In winter it seems when i go out and have a bad stack my energy is low unlike summer.
A major contributing factor to my emergency sail detach was that i pretty much couldnt move my arms anymore.
This seems predominent when i went out last wednesday.
Im an extremely fit muscular person but seems like in cold water i chew up alot more energy.
This time i was getting blown back to shore luckily, Just seems like the cold weather makes my musles cramp.
Does anyone else get this in cold water.?
Any ideas on cramp provention.
The other thing i was out for a few hours last year in winter and when i came back into shore i placed my legs on the shore (uneven surface) and i collapsed and couldnt walk it was like my calf mustle cramped up and when i applied pressure on it on an uneven surface the muscle gave way. put me out for about 2 weeks and was extremely painful.
Its not a problem in summer but winter it allways seems to get to us.
Does anyone else experience this. and what can be done to prevent it?.
I get cramps all the time in winter - although I am not exactly fit lol.
I find that if I drink plenty of water, I hardly get them. Drinking Indian tonic water also helps as the quinine in it helps prevent the cramping.
Yeah I get them too, but only when I drink too much and work when its over 37c,think Ill just stop working that should solve the problem
Buster, a cause for cramps can be not enough salt in your diet or drinking enough water.
Do you stretch b4 you hit the water? I mean spend at least 5 mins really loosening up and stretching out? Hows the quality of your wetsuit?
Are you cold when your cramping up???
busterwa are you a chick? Do you get them around that time of the month? My wife used to complain about crams till I punched her in the VAG and told her to HTFU.
Aww bugger Cal, until that post I thought you were a womble chick.. now all my wombley fantasies are ruined! 
I have cramps sometimes and I discovered two things :
1 - I had a lot of them in the arms until I stretched a bit my steamer sleeves. Muscle compression is baaaadd
2 - Eat two bananas before you go on the water. Advice from a sport doctor. It works for me
1/2 tsp of salt in a mug of water before you rig up. The taste is nothing to write home about, but it's cheaper than a commercial electrolyte drink, and easier to stomach quickly than 2 bananas (and it won't go off in the car if you forget about it!).
I remember reading a full medical opinion on the subject on here a while back.. you might be able to find it (I couldn't at first look)
When you get cold the circulation to your fingers and toes, then your arms and legs are the first to be reduced. It's your bodies method of preventing freezing to death.
The energy to move your arms and legs comes from you blood so basically you ae cutting off the energy supply to the bits you want to use for windsurfing, so you get weak in the arms and legs get wobbly.
The blood also removes the by products of the energy production (lactic acid) so if you continue to stress your arms and legs with minimal blood flow, it builds up in the muscles resulting in cramps.
The best solution is to put the gear away for the winter. 
