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Cramping my Style
I think I had always been quite lucky with my running . Except for a wee bit of ITB about 15 years ago , the only thing that kept me out of running was repeatedly damaging my ankle ligaments on the soccer field , but otherwise my running had always felt pretty smooth . Until this past year . Suddenly my legs were no longer playing ball … – BY SEAN FALCONER , MODERN ATHLETE EDITOR
What I found was that my calves felt like they were seizing up when I ran . Not out-and-out cramping , but it felt like they were on their way to that , and it meant that I could barely go for a short jog without needing to take regular walk breaks every few kays . I really was not enjoying my running , which made me less inclined to want to head out the front door , which in turn saw my fitness levels plummet , and my weight start to pick up .
Chance Meeting in Soweto
Then I was asked to be the roaming MC at the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon Expo , and one of the stands I had to promote on the mic was the Best 4 Sport stand selling the CrampNot gel supplements . The second I found out the details and talked about this product on the mic on the first day of the Expo , I added that I would be coming to buy some myself , given that I was struggling with cramping muscles , and the helpful guys on the stand were more than happy to tell me more .
They explained that CrampNot is the world ’ s first commercially available neuromuscular supplement to prevent and treat exercise-associated muscle cramps , because research has shown that muscle cramping is primarily caused by the uncontrolled and repetitive firing of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord . Therefore , the quickest and easiest way to prevent or treat cramping is to inhibit the firing of the motor neurons that instruct the muscle to cramp . That ’ s why CrampNot stimulates primary sensory neurons in the mouth , oesophagus and stomach , using extracts of cayenne pepper and cinnamon , and mutes the response of the alpha motor neuron lesion , which essentially blocks the cramping signal to the muscles . For that reason , they told me to take the supplement half an hour before my runs , and not to drink the gel down with water , because you need to let the pepper burn a wee bit in the mouth to stimulate the mouth , oesophagus and stomach .
Same Reaction …
Yes , like you , I stood there going , OK , no fine , so you ’ re giving me an energy gel with some pepper in it to stop my leg muscles cramping ? I will admit that I was somewhat sceptical . It sounded like science fiction , but I have always tried to keep an open mind and I agreed to test the product for myself . Hey , what did I have to lose ? And besides , I really like cinnamon … and the gels came in two of my favourite flavours , lime and pineapple .
Well , boy was I pleasantly surprised by the results . Before my next run , I took one of the CrampNot gels and experienced the ever so slight burn in the mouth , and then I got on with the run . Normally I would be walking by about two kays in , with tight calves and complaining quads , but this time I felt much more comfortable and actually enjoyed a run for the first time in months . However , I don ’ t just believe in one-offs or possible coincidences , so I used a gel before my next run , a 15km trail running event that started by going straight up a mountain . Normally that would have had my legs screaming for mercy … but once again I was running smoothly , by comparison to previous months .
Nod of Approval
I used the gels before my next five runs , and every single time I had no problems with the tightness in the legs that had plagued my running for months . That allowed me to start running further and faster , which in turn made me want to run more , which meant I began to regain fitness … and friends and family quickly remarked that I was looking a bit trimmer . This was superb ! So I am convinced that CrampNot gels not only work , but they got me up and running again .
38 ISSUE 90 JANUARY 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za