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Why those heavy legs???

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Why those heavy legs???

Old 09-11-12, 05:56 PM
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Why those heavy legs???

Newbie to the forum, not so newbie to the road bike.. Been riding for years, never as much as I would like, but on average (2) 20-30 mile rides a week. lately as early on as the 3 mile marker my legs feel fatigue, heavy.. Not every ride but often eough that I feel that i can't seem to get any better. Recently tried some "sport legs" did a 40 mile ride of mostly12% grade up hill and the legs were great! Don't want to rely on suppliments for a good ride, but don't no what to do...Do all roadies rely on Gu and cytomax to get through a ride, or is my diet just that bad??? Send help!
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Old 09-11-12, 06:10 PM
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Given that you ride regularly, a 20-30 mile ride, unless it is chock-full of climbing, shouldn't require anything but a bottle or two of cold water. Absent hills or hot weather or distances over 50 miles, I generally stick with water or iced tea.

Some thoughts: Age takes its toll. I've found it now (being over 50) takes a few miles of easy riding to get warmed up; then all is well. Just have to power through it. So perhaps Father Time is creeping up on you.....

Are you riding first thing in the morning, or right after work? If you're not properly fueled, think about topping up the tank before riding off.

How is the rest of your health and diet? Seems like you're reasonably fit if you can get up 12% grades over distance.
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Old 09-11-12, 06:14 PM
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Originally Posted by dkinger
Recently tried some "sport legs" did a 40 mile ride of mostly12% grade up hill
Congratulations. That's about 25,000 ft of climbing.
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Old 09-11-12, 06:35 PM
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Do you have a varicose by any chance?
Had the same thing, started a couple of years ago. Tried everything you could thing of: stretching, salt bath, rest, diet change, nothing helped. Then somebody mentioned varicose veins on my calves - had a VERY bad varicose on the right leg. 3 month after the surgery now - may be it is a placebo but I see a huge improvement.
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Old 09-11-12, 06:38 PM
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Spam.
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Old 09-11-12, 06:58 PM
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Still only 40 yrs young, no varicose, or spam.....And no, the 40 miler wasn't all up hill, but several 3 mile stretches were, which was an accomplishment for me. Should have been more clear on that! I usually try and spin for the 1st mile for warm up. Maybe not enough.
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Old 09-11-12, 08:51 PM
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Wow, 3 mile stretches of 12% grade warrants you as a strong rider. Kudos!
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Old 09-11-12, 08:57 PM
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When my legs get heavy on repeat 12% climbs of several miles, I often have to shift to the small chainring
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Old 09-11-12, 08:58 PM
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Heaviness and rapid fatigue in the legs can be a symptom of circulatory problems commonly known as peripheral artery disease (PAD). If it is unusual for you and relatively new onset, or is progressing, you should have it evaluated by a doctor. If you're only riding 20-30 miles twice a week, I can't see the need for any supplements over your normal good nutrition and proper hydration.
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Old 09-12-12, 03:39 AM
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Originally Posted by dkinger
Newbie to the forum, not so newbie to the road bike.. Been riding for years, never as much as I would like, but on average (2) 20-30 mile rides a week. lately as early on as the 3 mile marker my legs feel fatigue, heavy.. Not every ride but often eough that I feel that i can't seem to get any better. Recently tried some "sport legs" did a 40 mile ride of mostly12% grade up hill and the legs were great! Don't want to rely on suppliments for a good ride, but don't no what to do...Do all roadies rely on Gu and cytomax to get through a ride, or is my diet just that bad??? Send help!
Couple of suggestions:

1. warm-up before pushing harder. Ride easy for 10-15 minutes, about 2-miles. Then stretch for 5-10 minutes, glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads, etc. Then ride easy for another 10-15 minutes, another 2-mile before even thinking about going over 50%. My warm-ups are usually 30-45 minutes, 10-15 miles.

2. learn to shift and use lower gears (spin your legs faster). This balances the cardiovascular system versus the muscular systems. In general:
a. if the legs hurt and heart/lungs don't, use lower-gear and spin faster
b. if heart/lungs hurt while legs don't, use taller-gear and spin slower
Also you'll want to read all the training literature out there like Friel's book. Lemond and Armstrong/Carmichael also have good stuff on training. Check out this thread: riding longer and harder as well as the BikeForums - workout recipe book mentioned within. Have fun!
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Old 09-12-12, 05:22 AM
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Originally Posted by StanSeven
When my legs get heavy on repeat 12% climbs of several miles, I often have to shift to the small chainring
Awesome.

But seriously, I have the same feeling every now and again. I notice it most when riding solo but never when riding with a buddy who's generally slower. As I write this, I realize that the difference is that I don't give myself a proper warm-up when riding solo...
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Old 09-12-12, 05:59 AM
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Yep. Two things most people don't do slowly enough riding is warm-up and recovery. A few minutes riding nice and easy (not high cadence either at first) just to get the legs and cardiovascular system going makes a big difference.
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Old 09-12-12, 06:19 AM
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it takes me about 10 miles to warm up, so I ignore any feelings of fatigue before that
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Old 09-12-12, 07:01 AM
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I don't know. I warm up for 20-30 minutes before each ride and I still feel fatigued.

I think it's common, especially given my circumstances where I'm going to bed late, drinking pretty heavy, waking up and pedaling at 5:30 a.m. and then going to work at a full time job. Oh and did I mention my family, which I like to refer to as my other full time job.

Work hard and play hard is going to cause fatigue.
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Old 09-12-12, 08:28 AM
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1) spin a higher cadence, especially earlier in the ride
2) more protein
3) with only 2 x 30mi rides a week, there isn't enough miles to go extra hard
4) do you ride with a HRM? Do you frequently go outside your VO2 max?
5) its what you are doing with the other 21+ hours of your day
6)try gentle message, getting blood circulating back to the heart.
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Old 09-12-12, 08:31 AM
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My legs are always dead in the first 5 miles of a ride...sometimes in the first 10 miles. I just warm up slowly. Usually by mile 15 I'm cookin'.
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Old 09-12-12, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by StanSeven
Yep. Two things most people don't do slowly enough riding is warm-up and recovery. A few minutes riding nice and easy (not high cadence either at first) just to get the legs and cardiovascular system going makes a big difference.
The older you get, the more important the warm up (IMHO).
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Old 09-12-12, 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by BustaQuad
The older you get, the more important the warm up (IMHO).
Yeah, it's a catch-22 huh? When I was in my 20s and racing weekly, I could warm up by riding my bike between the car and the start-line. Then go 100% right from the start of the race to burn off the weak ones and have no problems. Decades later, now I need at least 30-minutes of easy riding and stretching or else I'll be suffering the rest of the ride.
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Old 09-13-12, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by dkinger
...Do all roadies rely on Gu and cytomax to get through a ride, or is my diet just that bad??? Send help!
I usually get at least 1 ride of 50+miles per week and I rarely use any type of Gu or cytomax. I tend to stick with plenty of water, gatorade, and sandwiches. I try to eat 1 sandwich an hour to maintain energy. My sandwiches are usually peanut butter haha. I try to avoid "supplements" the best that I can. I like to eat natural foods (mostly)!

I eat healthy overall, however, and try to eat the correct amount of calories so that I do not burn through all of my reserves.
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Old 09-13-12, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Adirtytoilet
I usually get at least 1 ride of 50+miles per week and I rarely use any type of Gu or cytomax. I tend to stick with plenty of water, gatorade, and sandwiches. I try to eat 1 sandwich an hour to maintain energy. My sandwiches are usually peanut butter haha. I try to avoid "supplements" the best that I can. I like to eat natural foods (mostly)!

I eat healthy overall, however, and try to eat the correct amount of calories so that I do not burn through all of my reserves.
That seems like a bit much. First of all eating a sandwich on the fly is more difficult than consuming a gel. Also, at 15mph (you may be faster or slower than that), you would eat three sandwiches over a 50 mile ride?
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Old 09-13-12, 12:32 PM
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if i did 40 miles at a 12% grade my legs would be a little heavy too
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Old 09-13-12, 01:43 PM
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Dunno if anybody mentioned this but if the fit is wrong or if you have not been taking a good rest the night before you can get stuff like that, specially if you arent a 20 y/o guy no more.
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Old 09-13-12, 05:29 PM
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Sounds to me like you may need to go get a deep tissue massage and/or start using a foam roller. I always try to spin for at least 10-15 after I am done with my ride, especially harder rides. Then I follow this with a little stretching. A few hours later or the next day, I will get the foam roller out. It can be painful starting out if you have tons of adhesions, but the improvement on my performance is VERY noticeable.
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Old 09-13-12, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
warm-up before pushing harder. Ride easy for 10-15 minutes, about 2-miles. Then stretch for 5-10 minutes, glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads, etc. Then ride easy for another 10-15 minutes, another 2-mile before even thinking about going over 50%. My warm-ups are usually 30-45 minutes, 10-15 miles.
I am 37 yrs old and this is EXACTLY how I have to warm up.
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Old 09-13-12, 07:41 PM
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What is your potassium intake? If it's low, it can cause cramping and that heavy leg feeling.
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