Do you have any advice on preventing leg muscle cramps while walking?

Question

First of all, I am in incredibly bad shape. I am a female 22 years old, 5ft 4in, and approx. 225lbs. The only sort of exercise I get is waliking from my car to a store, or from one class to another. I know I need to lose weight and get in better shape, and I thought walks around my neighborhood would be a good way to start. However, I get this awful cramp in my right leg about half way through my walk. I really want to lose weight and I thought walking would be a good way to start, but with this darn cramp I don't really get much exercise in. I don't know if it's the shoes I'm wearing or if it's due to me not warming up before walking. It seems like I wouldn't need to warm up before walking (I'd understand needing to warm up if I was running, though).

Any tips on helping this leg cramp, or other exercises for a couch patato to start with will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

(Please no rude comments about my weight. I know I am fat and I don't need you to remind me.)

Thanks for the answers you guys and gals have already given. I am usually dehydrated, and didn't think that could contribute to cramps.

Any websites or books you could reccomend on stretching would be greatly appreciated. (I'm kinda clueless when it comes to exercise.)

Thanks again!

Answer 1

First of all - good for you for making changes to your lifestyle! walking is an EXCELLENT way to start excersising and keeping in shape. I know exactly where you are coming from I am 5'9 and 298lbs and walking is how I am losing weight.

First things first - make sure that you have proper shoes! if your shoes do not fit properly your ankle could be rolling inward or outward and that would cause cramping in your calf muscle. It is well worth the investment in good walking shoes to help lose the weight. Shoes are made differently with different flexibility - - new balance makes an excellent walking shoe for women.

Second - it is a good idea to warm up a little bit before you go walking - stretching for 5 minutes is enough and it hardly takes any time at all! It is important to warm up before walking because your body isn't use to that sort of physical exertion - as you said you have been a couch potato for a while

The other thing you need to evaluate is what you are eating - - make sure that you have enough protein and potasium in your diet. Try eating a banana before you work out - this will help prevent cramps.

Make sure the surface you are walking on is an even surface. If the road is slanted or you are walking near the edge - it can cause you to walk funny and your legs could cramp. If you can find a track at a school or somethign to walk on and this may help.

Finally - if your leg cramps while walking - take a break until it stops. . . rub the muscle . . .breathe etc. . . when it starts to subside try walking a little more. Your body will eventually get use to the new excersise routine and you will have less problems. walking websites are a great way to get more information too : http://www.thewalkingsite.com/

Good luck! You can definitly do this and you are on the right track!! If you want some variety or want to work out indoors I would suggest TurboJam. I use this at home and I have had great results.

Answer 2

I have that problem sometimes too. Sometimes muscle cramps are caused by dehydration. Try drinking a lot more water during the day (I drink 4 or 5 bottles of water in a day). You might also try eating a banana every day. Potassium is supposed to help with muscle cramps.

Try taking 2 or 3 shorter walks a day until you get in better shape then switch to a longer walk again and see if it gets better. A beginners yoga video might be a good exercise to start with in addition to walking since it will help stretch out lots of your muscles.

Answer 3

drink water before and some during and again after. start slow, and gradually push yourself a bit until you can do more. strech well before and if you get a leg cramp stop walking and strech it out.... if you don't know good streches i'll try to explain some here... um well there is one where you stand on one foot and bend the other back so your foot is almost touching your but. then just hold it there for like 10 secs with your arm and use your other arm for balance (if you can't balance try holding your earlobe... werid but works)

then also try standing feet together and take a big step forward and bend so that one leg is streched back in the orginal postion (that's the one being streched you should feel it) and your foot forward is bent so the knee is almost touching the ground.

go look up some more streches, hope this helps and start slow and you can do it!!! dont' give up! make sure you also have decent shoes that are supportive and comfy, and set a pace if you can while walking.

if you need motavation, get some friends to join you and you can just chat half the time and it makes it fun! or you could try joining a gym.

Answer 4

You could always try stretching before you walk, just to see if it might help. That way your muscles would be looser and thus cramping would, hopefully, be less of a problem. Sometimes taking a break can help, just enough to get by.
Also, just try walking a little longer each time and slowly build up your stamina and endurance. You might also consider parking farther away from the store, or do something out of your way to get a little more walking time in. Hopefully this helps. Good luck.

Answer 5

first of all you are beautiful no matter what you look like on the outside, always remember this. second, I am an avid walker. repeating the process is difficult for you but you must understand that it is because either you do it too much or not enough. try walking farther distances, but...make sure that when you are done to wait a couple days before going out again. drink plenty of water as well. energy drinks and the like will not help. good luck and always remember to stretch before going for a walk.

Answer 6

You should go see your doctor it sounds like the blood is having a hard time getting oxygen to your legs. The fat around your legs is cutting off the circulation. Ask your doctor about light stretches that would be appropriate for you before you walk around. Please try to lose some weight ( I am not making fun of it, it's a very serious problem and very common in North America ) for your height thats some serious weight to be carring around. When you want to snack, grab a glass of water, lot's of people don't realize that hunger pains and thirst pains can be the same feeling... when you think you are thirsty it's because your body is trying to tell you to drink before you get dehyrated!

Answer 7

My doctor had me take potassium for leg cramps when I was pregnant, helped a lot!

GOOD FOR YOU! Listen, go to a good sporting goods store and invest in a good pair of walking shoes, they make a ton of difference when you wear them. The good ones mitigate the impact so your joints don't get sore, and you are happier and exercise more because of it.

Find a good trainer in your area and ask if he or she could just start you on an exercise program for a flat fee. I did that here and found a really great guy who helped me tremendously for only $100, worth every penny!

Answer 8

You should stretch out before and after your walk. The other thing gym rats notice when your legs cramp is lack of salt. My guess is that its not the problem based on your statements. Stretch out like I mentioned and that should help.

Answer 9

First off stretch before you walk.
That would be doing lunges towards the wall, or dropping one heal down off the step and pushing down in to them.
Anything to stretch your heels and calves out.
Then you need to add potassium in to the routine, so one banana at least 2 hours before exercise.
Try swimming as well to start losing weight, and you should decrease your cramping.

Answer 10

If this problem persists you should visit your family doctor.

Ensure your diet contains sufficient iron(e.g. Broccoli) and potassium(e.g.Bananas).

Stretch before and after the walk.

Slow down, and even stop, if you feel it coming on.

Don't give up, this is a great start to a healthier life!