Abs cramp! Why?

[gymrat66]

Most of the time i do abs i have to stop they cramp up. Any one guess why and what i can do? Oh and i drink plenty of water. thanks

[thesparkly1]

You're welcome gymrat66. Specifically, where is the cramping located & what exercise causes it?

[gymrat66]

Just about any ab exercise will do it and its mostly in my upper abs. Is it maybe because the abs are a smaller muscle? I am very aggravated! My diet has been very clean Even when i have a bad week it will happen. Like i said i drink lots of water. Thought maybe it could have been a supplement i may have been taking, but not really on anything right now.

[thesparkly1]

Sounds very weird, not something i've come across before & not likely to have anything to do with muscle size per se gymrat66. It might be worth trying a course of something like oral magnesium orotate for 6-8 weeks to see if this sorts the problem out (as it does with many other cramping-syndromes). The pharmaceutical equivalent to try (if you have access to it or if you have a cooperative doctor) is a drug called nifedipine - it's very safe & usually very well tolerated.

[Dietrying2009]

Just about any ab exercise will do it and its mostly in my upper abs. Is it maybe because the abs are a smaller muscle? I am very aggravated! My diet has been very clean Even when i have a bad week it will happen. Like i said i drink lots of water. Thought maybe it could have been a supplement i may have been taking, but not really on anything right now.

Have you been doing your abs all along? Or did you stop for quite a while and recently restarted? Also what's this supplement you're taking? A diuretic?

[Limons.]

try breathing (srs)

[rogknight]

You are not along; I?m dealing with the same problem during my abs exercise. I did cut back on my supplement intake as well as, I?m consuming plenty of water. What have helped me was cutting back on he heavy routine, but using the mobility equipment on a lighter recurrence with multiple sets. Try this for about two weeks to see if there would be any change.

[CerealKiller]

I used to get them alot from crunching too hard on crunches and crunch machine exercises. Always occurred on the 3rd set for some reason and when I would stand up my abs would spasm.

Recently I've changed my philosophy on ab training and have gotten away from the standard crunch and its variations, and doing more plank type ab exercises...and haven't had any more spasms.

I've been doing the 6 exercises shown in the video below. Highly recommend the stability ball rollout, stability ball jacknife, and the side plank as better alternatives to crunches, reverse crunches, and side crunches. It takes awhile to get used to these exercises because they are probably new to you(they were to me) but they are excellent exercises for your abs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaxCt2uwgC0&feature=channel

[trygve]

Most of the time i do abs i have to stop they cramp up. Any one guess why and what i can do? Oh and i drink plenty of water. thanks

I'd had that problem with my abs and soleus (when doing seated calf extensions) but no other muscles for as long as I've been lifting, but a few months ago I'd read over on the supplement section a recommendation to take taurine for back cramps. I've never had back cramps, but I started taking a few grams of taurine daily and the cramping of my abs and soleus has completely stopped.

I don't know if it'll have the same effect for anyone else, but it's cheap and going from "cramping every time" to "cramping never" is a pretty dramatic change.

(It did not help with leg cramps, but when I get those that's more of a hydration/electrolyte issue and is not affected by exercise.)