In this series of blog posts, we’ve discussed what is meant by the ‘electrolytes’, that are promoted in sports nutrition products. We’ve looked at how much you actually lose during exercise, and what role they play in athlete health and performance during exercise. So far we’ve seen that: Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water into their individual, positively or negatively charged ions: Sodium: Na+ and Potassium: K+ Chloride: Cl- Magnesium: Mg2+ and Calcium: Ca2+ a

Muscle cramping during exercise is a common problem among athletes that involves sudden, involuntary and painful muscle contraction during or after exercise. The occurrence of cramps is quite unpredictable, and the causes are not well understood, though there are two hypotheses. Types and prevalence of muscle cramps Many athletes have experienced muscle cramping during or after exercise, at some point in their sporting career. It is difficult to assess how many athletes suffe