Feet cramp when swimming

[Turboem1]

Hey guys I have been doing a lot of swimming lately and on multiple different occasions my feet cramp up. It is right on the arch of my foot and when it cramps it like pulls the muscle tight and bends my foot in. I am flat footed so I guess that is a cause but is there anything to do to prevent this? Thanks

[BWT]

Hey guys I have been doing a lot of swimming lately and on multiple different occasions my feet cramp up. It is right on the arch of my foot and when it cramps it like pulls the muscle tight and bends my foot in. I am flat footed so I guess that is a cause but is there anything to do to prevent this? Thanks

Same thing happened to me once, I have flat feet too. I thought about it, and I was pointing my toes pretty strenuously when it happened. I believe proper technique (I am a newb, so someone correct me if I am wrong) is to point the toe, but to not strain at it, it is wasted energy. I believe you are not supposed to point when kicking in the direction of the heel, just point when kicking towards the toes.

[evanyc]

a cramp in your arch while swimming is most probably from tensing your foot up to point it while kicking. while you foot should be pointed you don't really need to make much of a physical effort to do so. the natural motion through the water will point your toes out. focus on relaxing your foot next time you swim laps.

[Tri JP]

ADDITIONALLY...

If you are keeping a nice flexible ankle throughout the kick, you won't need to point your toes so forcibly. It will happen naturally. If you keep everything relaxed all the way down, no cramping.

Plus, you shouldn't be kicking the hell out of your legs anyway. Keep 'em fresh for the bike and run.

[Stelvio51]

I have the same cramping issue. Sometimes it is in the arch of my foot sometimes in my calf. I can't seem to get my ankle to relax properly; and I am definately not kicking too much as my kick is non existent.

Cramping in the last 200 yds of the swim in a half iron is not too fun. I'm 2 for 2 now. Hoping to solve the issue before my next race.

[mrsgloab]

Cramping in the foot tends to be a problem for runners that are now swimming. Your foot isn't use to pointing and you stress it trying to follow everyone's instructions of pointing your toes. Practice pointing your toes while holding onto the side of the pool. It helps you to learn to point your toes without the added pressure of worrying about how fast you can kick across the pool. If you do it for a few minutes each time you jump in the pool before you know it your toes will point. Good luck!