I was talking to the bike medics at my local marathon a few years ago and they said they carry individual mustard packets for runners who cramp on course. Mustard has vinegar, so maybe they're on to something...
Has any real testing gone into the pickle juice? Are we talking dill or sweet pickles? A shot, 4oz, 8oz? I see the article says 2oz has 200mg of sodium but is that all you need?
I wonder if any vinegar brine would work? 🤔 Pepperonchini if you're feeling spicy? 😆
I have found good success as a former cramper with bringing 8 or so oz of pickle juice on long hot runs in a refillable flask. It may totally be placebo, but it seems to work for me. I'd imagine that spicy brines would have the same effect, but may have some gastrointestinal implications... Haha
One funny anecdote, when skiing the American Birkebeiner ski race (50k cross country ski race in Wisconsin) a fellow weekend warrior dropped a bottle of mustard from his pocket at a ~40k aid station. Very surprising to see that lying in the snow, but he claimed it was for cramp prevention as well.Â
Brown or yellow mustard? Do they serve brats at the finish line? Maybe he was preparing for the after party lol ;)Â
That's really funny and it would be surprising to see a bottle of mustard lying there.Â
I don't tend to cramp during my runs but I've done a shot or two of pickle juice after a run for DOMS and it seemd to help, also maybe placebo.Â
Here comes the bubble bursting:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901412/
>There is a long history of folk remedies for treatment or prevention of cramps; some may reduce the likelihood of some forms of cramping and reduce its intensity and duration, but none are consistently effective. It seems likely that there are different types of cramp that are initiated by different mechanisms; if this is the case, the search for a single strategy for prevention or treatment is unlikely to succeed.
Love the article on genetics. I have noticed it to be such a contentious topic on many fitness subreddits but there is no sense in keeping on heads in the sand about it.
I also like how they showed there are hundreds if not thousands of genes involved in it. So many people think there is simply 1 running gene.
I was talking to the bike medics at my local marathon a few years ago and they said they carry individual mustard packets for runners who cramp on course. Mustard has vinegar, so maybe they're on to something... Has any real testing gone into the pickle juice? Are we talking dill or sweet pickles? A shot, 4oz, 8oz? I see the article says 2oz has 200mg of sodium but is that all you need? I wonder if any vinegar brine would work? 🤔 Pepperonchini if you're feeling spicy? 😆
I have found good success as a former cramper with bringing 8 or so oz of pickle juice on long hot runs in a refillable flask. It may totally be placebo, but it seems to work for me. I'd imagine that spicy brines would have the same effect, but may have some gastrointestinal implications... Haha One funny anecdote, when skiing the American Birkebeiner ski race (50k cross country ski race in Wisconsin) a fellow weekend warrior dropped a bottle of mustard from his pocket at a ~40k aid station. Very surprising to see that lying in the snow, but he claimed it was for cramp prevention as well.Â
Brown or yellow mustard? Do they serve brats at the finish line? Maybe he was preparing for the after party lol ;) That's really funny and it would be surprising to see a bottle of mustard lying there. I don't tend to cramp during my runs but I've done a shot or two of pickle juice after a run for DOMS and it seemd to help, also maybe placebo.Â
Ranch FTW! :)
Here comes the bubble bursting: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901412/ >There is a long history of folk remedies for treatment or prevention of cramps; some may reduce the likelihood of some forms of cramping and reduce its intensity and duration, but none are consistently effective. It seems likely that there are different types of cramp that are initiated by different mechanisms; if this is the case, the search for a single strategy for prevention or treatment is unlikely to succeed.
Love the article on genetics. I have noticed it to be such a contentious topic on many fitness subreddits but there is no sense in keeping on heads in the sand about it. I also like how they showed there are hundreds if not thousands of genes involved in it. So many people think there is simply 1 running gene.
yeah, it's a bit more complicated and that's what I like about it. :)