Preventing Leg Cramps
 

I've done some searching, but was hoping I could get some summarized expert advice. I went on my first metric century this past weekend (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=414748) and definitely pushed too hard toward the beginning of the ride, leading to some leg cramps as well as exhaustion partway through. Although I drank quite a bit of water and never got thirsty, as well as some Gatorade, and ate a banana as well as some GORP and a couple of fruit newtons, I'm looking for suggestions as to what I could do differently to improve my nutrition / hydration on my next ride to reduce the possibility of this recurring. I have my first century coming up in June, and can't imagine fighting the leg cramps for much longer than I did, let alone another 35+ miles! I'm pretty sure for my next ride I should stop and eat a bit more often, but what changes can I make to reduce leg cramps?

Thanks for the advice.

In your training, and then on your century, focus on drinking about one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the weather.

If it is hot, you might consider taking electrolyte pills, or at least making sure to eat salty food.

And ease into the ride, give your body a chance to warm up first.

It's called overuse. More training, less going hard in the beginning. Do 150 miles/week on terrain similar to that of the century. In training, sometimes go easy and sometimes go hard. No problems.

http://scienceofsport.blogspot.com/2007/11/muscle-cramps-part-1-theories-and.html

Keep hitting "Newer Post" at the bottom to read the whole series.

They discount the electrolyte theory...

Great article. Glad I took the time to read it.

My experience is that its Magnesium deficiency that causes muscle cramps and tension. See, http://www.fgb.com.au/Natural%20Rem%...Deficiency.htm

I don't use sports drinks. They don't have enough magnesium in them to be useful. Magnesium is stored in the muscle so working a muscle hard will deplete the local stores of magnesium leading to cramping in that particular muscle. I mix up my own water with some unrefined sea salt and some liquid magnesium or I take some magnesium supplement pills with me for long rides.

Regards, Anthony

start your food the day before. carb up! have pasta and maybe a beer for dinner that night. as far as the ride. 1 normal size bottle of fluid per hour. i usually start eating on the bike after 1 hour. then just keep consuming every 45ming to 1 hour. and have a breakfast that is easy on the stomach yet fills you up with good stuff. i usually do cereal and some fruit and a yogart smoothy with berries.

Bad leg cramper here. I have no scientific proof for this at all, but as a muscular (5'9 200lb, former college football player) Cytomax keeps me feeling pretty good during rides over 50 miles. You'll have to play with the concentration, but I keep mine pretty light.

I still had the problem cramping though, until an older rider 60+ in our group who's built like me suggested going to the local fast food joint and grabbing a bunch of those salt packets that they have out. He told me to drop one of those in per 24 oz bottle. Since I've done that, haven't cramped once as long as I make sure to take a small swig at least every 1-2 miles of riding depending on the temperature and the terrain.

Good luck.

carb loading a day before doesnt do much, i dont know exactly the best time tho, my professor says 10 to 14 days before is optimal to start carb loading, other say about 5 days to a week. but my professor works with some pretty high up teams, and ha s a PHD, and she really does know what she is doing. anything that gets depleted during exercise will cause cramps if u dont replenish it , to little water, magnesium, sodium etc. look up some articles on the things that keep muscles working in good condition and design your nutrition strategy around that. i would tell you most of the things but im not near my books/notes to confrim exactly so i will wait till i get home heh.

I had pretty bad leg cramping too. Salt solved it for me. I add 3/8 tsp to a 24 oz bottle of G'ade, and try to drink one botle per hour, with a bottle of plain water for a chaser. No more cramps since I started doing this.
[edit] after reading the reference above (Parts I, II and III), my salt "solution" may be more mental than physical. However, when I quit adding salt, I cramp. Don;t care why it works, as long as it does.

Interesting read, BTW.

First, I notice from your original article that you did a volleyball tournament the day before. Even though you didn't use your legs the same way both days, I'm sure they were ready for some recovery the next day, rather than long hours in the saddle. My guess is, that was a huge contributing factor. For anyone who hasn't done a century or metric century before, you ought to take it easy for a couple of days before your first one. Kudos for surviving!

I think you can glean good advice from what other people have said -- drink lots of fluids (one 16 oz. bottle/hr.) and throw good nutrient replacement foods like bananas into the mix. (Actually, it sounds like the GORP you were eating was probably a decent choice.) As a rule, I also shoot for 30-40g carbohydrates per hour, which is about 2 tablespoons of honey.

Another thing I've found is that for long rides, I can often delay or prevent muscle cramps by using easier gears and a slightly higher cadence than I use for short rides. I suppose anything that makes the task easier on the legs will make cramping less likely.

These are much easier to get down than salty water (but more expensive, of course). Remember, too, that tomato juice (and V8) contain a lot of sodium. Sometimes on a ride I'll buy a small can at 7-11 or someplace. Beef jerky is a good salty snack as well.

http://www.runnersgear.com/Merchant2...1/LVA-001F.jpg

Some also swear by Endurolyte capsules (they're a Hammer Nutrition product).

http://www.hammernutrition.com/image...ewhead/ELT.gif

If you can stomach it during a ride (don't try for the first time on a long ride), this is an old stand-by for sodium:

http://product.expotv.com/6/2/8/62890_150x150.jpg

You're right
 

I read my post. Salty water would be pretty nasty tasting. I usually add the salt to a bottle of Cytomax not just plain water. Sorry for the misdirection in my post. Pretty funny though.

I read somewhere about the magnesium & calcium content in tums. Have been taking 2-3 a day since reading that and and........... viola! Have not had any cramping in the past month that I started the regiment. Might be something to it.

Also, I down about a bottle of water every hour or so .

Leafy greens like spinach are one of nature's best forms of magnesium. All chlorophyll-rich foods have lots of magnesium by chemical default, in fact.

http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75

Pumpkin, sunflower and seasame seeds would also be a good idea.

Seriously though, I find that eating a nice big plateful of spinach or spring greens salad regularly (more days than not in a week) helps a lot for the cramps / weak feeling. When I slack or forget, things don't feel quite as good for my legs after workouts.

Sodium, potassium and magnesium are all good things to build up/replenish.

I just came back from the podiatrist and after complaining about foot cramps at night and the very occasional calf and hamstring cramp, he suggested drinking 6 or 8 ounces of quinine water (a/k/a tonic water) at bed time. I'll let you know if it helps.

I start with 3 Endurolyte capsules from Hammer Nutrition and continue with 3 per hour during double centuries and it stops the leg and stomach cramping. I have done doubles without the Endurolyte capsules and have suffered sever cramping.

I tried quinine via tonic water. It does work in a fashion although I don't think that it addresses the cause of the cramping but somehow prevents the cramping anyway. After using it for a while, while also reducing my magnesium intake which is what I take to address the cause of cramping I noticed that while I wasn't experiencing a painful cramp I was however feeling quite tense and that kind of tension would normally lead to a cramp. It worked for a while but I've gone back to taking more magnesium.

Regards, Anthony

If you want magnesium, try a shot of wheat grass from Jamba Juice or at your local health food store. If you want salt in your Gatorade, try Hawaiian Sea Salt. Its red in color like the volcanic dirt in Hawaii. I think it has a lot of trace minerals.

I figure you can stash away an ounce of wheat grass in a vial and keep it in your saddle. Maybe chug one down before a long ride and another one during the ride.

My doctor recently recommended quinine in Tonic Water for cramps. I was having cramping in my toes occasionally. Seems to eliminate the problem, with about an 8 ounce glass every few days or so. The FDA in 1995 banned prescription quinine from use due to various side effects. The amount of quinine in Tonic Water is only 1/10 the amount of a prescription dose.


See:
http://www.healthcaresouth.com/pages...llegcramps.htm