhorsie
Well-Known Member
I also get leg and feet cramps from lesson. But it’s related to warming up for me. I have to stretch and do some leg/feet exercises before lesson and then walk around in my shoes a ton, or else my feet are just in so much pain during lesson.
100% this.
Also 100% of the time, as soon as I arrive at the studio* (*any and all studios I have ever taken lessons at), I use the restroom before the lesson starts. Precisely for this reason.
Random but my son did some month-long "cold showers" challenge - I kept asking him why and it was all sorts of fuzzy stuff about getting used to discomfort, etc (he saw this on YouTube... I really ought to more closey monitor his internet usage). Thankfully it's finished but I can't believe he did this and I'm grateful he didn't end up with hypothermia or something.
I know nothing about curing leg/foot cramps (though my toes/feet cramp up occasionally at inopportune times during barre class), so grain of salt here, but maybe also consider water intake throughout the day, not just around lessons, so that your general level of hydration stays higher, it's not just a temporary mitigation?
potassium as well as magnesium
ketovitals from Amazon; large amounts of electrolytes, dissolve in a quart of water, dilute with your regular water by about 50%, keeps muscle cramps at bay
ketovitals from Amazon; large amounts of electrolytes, dissolve in a quart of water, dilute with your regular water by about 50%, keeps muscle cramps at bay
I tend to focus on hydration the night before a lesson and throughout the day until 1-2 hrs before the lesson. An hour or so before the lesson, I'll drink a liter and a half of water quickly. After the lesson, I drink a Body Armor (or Gatorade) and then more water up through bedtime.
All it seemed to do is send me to the bathroom and drive me crazy spending that time in the restroom. Cause the foot and leg cramps still happen after I get warm and comfortable in the bed. I jump up to stretch, whine and go to the bathroom repeatedly.
I will try to incorporate more electrolytes just in case my body needs more help taking in the hydration.
But...what I'm not hearing is anyone swearing that ice baths/cold showers can be helpful for mitigating leg/foot cramps - so it is worth the torture.
I know athletes use it. I've heard some dancers use them too, but ones I've heard of are commercial and professional dancers who have to push their bodies to the fullest extent on a daily basis (tours, back to back performances, et al) - which obviously, I'm not doing. But should I consider it? Or, is it not usually necessary for Ams and hobbyists?
All it seemed to do is send me to the bathroom and drive me crazy spending that time in the restroom. Cause the foot and leg cramps still happen after I get warm and comfortable in the bed. I jump up to stretch, whine and go to the bathroom repeatedly.
I will try to incorporate more electrolytes just in case my body needs more help taking in the hydration.
But...what I'm not hearing is anyone swearing that ice baths/cold showers can be helpful for mitigating leg/foot cramps - so it is worth the torture.
I know athletes use it. I've heard some dancers use them too, but ones I've heard of are commercial and professional dancers who have to push their bodies to the fullest extent on a daily basis (tours, back to back performances, et al) - which obviously, I'm not doing. But should I consider it? Or, is it not usually necessary for Ams and hobbyists?
fatherdowling
Well-Known Member
I feel like it might be easiest to add some liquid iv packets to water first before freezing your feet off.
I did recently read something that said the benefits of cold plunging might not apply to women (if I recall correctly which you are) and it might in fact cause more inflammation, more research needs to be conducted because the majority of the studies have focused on men.
That said I have done cryotherapy which I quite liked. And for some immediate relief if you lay on your back and put your legs up against the wall it’s supposed to help with the lactic acid and blood flow.
Purr
Forum Master
This, and also before I leave the house to drive to the studio. The problem is avoided entirely.
As far as minimizing pain, it helps to stretch before leaving the house. It also helps to arrive early and warm up with something before the lesson. It doesn't have to be dance steps. It could be simple stretch and balance exercises.
Bringing water, electrolyte packets, and snacks is a must.
That's a lot of water just before dancing; over half the Mayo Clinic's daily recommendation for a woman (2.7 liters). It's possible that you might be eliminating too many electrolytes.
How much water do you need to stay healthy?
Know how much water to drink to stay healthy and hydrated.
www.mayoclinic.org
I'm not a doctor, just a random idiot on the internet, but you might want to see a real one.
MaggiWrites
Well-Known Member
I'd be living in the bathroom if I tried that! Last time I had ultrasounds, in the lead-up to my youngest kid (can't remember offhand how old he is now, but he's a veterinarian, so an adult), I was supposed to drink a liter of water but never managed that much. By half a liter my eyeballs were swimming and I told the tech if I drank any more I'd be refluxing it when I lay down.
I'm reading all these accounts of foot and leg cramps, which I've hardly ever had as a dancer or figure skater, nor have I heard my friends complaining about cramps, and wondering if the air in other dance studios is too warm and dry? I live in a very wet climate, in the Pacific Northwest, and our air is perpetually damp. Indoors, you're more likely to encounter mould than dehydration.
I don't know what one dancer could do if they complained about the air quality, but I'd be sneaking in someone who could unobtrusively test the humidity (less than 30% would be too dry).
Now I can't get rid of the image of a studio full of water-filled dancers all sloshing in time to the music.
Food for thought... this maybe too much water and could feed into the imbalance of electrolytes needed. (Although, my provider says it unlikely for there ever to be too much water in the avg American diet.)
I'm happy to cut back on so much water. It's been challenging to get it all in and I dread it.
singndance
Forum Master
Pedialyte packets have been a lifesaver for me. Also Theraworx roll on. Also keep hydrating the day before you dance so the day you are dancing you’re not spending half your lesson in the restroom.
MaggiWrites
Well-Known Member
Even more relieved I don't get muscle cramps when dancing or skating. I still have yet to find any kind of electrolytes that don't contain at least one of the many chemical ingredients I'm allergic to. Pedialyte, for example, contains my worst allergen, sodium citrate
joy
Forum Master
Coconut water and just some sea salt works too!Even more relieved I don't get muscle cramps when dancing or skating. I still have yet to find any kind of electrolytes that don't contain at least one of the many chemical ingredients I'm allergic to. Pedialyte, for example, contains my worst allergen, sodium citrate
So I don't really get muscle cramps. It's happened like a handful of times in my life.
Not sure why, I don't drink enough according to everyone around me. I bring this cute and tiny 6.7 oz water bottle to my dancing and people look at me, and want to give me water advice.