Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

How to stop cramps

28 May 2025 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:29

In this short instructional video, the speaker debunks the common belief that bananas prevent exercise‑induced calf and quad cramps and explains that the primary cause of such cramps is loss of sodium through sweat. Because sodium loss makes muscles more prone to involuntary contractions, the speaker advises athletes to replace the missing salt with an electrolyte powder that contains a sufficient amount of sodium. Standard sports drinks are said to be inadequate for this purpose. The speaker recommends specific commercial electrolyte products—Liquid IV, Element, and Relight—as effective options for long, hot summer workouts where cramping risk is elevated.

Bananas are not going to keep you from cramping. If you are experiencing a lot of calf or quad cramps in the middle of practices and you keep pounding bananas, it's never going to help you. What you actually need to keep this from happening is salt. Salt is in sweat. The more we sweat, the more salt we lose, the more prone we are to cramping. If you experience a lot of cramping, you got to make sure that you get an electrolyte powder with enough salt in it. Most of the time, standard sports drinks aren't going to cut it. So my recommendations would be a Liquid IV, Element, Relight. Any of those are going to have an awesome amount of salt in it for those long, hot summer workouts, especially when you're more prone to cramping.