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HELP on Leg Cramp

1K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  jyeager 
#1 ·
About 1 year ago, my doctor warned about my weight and lifestyle problem, and ordered me to start a regular exercise. I am currently 100 kg and height 183 cm. My friend introduced mountain biking to me, and I love it. However, everytime I tried 3-4 hours ride (about 40 km XC ride), my legs always give up (cramp) on me on the 30th km :madman: What a shame! I live in a tropical country, it's humid, and bout 30 Celcius.

I ve tried everything to get rid off the cramp, like, drinking sport drink (Ion drink), drinking alot of sport drink (man, I got thirsty all the time), and not drinking too much (afraid of over-hydrate). Some friends told me that my lactic acid clearance wasn't efficient. Is the cramp due to my stamina? if yes, how do I improve my leg or lactic acid tolerance? or because of my drink?
 
#2 ·
How long have you been riding? I think the problem here is just that you are just trying too much too soon. You have to build up your endurance by slowly increasing your ride duration/distance over time. A 3-4 hour ride for someone that is out of shape is quite a lot. Also make sure you are not pushing too hard, keep things at a lower intensity and you will go for longer, while increasing stamina. Things like sports drinks and gels/energy bars will help keep you going and replace lost salts. You shouldn't really be worried about drinking too much when on the bike, you'd have to drink a heck of a lot to over hydrate.
 
#3 ·
When nutrition and hydration fail, listen to your muscles. I can typically feel where a cramp is about to come on. When I feel that little bit of tightness, I try to lay off of that muscle a little bit and stretch it. You may be able to do that on the bike, you may need to get off. That helps me quite a bit. If I can fend off that initial cramp, it typically doesn't come back. I find that the more I mash the more likely I am to get cramps. If I spin smooth I'm less likely to get them.
For really long rides, ie those beyond what your body is willing to put up with, you're just going to have to work your way up to longer rides.
 
#5 ·
Smithy & JoelM, thanks for the tips. I ve been moutain biking about 5 months, and pushing myself very hard to catch up with my friends' speed. Honestly, I 've never stretched during a break but wasted my time by sitting down to catch a breath and to cool myself down.

Well, I will take the advise, and hopefully be able to ride 3-4 hours ride without any problem. Wish me luck.. and thank you.
 
#7 ·
Sportlegs seems like other Calcium supplement or mutivitamin supplement to me but with a higher price. If it is in my case where I am just a beginner in the sport, and also out of shape, could the sportlegs really reduce or eliminate cramping so I can just concentrate the effort on my breath?
 
#8 ·
find what works for you...

as I'm sure you'll read plenty on the forum - there are a ton of solutions for cramping and the only way you'll find the one that works best for you is to start trying some.

For me, I use sportlegs or Hammer's Anti Fatigue with endurolytes and heed - but in a long race (24hr) or during specific temerature changes I still suffer from cramps (sometimes hamstring other times quad etc.) for quick relief of a cramp, I bite open an endurolyte and dissolve it under my tongue. It tastes terrible but the cramp goes away instantly every time. found this out from a friend who tried it when cramping 17hrs into a 24hr event.

good luck, I'm sure you'll find a solution it may just take some trial and error.
 
#10 ·
jangdika said:
About 1 year ago, my doctor warned about my weight and lifestyle problem, and ordered me to start a regular exercise. I am currently 100 kg and height 183 cm. My friend introduced mountain biking to me, and I love it. However, everytime I tried 3-4 hours ride (about 40 km XC ride), my legs always give up (cramp) on me on the 30th km :madman: What a shame! I live in a tropical country, it's humid, and bout 30 Celcius.

I ve tried everything to get rid off the cramp, like, drinking sport drink (Ion drink), drinking alot of sport drink (man, I got thirsty all the time), and not drinking too much (afraid of over-hydrate). Some friends told me that my lactic acid clearance wasn't efficient. Is the cramp due to my stamina? if yes, how do I improve my leg or lactic acid tolerance? or because of my drink?
That's a very warm, humid climate. Add in the duration of the ride (3-4) hours and you have a mix that requires the use of Endurolytes from Hammer:

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?PAGE=ARTICLE&ARTICLE.ID=301

Electrolytes-The suggested use for "Endurolytes" during a hot and or humid event (70 degrees-70% humidity) is 2 capsules 60-90 minutes before the event, and 1-2 capsules every hour of exercise thereafter. Endurolytes are capsules that may be opened and emptied in drink mixes before the event.

Click on the Endurolytes under Products to get the full description. Here's a teaser...

Cramping is your body's final warning signal that you're "on empty" electrolyte wise. However, your performance is deteriorating and you are slowing down long before you feel the slightest twinge of a cramp. To keep your body's muscular, digestive, nervous, and cardiac systems "firing on all cylinders" you need a consistent supply of all electrolytic minerals, not just sodium and potassium. Plus, in many instances, you require greater volumes of electrolytes than any sports drink or gel can provide. That is why Endurolytes fulfills such a crucial component of your fueling by supplying your body with a perfectly balanced, full-spectrum, rapidly assmilated electrolyte source, allowing you to meet your widely variable electrolyte needs with tremendous precision, hour after hour, no matter what the weather throws at you.

You should also, due to the climate where you are riding, look into the Gatroade Endurance drink as your beverage of choice (2x the amount of goodies for hot weather riding than regular Gatorade contains).

A bottle of the Endurance comes in orange or the green flavor:

http://www.itsonthecourse.com/

Add these 2 items (Hammer Endurolytes and Gatorade Endurance) to you hydration system and those cramps in that tropical climate should be removed from your riding.

Best of luck.

BB
 
#12 · (Edited)
Welcome to competitive sports. Sometimes it isn't easy but the rewards far outweigh the hardships. Sportlegs sounds like an easy way to get the supliments you need.
As for the cost that isn't very much considering what people will do to get faster.
You are putting this suppliment into your body. Get good stuff. Your body is worth it! :thumbsup:
Second or third the Hammer website and products. They work!
 
#14 ·
Magnesium and Potassium are the two minerals that you probably need to help rid you of those cramps. I suffered from bad cramps on my 1st attempted 100 miler at about mile 50, managed to push it to 70 but then just couldn't handle fighting off the cramps anymore and called it quits. When I did research these two came up as primary causes for cramps as they are minerals that provide the "Let go instructions" to your muscles to stop them from contracting (that's what a cramp is just way harder than you would normally ask the muscle to contract in normal use) Do some research on these forums and I think you'll probably agree on this. To help while on the bike try taking along some TUMS or such ant acids as they have in loads of magnesium.
 
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