snap, crackle, pop, what is currently creaky/sore?

[Pryn]

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.

Perhaps you're getting enough through your food choices? Diets high in fruits and vegetables, soups, teas and non- carbonated beverages can add to overall water intake.

I don't eat a much of that stuff as recommended but I'm trying to do better.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

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.

OK, this is not a competition so I'm not trying to one-up you here, but not only do I do use the restroom as soon as I arrive at the studio, I use it AGAIN immediately before my lesson starts! And then I have a double lesson (approx 90 minutes).

Usually I can make it through the double lesson without needing another bathroom break, but once in a while, if I've been upping my water intake, I have to interrupt my lesson to go pee again.*

More lately I've been doing more like what @singndance suggested above: drink more water on days that I am NOT dancing, and that does work better for me (i.e., I don't have to interrupt my lessons to pee).

*Note: no need to give me dire medical warnings here bcs "OMG she can't wait even 90 minutes to pee???" It's not that I have a super-small or super-dysfunctional bladder; I can sleep for 7 straight hours without a bathroom break; I can work/dance/workout for many hours without a bathroom break - the ONLY time this is a problem is when I have deliberately increased my water intake on days that I have dance lessons. Of course, this is also the only time that it matters to my pocketbook, which is why this thread is the only time I've mentioned it.

 

[MaggiWrites]

Coconut water and just some sea salt works too!

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.

You have company. I use LL Bean diaper bags as casual purses, and they have a little mesh sleeve on one side for a bottle. Just the right size for a 300ml water bottle, and I don't even drink all of it, just a mouthful now and then when we step over to the side tables to talk or look something up in a rule book. Luckily I don't have anyone evangelizing hydration

 

[IndyLady]

OK, this is not a competition so I'm not trying to one-up you here, but not only do I do use the restroom as soon as I arrive at the studio, I use it AGAIN immediately before my lesson starts! And then I have a double lesson (approx 90 minutes).

Usually I can make it through the double lesson without needing another bathroom break, but once in a while, if I've been upping my water intake, I have to interrupt my lesson to go pee again.*

Oh I'm happy to step aside here... I don't arrive much before my lesson (maybe 5-10 minutes), so I'm sure that would be a whole other tsk tsk if I was going that frequently .

I also have a 90-minute session, and I also go again before I hop into the car to drive home (since it's a 40-minute drive minimum).

*Note: no need to give me dire medical warnings here bcs "OMG she can't wait even 90 minutes to pee???" It's not that I have a super-small or super-dysfunctional bladder; I can sleep for 7 straight hours without a bathroom break; I can work/dance/workout for many hours without a bathroom break - the ONLY time this is a problem is when I have deliberately increased my water intake on days that I have dance lessons. Of course, this is also the only time that it matters to my pocketbook, which is why this thread is the only time I've mentioned it.

Meh, it's all situational. I find that frequency can be dependent on a lot of things - how long I've been sitting in a vehicle, if I've been moving around a lot, I can psyche myself into/out of it (mostly into), sugary pop seems to go through me a lot more quickly than water and some other beverages, etc.

 

[fish]

...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...

This may be very personal. I, for example, had cramps since teenage years: after a few hours of intense (pretty much any) physical activity and sweating, I'd get pretty severe cramps in various leg muscles. Never found a way to fix this until quite recently (decades later), when I realized that taking magnesium supplements does the trick for me (other ions, such as potassium or sodium made no difference). Yet various friends of mine would swear by potassium, or sodium, or whatever, or would never have cramp problems altogether. It seems to me that the issue strongly depends on particular person's kidney function and which minerals their body likes to keep or discard...