Lactic acid/cramp in Quads

[Pesty]

Advice please guys, after landing on my head several months ago Ive started ridding again. To be honest my quads have always been a problem but its driving me mad now.

1 month ago I did 20 miles of the red run at dalby after 10 miles I had to walk up the climbs because my quads were burning so bad.
My legs were in such a state I had to lay of for a fortnight and I went again 2 weeks ago. Almost imediatly I felt discomfort on any incline.
again I did 20 miles but this time my quads were in a right mess. I don't want to sound like a wuss but I was in real agony

still two weeks after that my legs feel as if somebody has wraped them in elastic and I am still walking oddly. no amount of stretching or rubbing or anything will sooth it ive tried going to a gym and with very low weights to do a few reps, it feels like somebody is pouring boiling water on them straight away.

Im stuck and cant understand why they are so bad and why they have not got better yet

[jacobyte]

Are your fitted correctly on the bike? It sounds like your legs might be too bent whilst pedalling.

[snotrag]

Cadence too low? (I.e. pushing too low a gear?) Not sure what your leve/experience is, but a common thing for beginners to do.

Fit, also, is crucial.

[Pesty]

Seat is so my leg is almost straight when peddle at the bottom.

yes I am in low gear in fact usualy the lowest after a few miles because anything higher causes instant pain.

I am going again tomorrow hoping that the more I go the more my legs are likely to get used to it but as they still are tight and hurt if I try and squat even after two weeks I am not holdding out much hope.

I think its a combination of being a) unfit and b)weighing 16 stone plus water etc etc. My legs just cant take it when I get to an incline.

but just wondering if there are any tips that might help. even thought of trying a sports massage or somthing like that to see if they can ease the stiffness and pain in the muscles

[vwsurfbum]

possibly seat posion? try facng the saddle nose down a tad?

[Pesty]

will try tipping seat forward.

went out today, much improved on last time pedled up the steep parts I had to walk up before. legs were ok Chest was ok.

Then 10 miles in with no warning whatsover it felt like somebody injected concrete into my legs.

Both legs got what felt like the worst ever cramp in my quads and from then on I was fcked. even walking was painful could not peddle at all. had to take the escape route back to the car park only getting on the bike on downhill bits.

[jacobyte]

Sounds like it might just be a pain barrier that you have to train your way through.

Other than that, you could try using compression tights (and even sleeping in them). And perhaps regular massage before and after your rides. That might speed up the improvement process.

[Chris71]

I would try the more fundamental things first, but I found nuun tablets (electrolyte mix for your camelback) work a treat. Also, make sure you have some suitably padded shorts to maintain the blood supply.

I've always had problems with cramp in general, but particularly when I ride - almost always stops me before exhaustion does (coincidentally the last time I experienced it was at Dalby!)

[fergus]

also, try stretching your quads regularly (following a warm up), as you'll be amazed how much difference this can make. Ensure you hold each stretch for >10 seconds, and *gradually* increase the stretch. Do not use any form of bouncing/ballistic stretching, this usually results in bad news!

keep the fluid and electrolyte levels up as already mentioned.

Are you warming up before putting the muscles under load? May be worth a trip to a physio for some advice?

[ewenm]

There's a big difference between cramp and lactic acid burn - which is it here?

Cramp is usually caused by loss of salts through sweating and will occur near the end of a ride normally. Solution is to use an electrolyte drink in your bottle/camelbak such as nuun as mentioned above to maintain the levels of the relevant salts during exercise.

Lactic acid burn is caused by working the muscles and CV system above your aerobic threshold (the level of effort where the body can't process all the lactic acid produced so it builds up in the muscles). Long term solution is to get fitter, short term is to ride more slowly and spin a lower gear (higher cadence, less effort per pedal stroke). I spend many hours and miles each week working to get my aerobic threshold higher so I can run at a faster pace without drowning in lactic acid.

Warm up and warm down are both important too. Never stretch a cold muscle, so ride easily for 5-10 mins first then stretch off. Similarly at the end of the ride, warm down with some easy minutes to get the crap out of your muscles.

[Pesty]

Thanks. I would say its Lactic acid build up rather than cramp its just the pain was ridiculas last time.

I did have Nuun tablets in my back pack 5 of them, mainly just to take the taste away from the water I was also drinking a smaller bottle on the way there with nuun in it.

This time It took just 2 days 1 day of pain and walking funny then on tuesday I was still in discomfort but overall not worth mentioning. so big imrovement

I think basically as sombody said above just get fitter is the only way I will get through this. Its wierd but Ive have had this before and always in my quads although never this bad. I swear its something to do with having a a grifter and living on a hill when I was a kid.

An no I have not been strecthing probably exacerbates things that there is a climb streight out of the car park at Dalby

Edited by Pesty on Monday 27th October 00:25