As the park where I normally walk each lunchtime is currently knee-deep in mud, I'm swimming more both to control weight and more signficantly to control blood sugar - I'm type two diabetic.

I'm currently doing 2.5km in a touch under an hour, working on stamina rather than outright speed; I already mow down most of the people in the fast lane even doing breaststroke and a length in front crawl is around sixteen or eighteen seconds.

But I'm starting to get very painful cramp in my calves when I change from breaststroke to crawl.

Any suggestions?

Buy some wellies?

How quickly into your session does it come on? I think there's (at least) two sorts of cramp:
1. A type you can induce - I get it in my feet if I move them into certain positions, especially when putting on shoes. I believe some people have used this in those "staying awake the longest" competitions
2. Exercise-related - no-one is certain to the causes but some people find it related to dehydration and can stave it off using electrolyte drinks (like Zero tablets). Other believe it's just related to being unfit.

From how you describe it, yours could be either. Stick to breaststroke?

Invest in some flippers.

But on a serious note, I'll show my wife (a Physio) your post and see if she has any ideas/suggestions.

Thanks Bezzer. Rich, it's late in the session and I had wondered if it might be dehydration (which seems a bit silly in a pool, but I'm always ready for a pee when I get out). Perhaps it's osmosis.

I would like to get back to doing crawl for at least 50% and perhaps more of the session - if only because I consider 'exercising' one of the most boring activities available to man and I can get it over more quickly that way!

But I'm slowly returning to the levels of forty years ago when I used to swim at county level and we started the training with a mile to warm up... (my father was a swimming coach, and the guy who apparently first used weight training for swimmers).

Funny - hearing about flippers reminded me that I used to get terrible cramp in my feet from I'll-fitting flippers.

Why don't you try doing the crawl at the beginning of the session - see if that makes a difference? If it does, it's then exertion related - either fatigue or dehydration. I'm not much of a swimmer but I thinking crawlers point their feet which is contracting your calf for a pretty unnatural duration. It may just come with practice. Crawl until you get cramp then breaststroke.

I used to get bad cramp in my calves when I started running.

Someone advised me to get some resistance bands (essentially just long rubber bands) and to put them under the balls of my feet and slowly point and flex my feet.

After a few weeks of doing this regularly I never had the problem again. I put it down to my legs not being used to distance running.

One thing i have noticed having been a swimmer since age 11 is that after I started doing long fast walks with girl friend(she doest' want to run)( I run sometimes now) is that it has made me get cramp in my calves too. I put this down to the fact it must exerciser the muscles but not give them a full flick out/extension like swimming does.

Eat more bananas. Thats why you always see tennis players eating them, to stop leg cramps during matches.

Yeah. Unfortunately, my doc doesn't like my potassium levels being too high and restricted me...

I had exactly the same problem and (when I voiced it) was told to eat bananas too as it worked for him.

Pretty pointless post actually given your previous response Barnacle

Good warm-up and steady, slow stretching
Good hydration
Sufficient Sugars before you start
Proteins, carbs and hydrate immediatley after workout
... and time and practise to make your muscles used to the movement

Do you use artificial sweetner's Neil?

Pretty much the only option, Joe - though on the whole I don't sweeten.

Some say that sweetner can muck about with the gut absorbsion,which in turn gives other problems like circulation.

Apparently fermented foods like sourkraut etc helps. But its only stuff i have been told or read.

About the only thing I take with sweetener is in 'sugar free' fruit juices. I eat home-made sourdough bread almost exclusively, long ferment and wholewheat for slow sugar release and good fibre.

I'd seen that thing about sweeteners, but at the moment the info is so vague...

Neil, a couple of things from my wife -

When you're doing crawl don't point your toes too much. This causes the calf to relax. When you switch to breaststroke you stretch the calf. This switch from relaxed for an extended time to extension can cause the muscle to cramp.

Secondly, distance swimmers are now more inclined to have trailing legs, using the upper body for the majority of the effort. May be worth trying this technique when you do long distance crawl swims.

Please thank her for me, Bezzer!

Though the odd thing is is that it's when I change to *crawl* and relax the calves that they cramp. Odd. I'll try the less effort in the legs approach, though.