Hi:

I don't workout very much, but I do like to do a few pushups everyday to keep in at least a little shape. I'm 37. I used to be able to do about 50 to 60 pushups (not continuous) with no problem, but recently I am finding that after about 25 pushups I get these painful cramps in my pecs. So much so that I have to keep my shoulder pulled back to prevent the muscle from cramping. It stops after about 5 minutes of relaxing. I'm drinking a lot of water to keep hydrated and this happens whether I do the pushups in the morning or evening. Any idea if I'm missing something else in my diet that could be causing this? Maybe some ion like Mg? Maybe it's just a part of getting older?

Thanks in advance

L

Definitely make sure you're getting enough potassium and magnesium, but it's also possible that doing a few each day isn't enough to keep the muscle in a "trained" state and over time it's just become a little atrophied. If the minerals are right and you're still cramping, maybe try 2 small sessions each day (morning and night?) to try to improve the fitness of the muscle a little. As we get older, it gets harder to maintain our muscle tissue, so it's possible the atrophy just kinda crept up on you.
Hope that's helpful. Let me know how it goes. Good luck! :)

I would take a few days off to let the muscles heal. It sounds like maybe you've got some muscle tears - and you're re-injuring the same areas every day.