t’s happened to every athlete: Seemingly out of nowhere a horrible, debilitating muscle cramp wrenches a muscle and stops us dead in our tracks. We gently massage the area while grimacing in pain, and then impatiently wait for the cramp to go away. It usually lasts a minute or so, but man does it feel like forever. But why does this even happen?

A muscle cramp develops when a muscle contracts and doesn’t have the resources to release the contraction. One potential cause is trying to do too much, too soon after taking a hiatus from fitness activities. In our minds we think because we achieved something before that it should be easy to reproduce, but sometimes our bodies aren’t acclimated to that stress. If you begin by using half the weight or resistance and progressing it’s a better approach that should lead to less cramping.

However, the most likely cause of muscle cramps links back to an electrolyte imbalance, which includes deficiencies in sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Endurance athletes — where they train so hard buckets of sweat pour out of their bodies — regularly encounter these awful muscle cramps.

So what do you do? Options include eating a banana (potassium), downing a sports drink, or, our preferred method of keeping cramps at bay — drinking P4’s Recovery Push Formula during or immediately after a workout. The BCAAs and carb loader in caffeine-free Recovery Push feed hungry muscles branched-chain amino acids and supply a lasting energy jolt. All it takes is one scoop (28.3 grams) with some water. Put in a shaker cup — you can pick that up right here! — and you’re ready to keep rocking your race, workout, or run with a diminished worry that a cramp will cramp your style.