Many have experienced it before, some even get it very often – the cramp! Although the pharmaceutical industry still wants us to believe that the intake of magnesium provides a remedy here, the knowledge about the causes has come much further in the meantime.

For us athletes, especially endurance athletes, three different main causes have emerged, and magnesium deficiency is not listed here.

1. One of the most common causes is muscles that are not properly prepared and trained. This includes the right intensity, duration as well as the important regenerative measures such as stretching.
2. Lack of water, i.e. dehydration, is also one of the most common causes. Sport is not about drinking as much as we are thirsty, but as much as we really need. In endurance sports, especially during long sessions, the rule of thumb should be 0.5 – 1 liter of fluid per hour. This amount can vary individually depending on the conditions (temperature, humidity, intensity, duration). By the way, when carbohydrates are ingested, the body is also deprived of water, so that even in winter, when you may not sweat so much, an intake of water is useful or necessary.
3. And last but not least, the sodium deficiency. In contrast to the non-sporting population, which often absorbs too much sodium, too low an intake is often observed in athletes. Especially in endurance sports, where we are active for several to many hours and this is accompanied by a large loss of sweat, the additional intake is usually the right remedy against possible cramps. Whether by taking a salt tablet, salty energy gels (e.g. Salty Caramel or tomato gel) or adding a little table salt to the drinking bottle - there are many ways to take precautions.

As a guide, 1-2 g of table salt (not sodium!) per hour can be used as a guide. This value fluctuates so much because genetically predetermined is how much sodium we have in body sweat. Who doesn't know the athletes who develop strong salt marks on their sportswear, while others don't have any with the same load.

Important: It's all about balance, too little sodium/salt is just as unbeneficial as too much. Therefore, it should also be remembered that many sports drinks already contain about 1g of table salt per liter. Energy gels also contain sodium or table salt. This means that in the end you can't avoid working out a meal plan.

By the way, 1g sodium = 2.54 g table salt!

Let's move on to magnesium

The proportion of magnesium in the body's sweat is very low compared to sodium (salt). Therefore, in normal cases, sufficient magnesium is always absorbed through our normal diet. If this is not the case, substitution before or after exercise is recommended, because magnesium has an effect on the entire musculature, including the intestinal muscles. Therefore, ingestion during exercise can quickly become counterproductive and lead to diarrhea.

 You can find more statements of this series on this overview page ...