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Anyone else suffer with a similar weird condition?
Currently laid off the bike as getting really bad cramps all over my legs. For some reason this comes on after i hit it quite hard then stop for too long. Not happened for quite a while, but its normally the same. 3/4 days riding, then if i rest for a couple of days, next ride i get searing pains that start in my glutes, and go all down the front of my upper legs to my knee. Both legs.
This has happened couple of times a year for a few years, didnt happen atall last year or year before, i was going to the gym regularly then, obviously not now. Havent ridden much this year so far, then First week of furlough didnt do a lot, second week, 300k on the road across 4 days. Felt really good considering how little riding id done. Couple of days off, then it hit me whilst running. Couple of days later, tried riding and suffered through 25k of agony and gave it a rest and came home. Tried a turbo session couple of days later, felt it straight away, tried a ride on saturday, again felt it within 3-4 k and sacked it off.
Friday this week will be 14 days since my last proper ride, i can still feel it in my legs and darent try riding yet. If i try foam rolling my legs its super sore.
Anybody else find this? DOMS is the obvious answer, but it only comes on after resting for too long rather than significant exertion, so im not sure that is the issue. Any ideas on getting over it?
A few years ago it really hit me hard over a summer and i really dont want to be back in that situation with it.
Cramps are something that no-one's got to the bottom of yet, other than they are a pain. DOMS is different and I've not seen anything to suggest it leads to cramps, it's a bit like suggesting a burn from boiling water leads to a knife wound.
You don't say how old you are but it's common for cramps to become more frequent as you get older. Also are you eating correctly?
Going from essentially nothing to 300km a week isn't bright, also cycling and running use muscles in different ways so take it easy. Give things a rest then just start steady. Short rides at Z2 max (power or HR whichever you prefer), don't do back to back days but day on, day off until you've got some base in your legs. Keep at the foam rolling BTW.
Doms/cramps/muscle pain - all the same to me don't really think of it as any different. Just super tight and painful muscles.
10-12 hours a week last year with plenty of bike/runs, structured training and this never flared up.
Today tried to go for a walk, got 25metres before i had to come back and thats 10 days since it started. Wonder if the fact im just at home whereas normally im 1.5 miles walk to work and back each day and on my feet most of the day isnt helping. Maybe at 34 im just getting old but this has been going on since mid 20’s and has been better the past couple of years. Diet probably not great at the moment but better than it has been and given the pubs are shut no booze is going in! 😂
Tight and painful muscles are not cramps. Cramps are a very sudden (usually a matter of seconds) onset of muscle spasm. DOMS is a reaction to over-exercising a muscle or muscles after a long period of inactivity such as going to the gym and doing weights when the last time you did it was five years ago.
Do you do any stretching? I'd just keep walking around as much as possible and don't sit around as much.
34 is NOT old! Thinking like that will have you sat puffing on your meerschaum in your armchair by the fireside at 40.
I suffer with something similar, after 2.5 hours intense exercise (biking, running etc) I get severe cramps front and back of both legs. If i got close to 2.5 hours i'd be fine but then suffer with severe cramps at a random point over the next 24hours. I thought my nutition wasn't right despite using high5 tabs to top salts up and combniation of salted nuts/clif bars, torq bars, bananas and other food sources. I'm mid thirties and quite a salty sweater. Tried loads of stuff over races/long distance events over the years - beetit juice (nitrates etc.) but finally found something that worked for me - saltstick tabs.
I thought it would just be a more expensive alternative to the high5 tabs i was using ut hey have a different composition. I managed to complete a 100miler road ride in warm weather without cramping for the first time in my life last summer - i was waiting for the cramps to appear in the evening or during the night but they never came.
I'm happy as I've found a product that works to combat my electrolyte loss - could be worth a go?
Cramp is the muscle spasming, short, painful muscle contractions. Very unpleasant, and generally happen during hard exercise or just after.
DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) is basically fatigued muscles that comes in a day or two after exercise.
Yours sounds like the latter.
I’ll never stop unless you stop exercising hard, as it’s your muscles being damaged and then repairing. But you can negate it a bit.
First, when you finish a ride make sure you have 10 minutes at low intensity just spinning your legs as a cool down.
Second, stretch lots straight afterward and then again around an hour later.
Third, drink lots of water, I down a pint as I walk into the house and then another once I get out the shower. Some swear bye electrolytes too.
Forth, the day after walk or do a gentle spin for 15 or 20 mins.
This has worked for me after long rides and runs.
I feel your pain, literally. I had similar bouts of this a few years ago. It isn’t cramp, that’s the first thing to realise. The trigger for me was heavy exercise followed by a few days of driving with no chance of active recovery. It starts with a pin prick of pain that spreads through the muscle and is debilitating. I had to finish my commute riding one legged on a few occasions. You can’t ride through it generally, unlike cramp,but learning some targeted stretching can get you home in fits and starts.
The answer is pre and post stretching and active recovery rides where possible.
The good news is that does pass if my experience is anything to go by. I have been symptom free for a few years without making any special effort and I do some big rides, 1200km Audax, for example. Good luck.
Ok, so yeah it’s definitely not cramps - it’s just a sharp searing pain that moves around my legs. Almost always starts in my left buttock then travels down towards my knee and the front muscles seem to bear the worst of it.
At rest it’s a dull ache, now I can feel it in my left buttock and right front of leg. Quad I think? But again it moves around even at rest.
I never stretch - will start that. Probably don’t drink enough but use electrolytes and after harder efforts us rego powder. More fluids too then.
Grimpeur - yep that’s like it, the worst I had it was a 12h flight a few years ago when I really suffered. Even down to me pedalling one legged to finish the other day! 😂 Driving definitely brings it on, especially the van because of the seated angle, and this was at its worst in my old job where I was doing 30-40k a year in the car. I really thought I had kicked it myself. Hopefully once I’m back to work and moving and back in the gym it will go again.
The actual excersise has no bearing - it seems I can beast myself as much as I want as long as I carry on going. It’s only after a rest of a couple of days after riding continuously for several days, then resting, then riding again it flares up - and normally it’s only low load, this time it was avg 50k a day at 25-27kph which is below what I’m capable of, but I was just doing base miles and not pushing to hard to try and avoid this!
Thanks for the input so far guys 👍🏻