Hey

I’ve started to get cramp down the front of my thighs after a couple of hours exercise on mountain bike. I’ve read about staying hydrated and using bananas to prevent this. Felt it wanting to come on again today after what I think was enough water during ride and 1 banana before

Any tips for trying to prevent this as on occasion it can be really bad. It’s only happening down the front of my thighs and I’ve never had cramp there before up until 3 months ago

I am 53

Thanks.

I get cramp in my vmo’s on longer rides.
First longish ride today on the fatbike and started to cramp up on the way home.

I found by just pointing my toes in very slightly it went away.

There seems to be a lot of different opinions on cramp. It’s like nutrition…

However, when I looked into it, the general consensus seemed to be down to conditioning. I.e. you need to get fitter… The argument being that if you were low on electrolytes, random parts of your body would cramp, not just your legs. Your legs cramp because they’re being worked so hard.

If it’s different to anything you’ve had before however, maybe it could be a bike fit thing and different muscles being worked, or maybe it could be nutritional.

Electrolytes in your bottle can help. They can delay this happening, but the underlying issue is lactic acid build up.

This happens when you work in higher heart rate zones. If you are cycling in zone 4 a lot then you’ve got a lot of lactate building up and your body isn’t getting chance to clear it.

You could try backing off and going out for a similar ride and you won’t have so much of an issue in theory.

As you get fitter you’ll maintain the pace you were doing at a lower heart rate and shouldn’t cramp so easily.

Have you had a lot of time off over winter? In which case you may be working harder than you were last year for the same ride

Thanks for all of this. I play football twice a week and do a weights session in the gym twice a week as well.

Biking is only every 2 weeks or so and is usually a 3 hour spin around Glentress or similar. It will become more frequent though and hopefully will see less cramping. I have a very good diet but will do more reading to see what other changes I can make.

Id say eat more while you’re out riding too. You say you usually go out for around 3 hours, then in the original post you said you go out with water and 1 banana. That is not enough. A personal trainer mate of mine reckons you should be taking on 0.5g of carbs per kilo of body weight per hour of exercise. eg, rider weighs 100kg, so thats 50g an hour. an average banana has 25gs of carbs.

To counter the above many mountain bikers over eat massively. Mainly because their 3 hour ride is often about an hour of moving time!

Get fitter. Try 2 bananas next time.

I’d agree with njee, rarely do mountain bikers need to eat more. Its conditioning I sometimes get it this time of year if I’ve stuck to running rather than biking over the winter, and in the same muscle, which I think is because it’s the smallest muscle in the group of muscles that provides most of the work when you cycle. I just ease back a bit for a few tides until it goes

As above. A higher level of exercise specific fitness is the main solution to cramp.

I’ve found high5 zero tablets work, but for me it has been getting fitter, and ensuring my legs don’t get cold.

I cramp a lot when it is cooler, so use leg warmers for much longer than most people.
Before I started riding a lot and was very unfit, I would cramp a huge amount, even getting woken up in the middle of the night.

Yeh sounds like your football and weights etc is quite hiit based and shorter so only 90 mins or so.

When riding you’re going out and doing a repetitive motion (pedalling) for a longer period.

Trouble with football and weights is they can be very good at building fast twitch fiber which is very prone to cramp during longer periods of exercise as it is more efficient at burning glucose and glycogen and often runs anaerobic for periods. Great for power, not so much for longer exercises without cramp though due to the byproduct of these contractions being lactic acid.

You’ve got two options…

1) immediate relief…back off the gas when riding so you’re in a lower heart rate zone to help your quads clear the lactate and run at a better zone under lactate threshold.

2) go out and get cramp. Then go out for a bit longer and get cramp. Repeat until you don’t get cramp on 3 hour rides.

Incidently I’ve been through this exact process over the winter, mine sets in at about 7 hours at the minute. I’ve yet to be strict enough to back off enough to go out longer although a 160 miler I’ve got planned in June will require a bit more discipline.

Hope this helps

(Fellow lifetime cramp sufferer)

Can be temperature related. Is it happening on colder days? Were you getting the cramps last summer? If so some knee warmers may be your friend here.

Fyi: You do not need to be feeling noticeably cold for your muscles to be affected

Drink a tonic water (one that has quinine in it) before the ride. It’s well known as a cramp preventative.

Just a tonic water. No ice, lemon, gin or vodka.

Reduce intensity and stay hydrated would be my advice and as with others nonneed to eat too much.

Drink a tonic water (one that has quinine in it) before the ride. It’s well known as a cramp preventative.

Quinine is known to stop cramping, but I think there’s so little in tonic water that you’d have to drink a couple of litres of the stuff for it to be effective.

[*]https://youtu.be/mXYoc0EkOL8[/*]

Watch this GCN video! There’s an interview with a professor of sports science and exercise who discuses cramp.
Basically, science does not yet know why cramp happens so there is no true solution…

Yup. Just about to post that myself. Science doesn’t have the answer yet so other than “get fitter” any answer is a bit snake oil.

Bananas, quinine, magnesium tablets all work for different people with differing metabolisms at different times, thats all.
PS, some theorise too much dietary salt, others say too little, pay your money and take your choice.

Get fitter. I used to cramp terribly, tried electrolytes, tonic water, eating, not eating, pretty much everything mentioned above. The only thing that has stopped it is getting fitter and riding more. That’s it.

As above, electrolites etc don’t work but getting fitter will however after 2 years of terrible cramps during some enduro events especially after long tough stages i found hotshots.
http://www.teamhotshot.com
They are not cheap so i only use them in races when i feel the cramp coming on but they stop the cramp instantly and usually last an hour or so till you need another. i highly reccomend them. Pickle juice also has a similar but less effective effect.

I’ve some malaria tablets with quinine so i’ll try them next time i go swimming. i get it in the foot every time after a km or so
bananas/ magnesium hasnt stopped it
I did find that agood foot massage the night before made a difference

fairly recent thread on the topic – my vote was for vinegar

as to the OP here I’d be wondering what sort of weights sessions are you doing at the gym and if legs involved are you adequately recovered or just pushing another hard session but on your bike?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cramping-up-during-a-ride

As above, electrolites etc don’t work but getting fitter will however after 2 years of terrible cramps during some enduro events especially after long tough stages i found hotshots.
http://www.teamhotshot.com

Do you work for them? Electrolytes don’t work, but this miracle snake oil drink does? What do you think is in the drink? Don’t say “NMP Boosters”.

http://www.bicycling.com/training/strength-training/lifting-cure-cramping-might-be-hidden-dumbbell

Preventing cramps on your mountain bike – more than hydration and electrolytes

https://www.outsideonline.com/1927761/10-biggest-fitness-myths

Lactic acid myths, debunked

http://www.si.com/edge/2016/07/21/debunking-myths-lactic-acid-truth-fatigue-recovery-muscle-soreness

https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/health-wellbeing/exercise-fitness/strength/preventing-muscle-loss

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/10/02/preventing-age-related-muscle-loss.aspx

There is a lot of stuff on here that’s wrong and one thing that’s definitely right.

Basically, science does not yet know why cramp happens so there is no true solution…

is the closest you will get to the truth.

electrolites etc don’t work . .

is wrong. I am sure they don’t work for everybody, but they work for some, me included. I’m pretty fit and I often get cramps an hour or two after a ride, especially if I sweated a lot. Drinking just water didn’t help, but a pint or so of electrolyte drink is very effective in preventing them.

. . . getting fitter will

is wrong. It may be true in some cases, but not all. Cramp seems to be a multifactorial problem and different things, in different combinations, will work for different people.

So don’t focus on just one solution because somebody on this forum claims it doesn’t work. You will need to try a few things to see what works for YOU.

There is a lot of stuff on here that’s wrong and one thing that’s definitely right.

Basically, science does not yet know why cramp happens so there is no true solution…

is the closest you will get to the truth.

electrolites etc don’t work . .

is wrong. I am sure they don’t work for everybody, but they work for some, me included. I’m pretty fit and I often get cramps an hour or two after a ride, especially if I sweated a lot. Drinking just water didn’t help, but a pint or so of electrolyte drink is very effective in preventing them.

. . . getting fitter will.

is wrong. It may be true in some cases, but not all. Cramp seems to be a multifactorial problem and different things, in different combinations, will work for different people.

So don’t focus on just one solution because somebody on this forum claims it works. You will need to try a few things to see what works for YOU.

I suffer from really really bad cramps. The sort of screaming in agony / crying / call an ambulance type. recently its got worse. the milage has dropped from 20 ish to 10 before it starts. I cant stop it.

Im trying everything. recently ive got some custom insoles that im yet to try out but moving to superfeet have increased the milage from 10-15 miles approx before onset.

tonic water did bugger all. I always have some type of electrolite powder.

Im also seeing a physio. she seems to think its because im hyper mobile in my knees and hips so i ant stabalise myslf properly leading to onset of fatugue cramp.

Pick a symptom / cure and try it. Im 12 months into trying stuff with no cure yet.

Suffered big time on long rides til I was given the Tums heads up, one before and one every couple of hours,no cramp and no heart burn either. win win.

whats that then?

Don`t think they will help you andybrad if you can get it after 10 miles, hope you find a fix, must be a nightmare.

its pretty terrible tbh.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/training-plans/supporting-documents/article/izn20160404-Supporting-documents-Supporting-Document-How-can-I-prevent-cramp–0

http://www.skysports.com/cycling/news/20192/7441709/expert-guide-how-to-stop-cramp

Basically, science does not yet know why cramp happens so there is no true solution…is the closest you will get to the truth.

with respect, this is bollards.

There are many types of cramp. Most are well understood. Evidence is mixed when you’re discussing skeletal muscle cramps. (which is what we’re discussing here) in terms of whether it’s driven by fatigue or electrolytes, but the evidence seems to be tipping towards fatigue. Most cycling cramp happens in two muscles groups; the groups of calf muscles and the small Vastus at the front and bottom of the quads. make these more resistant* to fatigue and you will get less cramp. End

*the best method is probably going to be training, rather than a drink…(go figure…)

Basically, science does not yet know why cramp happens . . . with respect, this is bollards.

You might think that, but people who should know don’t seem to agree with you.

For example, Physiology Professor Mark A. W. Andrews says beliefs about dehydration, electrolytes, lactic acid or low cellular energy levels have “minimal scientific value”. He suggests the cause is “hyperactivity of the nerve-muscle reflex arc”.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-leg-cramps/

I suffered terribly recently, 3hr into a 5hr race, never had it so bad, a handful of muscle groups in both legs. I probably overcooked it early on and think I drank too much pure water beforehand. Experienced people who were kind enough to listen to my moaning said that if I hadn’t raced during my training, this was a likely outcome. Many pros cramp in the first few races of the season. The conditioning argument.
For day 2 I only drank rehydrants beforehand and wasn’t shy with salt in food and felt great throughout the day.
The electrolyte argument
I’m not much wiser but will include unpleasant race conditions in training AND keep electrolyte levels high in future…

All good suggestions here even though there is some disagreement. My fitness is improving every week and I am going to carry some electrolytes to try at the next onset. Will report back and I appreciate all the input. Cheers !