Exercising is a great way to lose weight, increase muscle strength and improve your overall health. However, at times you may feel discomfort or pain in your body during exercise, including muscle cramps in your abdomen. There are many different causes of stomach cramping during exercise, however not all should be considered medically dangerous or of high concern. For more information on stomach cramps during or after exercise, speak to your doctor or a licensed fitness trainer.
Definition
Muscle cramps are a fairly common condition seen in people who are active or exercise on a regular basis. A muscle cramp is a sudden and involuntary contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. At times, a muscle cramp can be rather painful, especially if the muscle group is large or covers a large section of your body such as your abdominal muscles. Hot weather, long periods of exercise and dehydration can all cause an involuntary muscle cramp anywhere in your body.
Exercise Types
While you can experience a muscle cramp in your stomach while completing any exercise, you are more likely to experience an involuntary muscle cramp while working specifically on your abdominal muscles. Exercises like abdominal crunches or situps focus on the large muscle groups surrounding your core and can therefore become overworked after a long exercise session, leading to muscle fatigue. This fatigue can eventually lead to a higher risk of muscle cramping as the lactic acid builds in your muscle fibers and your body becomes more dehydrated.
Prevention
One way you can help prevent stomach cramps, or muscle cramps anywhere in your body, is to remain hydrated during and after exercise. Drink plenty of fluids every day and especially while working out. Another manner in which you can help prevent muscle cramping is to stretch your muscles before and after working out. This will prepare your muscles to work harder prior to exercise and will also help lower lactic acid buildup following exercise.
Considerations
While working out, always allow for periods of rest during your exercise program. Cramps can be relatively painful in some cases, so be sure to rest until your cramp is completely gone and your muscle stops contracting. If you begin to feel very sharp pains in your stomach while exercising, stop immediately and seek medical attention. Sharp pains that appear suddenly may be a sign of injury. Swelling or bruising of the skin in your abdomen may be the sign of a serious medical condition such as internal bleeding.
