mmmdonuts

I would agree. It sounds like muscles overworked from compensating for the cleat change. A nutrition or hydration problem would likely manifest itself more evenly in both quads, hams, or calves.

HokuLoa

If by "still here" you mean willing to rifle off quick responses to someone who addresses me then yes, I am. It is not however usually worth time or attention to address the topic of a thread when the OP titles with a question then professes to know "very clearly" the very information they are posting to be educated about. You have to admit your wording was a bit absurd from the start.

Anyway, I didn't mean to tweak or insult you rather simply to point out what a non-starter it is to solicit information and simultaneously limit responses by claiming to know "very clearly." I have nothing invested in what you believe or not. I do know however that limiting one's understanding to absolutes like "it isn't this/that" can lead to simplistic oversight of how all works in conjunction in a system (ie your body). Really though, I was just being flip and poking fun with no malicious intent or deep thought so don't let my casual comments get you bent.

Carry on.....

DScott

My favorite "placebo" quote, about the latest, greatest new medicine:

"Use it now, before it stops working."

surgeonstone

Holy crap!!! You did a century on rollers-awesome, but why?

downtube42

I started cramping about 150 km into my first 400 km brevet last year, when the course got a bit hilly. In the past, I figured cramps meant my day was done, but I was in the middle of nowhere and had few options.
I backed off, stretched best I could, grimaced through the pain, and continued. The cramps subsided, I was eventually able to ramp up the intensity, and finished the ride with no further issues. No tablets, extra hydration or magic juice.

dgasmd

No offense taken at all, but you need to check your reading comprehension. I was not looking to get educated on electrolyte imbalances and the believe they are the cause of cramps. Knowing full well that is what most of the lay people believe is the cause, I wanted it out of the equation from the beginning. I was asking about position changes as being a cause of cramps given that I have never had them up until 6-8 weeks ago and have never met anyone that had them due to position changes or cleat adjustments. Despite never hearing of it, I thought I was open minded enough to allow for it to be the cause

What I clearly don't understand is why some of you act as if I am making this up. This is not a religion, so you don't have to "believe in it". Do an appropriate literature search and draw your own conclusions. However, I do hope that you have some formal training in how to interpret objectively scientific literature. If not, get someone that does. This is not like reading the newspaper. Just because you read it and read the conclusion printed by the author does not mean you can objectively understand what was done or that the conclusions printed are supported by the study. Most physicians cannot objectively interpret the scientific literature in their field of expertise, so don't feel insulted by it.

In any case, thanks to those that provided the links. I actually read them and found them to be informative

oilman_15106

+1 When you find a way to solve cramping you will be a gizillionair not just quite wealthy.

HokuLoa

I know what you meant and i do have both the formal training and the field experience for good science. I was just being a pill so don't let me derail you. I really was just teasing...

Dellphinus

https://drpinna.com/dr-mirkin-on-muscle-cramps-2-20497

I had pretty bad cramping after almost every long hard (60+ miles) ride my first several years of cycling. I started adding 3/8 tsp of table salt to each bottle of powdered G'ade, and they pretty much stopped. Did this after measuring sweat loss rates and noting saltiness of sweat, and adjusting fluid intake. Mirkin's data (above link) corroborates fluid/salt levels cause (contribute to) cramping in non-athletes. After getting serious about riding/training, I seldom have cramps any more, regardless of fluid intake/salt levels.

I did learn the hard way to not get into a cold pool and drink a beer immediately after a long hard hot ride. I felt the cramps start in my toes and work their way up my legs. Couldn't move for like ten minutes...

savvy523

I found out a really long time ago that for my body, even eating dinner 2-3 hours before a tournament makes me lazy, cramps etc. Maybe that's your problem? I had a leg cramp on a ride a couple of weeks ago, so I punched the crap out of it, it worked .

dgasmd

Well, had a fitter readjust the cleats yesterday. This is something I had done myself in the past, but I am running out of patience as I am getting older. After 30 min of adjusting-pedaling-adjusting-pedaling-etc., we got where we both thought it was pretty good. I looked at the marks I had there from before and was very surprised to see they were completely off. Got a lot of stretching and massaging done yesterday, which helped quite a bit with the soreness. Today went for a 1 hr ride at a pretty good pace. Not max effort, but pretty good effort for most of it. I spent most of the ride looking down at my pedaling on both legs, my feet, and paying attention to how my legs and feet felt during the pedaling. Stopped 3-4 times to re-adjust the cleats, mostly on the L side. By the end of it, turns out I had the cleats back to almost the same place where the original marks where on the soles, and it felt perfect there. It is one thing to pedal easy on a trainer while staring at your pedal stroke and another to ride putting effort, wind resistance, different positions, etc. The areas where I was very sore from the cramping felt pretty good today too, so we'll see how it feels over the weekend as I am doing a couple of longer rides saturday and sunday.

markevans999

2nd the pickle juice/acetic acid.
https://sweatscience.com/pickle-juice...muscle-cramps/

Beaker

Sounds like you didn't give the new fit much of a chance? Whenever I get a change made in my fit, I always expect it to feel a little odd at first as you body has become used to your old fit - it normally takes a couple of rides to start appreciating the changes in my experience. YMMV naturally.

dgasmd

I wanted to give it a fair chance, but the moment I was 5 miles out and started to pay attention to my pedal stroke under load, it became evident that some of the adjustments made were based on how I was pedaling on the trainer. That was very different than riding outside. The more I looked at my feet and such, I noticed a few things and knew how to correct them. Again, it was mostly the L side that adjusted as the R stayed almost the same as it was on the re-fit. It was not a complete waste as there was some things that the fitter pointed out to me that I would have not noticed otherwise. We also had a long talk about wedges and such, which for me personally was very educational since I have a leg that is shorter than the other, and I had unsuccessfully tried a small wedge to try to compensate for it in that past. In other words, time and money well spent in my book.

Seattle Forrest

My girlfriend has this problem about once every 28 days.

Trucker Dan

Drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar diluted in 8 oz of water. Do this twice a day for a couple of days. It will help your electrolyte levels balance by increasing your water retention and getting rid of excess calcium.

DScott

You give this advice based on what, exactly?

markevans999

https://sweatscience.com/pickle-juice...muscle-cramps/

justadude

drink plenty of water and eat food including carbohydrates the night before. eat a banana or two and bring proper hydration on the ride. warm up -slowly, gradually increase your effort at least 20 minutes before getting intense.

Trucker Dan

Experience

DScott

Apple cider vinegar is not pickle juice.

Please share. How exactly does apple cider vinegar increase water retention, and thereby reduce calcium, and result in a better "balance" of electrolyte levels, and what evidence is there that this has any effect on cramping during exercise?


According to google: https://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar

mmmdonuts

I don't know about cramps but warts don't stand a chance with ACV.

Trucker Dan

It doesn't have to be apple cider vinegar. What you are getting is acetic acid. Most people use apple cider vinegar because it is more palatable than other forms. When you consume acetic acid your total hydronium ion concentration goes up in your body. Your kidneys will compensate for the increased electrolyte level by decreasing urine output until the excess hydronium ions can be buffered with calcium bicarbonate.

OP asked for solutions for his cramping. I offered something that worked for me. If you don't think it will work that's fine with me. Don't try it.

hamsey

Md,

Any update from the weekend rides? Going to be checking my fit again soon.

dgasmd

Rode sunday a 40 mile route at fairly good effort. Not max effort, but 90% of max. Felt pretty good without any issues at all, and that inlcuded climbing over some little hills at speed. Hopefully this will work again the way it did before.