Cramp, cramps !!!!

[29er]

Cramps, cramps and more cramps.....

My dreams to do a sub 4 with yesterdays 94.7 was ruined by cramps and turned into a 6 hour nightmare !!

 

I drank 500ml of liquate every 30min and crampstops by the hour and still it did not help !!!.

 

Surely there must be a deficiently in one’s body to cause this problem.....can this be detected by blood test?

 

Has any Hubbers out there done this or found a true cure for cramps ?

[CAAD4]

I went for blood tests at the PTA Sports Science Intitute a few years back. Found nothing and gave me a clean bill of health. Bsically said train harder, for longer at race pace. Did that and hardly cramp any more. EverYone here will tell you all their remedies i.e. Rennies, salt tabs, brake fluid (OK I made that up), But we generally race harder than we train and our muscles become fatigued.

[1hill@aTime]

Train more, it's muscle fatigue causing the cramps no cramp blocker will really work,

[Cycleshark]

I'm with you on this one!!

 

Was looking for a sub3, but cramped so bad, I nearly missed a sub4

 

I do a lot of races, and has not had any majour cramping problems, but yesterday was bad!!!!!

 

I know I'm fit enough and took enough liquid in, but the cramps still kept on coming....

[philip.maree]

There is an oomie (current SA over 65 champ) that swears by Rennies. He rides with Rennies in his back pocket, when he cramps he takes two and according to him the cramping subsides within 10 minutes.

[SeanMort]

Sounds like you might also have had too much to drink, which could have worsened the problem. You don't say what it is that you drink, but if you are prone to cramping at this point in your cycling fitness, then perhaps consider using a drink that contains potassium and sodium, in addition to just carb's. It also helps in hot race conditions to have a sachet of Rehidrate handy for a post ride drink before your recovery drink.

[Li Mu Bai]

Cramps, cramps and more cramps.....

My dreams to do a sub 4 with yesterdays 94.7 was ruined by cramps and turned into a 6 hour nightmare !!

 

I drank 500ml of liquate every 30min and crampstops by the hour and still it did not help !!!.

 

Surely there must be a deficiently in one’s body to cause this problem.....can this be detected by blood test?

 

Has any Hubbers out there done this or found a true cure for cramps ?

 

haha, the only true cure for cramps is SUFFICIENT TRAINING!

 

Essentially your muscles will start to cramp if you are pushing them harder than you have trained. Thats the simple truth. You can drink all you like and pop all the special magnesium zinc tablets and anti cramp mumbo jumbo, but none of that will stop you from cramping.

when cramps do start, ease off your gears and continue pedalling / spinning as light as you can. The cramp will pass, and you can continue. If you get off your bike to 'try stretch it out', most likely your cramp will become worse and you wont be able to move for a while. pedal through it, and slow your pace.

[MTB_Roadie]

Cramps, cramps and more cramps.....

My dreams to do a sub 4 with yesterdays 94.7 was ruined by cramps and turned into a 6 hour nightmare !!

 

 

By seeing that huge difference of 2 hours it clearly must be due to a lack of training, remember you must do long cycles to get better results, I had a similar problem, only ruiened my time like 15min which made me realise there was a need of something, so I cycled with a bit less intensity and then pushed harder in the end again.....worked well....but that was just a training cycle, now I am fine again by training more often

[Balsie]

I agree level of training fitness play a big role and cramp is muscle fatigue. I used to suffer from cramps. Advice given to me was fitness level and maintaining the same race pace in training.Remeber racing is alot more intense and energy sapping than a training ride of the same distance.The fitter I got the less I suffered from cramp. But it is all relative as I am sure if I did a 200km race at the pace I do a 100km race the cramp will return Another piece of advice given was take alot of liquid before racing.Especially on a hot day like yesterday at the 94.7 will help with fatigued muscles. Start drinking fluids the night before and the morning of the race. By the time you start drinking in the race even every hour it is too late.

[scotty]

Even the pro's like Contador cramp, bound to happen to most sooner or later, genetics also plays a part, I've done 8 94.7's and cramped on most of them. Yesterday i did not cramp during the race but riding casually down to where my car was parked they came in droves.

[TriGuru76]

The Basics of Core training:

 

Loss of elasticity in your muscles due to dehydration and repetitive movement can decrease your comfort level. By massaging, strengthening and toning these muscles you can maintain a proper bike fit.

 

 

THE CORE 4

 

Soleus

*Maximum elasticity (massage) allows the soleus muscle to expand to its fullest capacity in order to transfer power from the quads to the pedal without compromising the rider's position.

*Keeping consistent contact with the bed of the shoe from heel to toe box without allowing the heel to rise early allows the rider to stay in his cycling position for a prolonged period of time by pulling backward through heel of the shoe rather than scraping the mud off the bottom of the shoe.

*Working this area will decrease the opportunity for the heel to turn outward. When it does this, the upper outer region of the soleus and calf can become dysfunctional.

 

Quads

*Maximize payload opportunity within the region while increasing flexibility so that the pelvis can organically shift with the rider's torso allowing the back to flatten and the pedal stroke to take advantage of the pull/push through the center of the quads rather than pulling upward from the knee relying primarily on velocity.

*Decrease opportunity of adhesions (massage) allowing the muscles to fire independently rather than as one. Once all the muscles within the region stick together they are all going to increase the tension on their insertion points. Since they all attach in the patella tendon, knee problems can be avoided by rolling through these areas.

*Maintaining elasticity (massage) within this region allows the muscles to transfer wattage from the center of the quads to the center of the soleus as these are the most efficient transfer points of the pedal stroke.

 

Psoas

*Maximizing elasticity (massage) within this muscle will allow more force and flexibility to be accessed within the quads, lower, and upper back by using the stabilization of the saddle and associated core muscles.

*Decrease the pelvic tilt that detracts from allowing the pelvis to move naturally into a fixed static position desired for proper bike fitting.

*Maintaining the elasticity within the region reduces or eliminates the compression of the L4-5 region and the static weight placed on the hands. This allows the diaphragm to be open and allow the uptake of oxygen to be as efficient as possible.

 

Piriformis

*Maximizing elasticity (massage) within the glute region will allow efficiencies in power during 6-9 o clock in the rider's pedal stoke. If you do notice a decrease in power within this region, your piriformis muscle will need to be addressed.

*Increase blood flow to the sciatic nerve region allowing the neurological feed to the lower extremities to be uncompromised.

*Maintaining elasticity (massage) within the glute region will allow the rider to maintain the use of the saddle as a platform for power. This platform allows proper functionality of the pelvis to occur, allowing the rider's position to be consistent for a prolonged period of time without compromising the diaphragm, quads, or shoulders.

 

 

IT Band

*Maximize the efficiency of the surrounding muscles by creating additional blood flow (massage) to the IT band, which is a tendon. This will lessen the restrictions placed on the muscular fibers, thus increasing the range of motion and movement patterns in this region.

*Decrease the strain on the inner quad (VMO). When adhesions are present between the IT Band and Vastas Lateralis or Bicept Femoris, the rider may feel pain in the inner knee region. This is due to the IT band pulling the entire quad outward due to the lack of range of motion.

*Maintaining elasticity (massage) within this region will allow the knee to track properly behind the handle bar or in line with an elbow pad (Time Trial Position), not allowing undue stress on the piriformis muscle.

 

Pectorals

*Maximizing elasticity (massage) within the region is going to allow the shoulders to rotate back naturally, taking strain off the upper back and neck region.

*Arm reach to bars is more organic, and neurological feed to the hands is maximized by freeing up the nerve root within the pectoral region.

*Maintaining elasticity (massage) in this region will eliminate numbness in the hand, while also allowing the rider to sit on the saddle with proper weight distribution across the saddle. This will allow power to be transferred from the center of the rider's back when the body is based on the saddle and transferred through the quads down to the pedal platform.

 

 

The Bottom line is: Training, stretching and massage will take you a long way.

for more info, go to www.tptherapy.com

The products are now availible in SA.

[Klappertjie]

Just to add to this topic.

 

I believe, I trained more for this 94.7 than any of the previous years, but had by far my worst ride ever!(Not based on time) Cramped so badly at the halfway I had to nurse my legs all the way home.

 

What I have learned on the hub so far and as someone above mentioned, train with the same intensity you ride your races. I'm most guilty of not doing this.

 

Two other things that are bugging me...

 

1. Did I cramp because I rode with a much higher cadence than I normally ride with? Instead of pushing my legs too hard I dropped a gear or two to spin. Personally I think this may have been an issue but would love to hear for anybody else that may know.

 

2. This may sound super silly (and most probably is). I used to drink a fair amount of coke, maybe 1-2 litres a day and I cut this out about 7 weeks ago. Only had a can or two a week. Any chance that this had anything to do with cramping? I lost a good few kilos

[nolipoli]

I always cramp in races - mostly because of under-training and over-pushing, but yesterday, I was cramping by the time I hit 55kms. My expectation of a comfortable sub-four hopefully approaching 3:45 turned in 4:56. That is slower than I did it on my 6-inch trail bike a couple of years ago.

 

I was well within my normal training pace, and had been hydrating with a combo of water and electrolyte drink, same as always. I did stop for a bit to wait for my wife, and my legs got cold, which is probably not the best thing.

 

I know of lots of people that cramped badly yesterday, that don't normally have a problem. I reckon it had a lot to do with the heat.

[29er]

Sjoe.........thanks “TriGuru76” !!

 

Think I need to pay a consultation fee for this one....smile !

 

Will print and study this...thanks a lot.

[Klappertjie]

I always cramp in races - mostly because of under-training and over-pushing, but yesterday, I was cramping by the time I hit 55kms. My expectation of a comfortable sub-four hopefully approaching 3:45 turned in 4:56. That is slower than I did it on my 6-inch trail bike a couple of years ago.

 

I was well within my normal training pace, and had been hydrating with a combo of water and electrolyte drink, same as always. I did stop for a bit to wait for my wife, and my legs got cold, which is probably not the best thing.

 

I know of lots of people that cramped badly yesterday, that don't normally have a problem. I reckon it had a lot to do with the heat.

Sounds like we had pretty similar ride! Should have ridden together. Aiming for 3:40-3:45 cramped up at just before 50km finished 4:23 and not happy. lol

[Minion]

I do a lot of races, and has not had any majour cramping problems, but yesterday was bad!!!!!

 

I know I'm fit enough and took enough liquid in, but the cramps still kept on coming....

You could still cramp if you ride at a higher intensity than normal. For a race like 94.7 where most people are going to push their hardest, that's very likely. I've raced pretty much every fortnight since September (and did the same at the beginnning of the year) and I also consider myself to be fit, but I still started cramping quite badly in the last 20km.

I looked at the download from my Garmin and my effort for the 77km before I cramped was about 10% higher than an other race or training session I've done this year. I definitely cramped from riding at higher intensity than I've done before over that kind of time.