How do you deal with cramp? If I’m riding hard for any prolonged periods of time (let’s say a 100 mile road ride), there’ll inevitably come a point where the legs are beginning to feel tired, and I’m feeling a little fatigued, like you do, but often I’m still feeling strong. Still powering on. Still feeling like I have more to offer. Then the cramp starts and it’s game over. Insert coin.

It’s not a massive problem for me. It only really occurs if I’m pushing it. But what’s frustrating is that I feel like I could push it a lot more. Any hard endurance ride is basically me pacing myself at a level that won’t have me cramping up before the end.

And every time I look into it, it seems no one really knows what it’s caused by. I generally hydrate well enough. Eat well enough. Maybe I just need to train more for endurance?

Just wondering what the STW consensus is on cramp really. I know it gets done over and over….but I’ve not seen it done for while!

Which muscles are cramping?

Maybe I just need to train more for endurance?

this, the fitter I am, the less cramp I get.

Fitness is key. I don’t cramp much these days but still have the odd problem when racing longer distances if it is intense near the start.

Think about muscles you are using, use hills to stand up and stretch out. Shift forward and back to alternate between quads and hamstrings.

In general good conditioning helps. Do excersise to remain flexiblele. Self massage can help reduce small knots and damage which can be a trigger point for cramp to start.

Ulti!ately you need to pace yourself so you don’t cover do it.

Fitness is key. I don’t cramp much these days but still have the odd problem when racing longer distances if it is intense near the start.

Thing is, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been. And probably close to as fit as I’m ever going to get. Things could be fine tuned for sure, but I think I have 90% of my potential. This is the frustrating thing: I feel good! Then cramp…

I don’t see anyone in the Tour de France getting off their bikes and going OOoooo, arrrrr ******, aiyyyaa. Of course they suffer now and again, but they put mental efforts in. They also do a lot more training than me, obviously, but I don’t really have the time to do 100 miles several times a week…

Which muscles are cramping?

Sometimes calfs – often from really intense efforts. Usually thighs. Inner or outer.

I always thought it was sodium-related – get that salt down you and be aware that the more you hydrate, the more you dilute the electrolytes in your system and the more they need to be replaced. I however am many leagues away from being a nutrition authority.

I got really bad cramps on the YD300. I’d done about 110Km and all of a sudden I couldn’t press on the pedals. It took a lot of beating and massaging to get going. In my case it was the adductor muscles on the inner thigh, these are actually secondary muscles whose job is to stabilise the hip and knee joints but due to chronic injury I recruit them when pedalling rather than the quads.

The way to avoid it seems to be more training which for distance events means a lot of time in the saddle.

I was pushing up a hill in an event because my leg had cramped to the extent I couldn’t turn a pedal when someone stopped to see what was the matter.(actually he couldn’t believe I was pushing). When I told him my problem he gave me a sachet of Heinz tomato sauce which he carried for the purpose. And,yes, it did work, not immediately but I was able to finish. I have no idea how it works but it seems to. Perhaps someone from the STW science division will be along to tell us.

So I also have a tendency toward cramp when pushing hard/blowing mid wat through a big ride.

Things I have learnt are: drink and eat more/better, massage and stretching helps, sleeping in compression tights – solves a lot of problems on multi day efforts! ( it really does).

Get my inner thighs go on long, hard rides. Can’t see any obvious links to hydration or salts (thought that idea was pretty old hat now?). Am usually able to struggle through / stretch a bit and it wears off.

Like the OP am pretty mystified – if I could see a link to anything other than the type / intensity of ride it would be easier to avoid or alleviate. Brings me to the (non-medical) conclusion it’s simple lack of muscle condition in that particular area / overuse on that ride. Shut up legs and ride more?

On a recent long ride I found that I could effectively tell my cramp to go away. It was a strange feeling, very strange. But it only ever got to the start of cramping up before disappearing again as soon as I told my legs that I didnt have time for cramp. 😀

It may also have been the IrnBru.

I’m prone to cramp and have suffered badly on long fell races, less so on the bike. Primary way of avoiding it is fitness, secondly and most importantly pacing. Using a HRM and keeping below 80% of Max or below zone 4 is the answer. Without a HRM it’s almost impossible to pace accurately but his really makes the difference.
Food and drink, yes but less effective than pacing.
Once you have it I have developed strategies to minimise the effects and it usually passes enough to continue through the pain 🙂

I used to suffer with cramp but started taking zinc and magnesium tablets on advice from a local fell runner.Never had cramp since 😀

When I told him my problem he gave me a sachet of Heinz tomato sauce which he carried for the purpose. And,yes, it did work, not immediately but I was able to finish. I have no idea how it works but it seems to. Perhaps someone from the STW science division will be along to tell us.

High in Electrolytes

”sauce”

I have suffered with cramp on long rides on and off for years. I have done a fair bit of reading around the subject and despite lots of research the truth is even the medical community don’t have a definitive answer.

There are lots of theories mostly promulgated by ignorant athletes who tried this or that and it seemed to work (after a fashion). The most probable cause accepted at the moment is just fatigue in the muscles caused by the exertion of cycling long and hard. This is why training is probably the best approach which is what several posters are advising.

If the cause was anything else like electrolyte deficiency for example, then all the muscles in the body would start to cramp not just the legs. In fact electrolyte deficiency (especially sodium) is one of the least likely causes because we have such and excess of it in our diet that the body is actually fighting to get rid of the excess most of the time which is why sweat is salty. You do not need to replace this salt on a ride even if you sweat a lot, the body will conserve what it needs.

One thing you do need to do is not drink too much because you are actually watering down the electrolyte content of the blood which can be serious. This is not usually a problem for cyclists but if you are stopping to pee too often then you are over-hydrating.

Modern research has found no link between hydration, electrolytes and exercise associated muscle cramps. Yes, these factors together with heat, blood sugar levels and fatigue can cause cramping, but not specifically EAMC.
It is important to distinguish resting cramps, muscle “spasms” and heat exhaustion/dehydration from EAMC before attributing remedies, EAMC is primarily a neurological reflex and all the “magic anti-cramp potions” are just that, magic – similar to the poster above using jedi mind tricks, sometimes your mind-body relationship needs a hoof in the slats to keep you sustaining high levels of physical activity.
The tomato ketchup remedy is a version of an old US trick of drinking pickle juice, the sharp salty taste is thought to give the aforementioned HiTS and reset some neurological mechanism.
It’s not electrolyte related as the effects are noticed well before the 20 or so minutes it typically takes for oral electrolytes rebalance plasma levels.

IME when I am racing a mtb marathon when it’s hot I often suffer from cramp. Same as op I feel strong am going well but then will start to get a tingling sensation in the legs then it starts. Usually inner thighs. If it’s raining however and theoretically the going is much harder because of all the mud then I rarely get any cramp. I would conclude that it is loss of electrolytes from sweating that is the problem for me.

I get less cramp if I eat beetroot every day. Steamed, not pickled. What works for me may or may not for you…

Pros cramp, one man has made it a catch phrase as he told his legs to shut up as he rode through it.

It is not absolute fitness that helps. It is relative to what you are asking your body to do. I won’t cramp in a TT because I control my pacing. In a road race where I’m doing a 70mile hilly interval session it is more likely. Last time I was trying to bridge to a break on the rivet, already tired (but I believed it was the winning move).

The cyclingtips website has some good info on cram. Google it.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2011/06/nutrition-and-muscle-cramps-–-what-does-the-science-say/

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/a-bar-of-soap-has-appeared-in-our-bed
I poo pooed this when my wife started with the soap and I still do but I’ve not had cramp since.
This year I’ve not even been stretching , it might just be a coincidence ,I don’t know.

I would conclude that it is loss of electrolytes from sweating that is the problem

When you sweat you lose water as well as electrolytes, in the same proportion as your plasma – the body doesn’t actively excrete salts via sweat.
Sweat induced electrolyte issues come when you drink excessive water during exercise which lowers the plasma electrolyte concentration which impacts upon body functions.
Rehydrate with isotonic drinks or take some food with your water and electrolyte balance will be maintained.

Some interesting replies. Ketchup, eh…

Pros cramp, one man has made it a catch phrase as he told his legs to shut up as he rode through it.

I’ll usually try to spin easy through cramp, and sometimes it gets me through it, but I’d be worried about doing some real damage pushing hard with cramped muscles. I’m not convinced pros cramp that much, and I’m inclined to believe the muscle conditioning theory, because in reality, as fit as I am, a proper hard, all-out-pace century ride is not that much of a regular occurrence for me. Decent pace, 60 or 80 miler may occur once or twice a week during the summer months. And I’m fine on those rides. Will do a good few longer rides too, sometimes with a decent effort applied. But if I step it up to approaching my limit, that’s when it occurs….and I have learned that that limit IS cramp. That’s the pace I ride to. I don’t even know if that’s normal?

Eat early.
Eat often.