Where do cramps come from....

[Avispa]

Dang! I must be getting old or something...

Last week, I had a great cycling week. Rode almost everyday... Sat/Sun were specially great. Then because of work, I had to take Mon/Tue. off... But not with total inactivity. I went on brisk 4 mile walks with the wife.

Then, last night, I go to the gym and get on a spin cycle. I do my usual 10-12 min. warm up and start to do intervals... I do a conservative 4 minute interval to get my HR near 150.

Then, BAM! I get this really hard cramp on my left thigh... It is so damned hard it feels like a charley horse! There are young ladies around, so I try to pretend nutin' is happening... :p So, I pedal slower and the cramp just gets worse! :o :(

Damn... after about 30 minutes on the bike, I just have to give up and go to a corner and massage my leg.

The pain on my quad doesn't go away for a few hours... Today it even feels a bit sore! I don't understand what the hell is going on.... I know I have had good meals and have hydrated myself.

Any advise?

..A..

[vaxn8r]

First off, are you making this up? What are the names of the young ladies who witnessed the alleged cramping? Do you have references?

If the story is ligit...and for now I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, I think you might have overtrained last week, on the bike and then the walk. Then the exercycle wasn't quite set up for you pulling in accessory cycling muscles which were already overworked by your riding and or walking. That's my guess.

[Avispa]

LOL... Vax... Vaaaxx!

I don't want to give out names and get further embarrassment.

Anyway, maybe you may be right with the over training thing. I mean, I was kind of tired at the end of the week. You see, I am not on EPO no mo'

..A..

[mikki]

I can relate. I take electrolites, stretch before I ride and have been getting them lately...no fun.

[jmewkill]

and I damned if I can nail those down as well.

[oracle]

it's the pain fairy, doling out punishment.

[Darrell]

magnesium, used up your bodies resources.
Possibly?
Very common

[michael white]

I get them often. I think Darrell is right about magnesium. I hear it's mostly people who sweat a lot who get them. You can't get electrolytes back into the muscle as fast as it sweats out.

[DarrenCT]

and I damned if I can nail those down as well.

ahhh hangovers are a good recipe for cramps for sure!

[Louis]

A, isn't it a bit late for you to be learning about the birds and the bees, and where babies come from?

This actually reminds me of a cycling related story. A few weekends ago I was riding Saturday morning with two buddies from work. We stopped at one of the area parks for water and while we were filling our bottles a group of cyclists came cruising in. Being somewhat curious and having a tailor-made excuse to talk to one of the women on the ride, we asked what it was all about. Apparently it was a memorial ride for one of their cycling friends who had died of breast cancer a few years ago. (She did not provide a death-certificate, or newspaper clippings, so I don't know if she was lying or not.) So we say all the appropriate things about how it's nice that they remember her this way, and we ride off in the direction from which they came.

About two miles from the park we see a woman cyclist in the opposite lane with her bike pointed in the other direction, but just standing there by the side of the road, not working to change a tire, or anything. Of course we stop and ask her if everything is OK. She said that she wasn't feeling too well and was taking a break. We mentioned that the rest of the group was just up the road, that there were no big climbs to the rest stop, and I volunteered to ride with her to at least provide moral support. She said no, that wasn't necessary.

At some point one of my friends began to press her about specifically what was wrong. She said that she was having some cramps. I had had my suspicions from the start (it was not a terribly hot day, and we knew from the previous group that it was not a terribly long or hard ride) so I kept my mouth shut, but due to their cluelessness, or in an excess of sympathy, they continued to press here about whether it was thigh cramps, or calf, or what, so finally, she says, "No, its menstrual cramps." I had suspected that this was going to happen, and for her sake did not burst out laughing, but after my friends beat an embarrassed retreat and we went on our way I could not help harassing them. After all, they were the two married guys, and I was the single guy, yet they were completely oblivious to what was going on, while I had suspected it all along.

So, A, now you know where cramps come from...

[Avispa]

A, isn't it a bit late for you to be learning about the birds and the bees, and where babies come from?
So, A, now you know where cramps come from...

Hey, I said I think I'm getting old, right? :D
Well, it's never too late to learn something!

I'll make sure I put some tampons on my jersey pockets next time... This should help me prevent some cramps, no? :D :D

..A..

[Blue Jays]

Slugging back a 20-oz water to pre-hydrate along with a multi-vitamin & mineral supplement before starting exercise always does the trick for me. :)

[A.L.Breguet]

The Peppermint Lounge, at least sometimes

[davids]

The Peppermint Lounge, at least sometimes
Well if that's the case - Cleveland.

[Fixed]

bro i'm goin to too talls camp that seems like fun.....oh you said cramps i thought you said camps ..nevermind
cheers